Discovering Africa

  Time has been short for the amount of things in the agenda, so I'll start writing short posts! This one is dedicated to the "tip of gold", a gorgeous beach town in the south of Mozambique which I translated "letter by letter", Portuguese name is "Ponta do Ouro". This town is close to the border with South Africa, but the seemingly harmless 170 km from Maputo are driven in about five tumultuous hours, due to the sandy roads.  To see with perspective The way there is full of African landscapes, this combination with the African music we choose to be playing in the radio transported me to an  Out of Africa  movie set... only Robert Redford was missing!  This was one of the best roads of the trip, the others I needed to be tight to my seat so, no hands free for the camera.     As if the sandy soil was not enough, some roads on the way were blocked due to some mechanical problems of some of the severa...

In this post I'll describe one of the most gratifying experiences of the past weeks: the visits to the off grid villages! The centre of Maputo is well provided with energy, tar roads and robust buildings, but just by crossing the river, one can have a totally different perspective of how the standards of living actually work. It is almost an odyssey to make this trip. The inexistent bridge is planned to be finished by the end of 2017, until then the crossing is ensured by two rusty ferry boats, where local staff make sure every inch of the boat is filled with some car, people, vegetable or noisy chicken. Along the journey we'll come across with some fishing sailing boats with fabric sales and wooden cask.     Once you get to the other side, you are welcomed by street vendors full of cashews and peanuts. The access to the villages is not always easy, you need a strong 4x4 jeep and a brave driver, because the chances of you being stuck in the sa...

Two and a half weeks after my arrival to Maputo, I finally have time to start my blog. I'll try to post daily/weekly pictures and tell some stories related to the daily life here, because living in this city is so fantastically different from everything I've lived so far, that I'm sure I'll have plenty to show! To start in the very beginning, here it is the typical photo taken from the plane. I love to travel in the window seat, and have the opportunity to experience this amazing welcome view. I found so impressive to compare the huge buildings at the downtown, and the wooden houses in the surroundings. Even when the plane lands, we are greeted with this African landscape of palm trees and dry fields.   The day I first step foot in Africa was a very hot (43º C) and sunny day. After some hours, and some litters of water less in my body, a tropical storm arrived like I've never seen before! The lightnings were so bright and...