Bars in Africa: Ilha de Mozambique and Out

Now we come to the exciting conclusion of the family trip. After 3 action packed days in Zam-bro-zia, the family left with a rented car and driver for Ilha de Mocambique via Nampula. Thanks to me having to pay my first ever bribe (400mts to a transit police who saw 4 white people as an opportunity), a gas station in Monapo being our of gas, and some impromptu hitch hiking, it was a perfect example of true Mozambican travel.

After arriving in Nampula City, I tried for 2 frustrating hours to get an ATM card, unsuccessfully. Eventually we gave up, and decided to take a quick tour of the Peace Corps Nampula office. This is where I work with Peace Corps staff to discuss primary and secondary projects, pickup packages, get medical exams, and hang out with other volunteers in the lounge. Having this space provides a safe, cool, relaxed, and accessible oasis in the middle of a hot, dusty, sometimes dangerous, but always agitated city 

Once leaving Nampula, we continued to head east towards Ilha de Mocambique in our private car. All was going well until we hit Monapo, where an empty gas station prevented our car from filling up it's tank. As the gas left would not be enough to drop us off and make it back to the previous station, we hopped out and starting looking for a new ride

Any doubt I had about my mom's ability to be a PCV was immediately dis-spelled as an open-backed truck pulled up to the cross-roads. Almost before we had been told we could hop in, my mom ran to the car, threw her suitcase on top of the sacks of cement, and jumped up alongside it. Seeing this display of adventurous spirit, our private car driver turned to me and said with amazement "You're mom has power!". For the next 70 km (45 miles) we had the wind blowing in our hair and a great 360 degree view of the approaching Mozambican coastline.  

Arriving in Ilha de Mocambique, we were dusty, windswept, but exhilarated. We checked into the lovely Hotel Econdidinho and prepared ourselves for the wonderful comforts of the tourism hot-spot of northern Mozambique.

Our first dinner was a perfect example of these offerings: Flor de Rosa. A charming bar/restaurant with a large rooftop patio that specializes in unique mixed drinks and delicious Italian food (lobster gnocchi, yum!!)

The next day we began our tour of the island. Though I had been there many times, I had spent most of my time hanging out with PCVs at bars. As a result, I had missed out on several of the island biggest tourist attractions, like the Fortaleza de Sao Sabastiao

Built by the Portuguese in 1583, it served as the principal defensive fortification for what was then the colonial capital and slave trading hub of Portuguese Africa. Though never conquered, its importance diminished greatly with the move of the capital to Lourenco Marques, now known as Maputo. Thanks to a it's designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, both the island and the fort are being restored to some of their former beauty

Ilha is famous for it's sleepy colonial-city feel, and the eerily empty streets and alley-ways can be both charming and unsettling. Here my sister and I are walking along side Issufo, one of the many local children who we befriended in our short time there. Though most of the multitudes of young-ins were satisfied by the pleasure of calling us "Macuna" (white person), some were after bigger thrills. Issufo, for example, really wanted a soccer ball, which I gave to him after serving as our tour guide, translator (Portugese to Macua), and companion for the day.

During one of my first conversations with my sister from Mozambique, she excitedly informed me that she had met a girl (Erin) at BU who also had a brother in Mozambique. Finding out it was my fellow trainee and good friend Patrick McGettigan, we began plotting a meet up sometime in the future. Over a delicious dinner at the famous Bar Sara (Anthony Bourdain went there!!), we were finally united and had a great time sharing our Peace Corps and family visit experiences. If you ever make it here, try the Matapa Siri Siri, an island spin on my favorite Mozmabican dish: substitute seaweed for collared greens and cashews for peanuts.

As it was the capital of the colonial government, Ilha has a gorgeously gaudy governors mansion. The tour of the former Jesuit college is a fascinating look at the luxurious colonial life, but the museum's stupid no-photo rule prevents me from sharing it with you. At least I can share the school-house looking outside

Though Ilha itself is not known for its beaches, there are a couple nice spots to take a swim at on the island. Just be careful you don't try to take a dip on the ocean-side, as that is where many of the locals go to do "number 2"

To make up for this lack of beachiness, we rented a sailboat for the day and went out to the nearby Capacera Pequena with Patrick and Erin. Since he lives on the Ilha, Patrick has a wealth of knowledge about the area, and his choice of beaches was not to disappoint.

With a crystal clear ocean filled pool full of beautiful fish bordered by white sand beaches and mangrove trees, Capacera Pequena was truly a picture postcard perfect spot to spend our last day together

The next morning, we checked out of the hotel and headed back to Nampula for my family's flight out. After another 'quick' visit to the Barcalys to get by ATM card (finally successful), we did some souvenir shopping and headed to the airport. Through drop-off, check-in, a pre-flight meal, and security, it was incredible to think how fast the 2 weeks had passed. Soon enough, the loud-speaker was unintelligibly barking that the fight to Johannesburg was boarding, and we began to say our goodbyes. Though it was them leaving and me staying, it felt like I was the one going on a journey and not them. Sure they were starting 26 hours of straight travel, but leaving the comfort and close-proximity love of family for 4 more months of being a solitary foreigner is perhaps the greater adventure.

So ends part 3 of 3 of Bars in Africa. Like all family vacations, this one created plenty of fantastic memories and shared experiences, but also a longing for home. As I finish out these last few months of my service, I will be constantly reminded of what linguistic quirks, cultural traits, and daily activities were most interesting to my family during their visit. It will make me relish the things I love, and look at with pre-nostalgia the things I hate. Above all, this trip gave me the ability to look at the place I have lived in for almost 2 years with fresh eyes and a more contextualized outlook.

Bars in Africa: Zam-bro-zia

Welcome back to Bars in Africa, Part 2: Zam-bro-zia. In our last episode, we watched our heroes traverse the mighty Maputo harbor, haggle for overpriced fish, watch animals from a car, and obsess over their butt's (just Rebecca). Now, we follow them into the wild and undeveloped north of Mozambique, as their journey changes from pleasant safari to cross-cultural experience. Enjoy

We arrived in Quelimane late at night and headed straight to our hotel. After an almost 19 hours of travel, the comfortable beds and hot showers at Hotel Nagadas were a welcome site. Here we are sitting outside in the courtyard enjoying the perfect weather of Mozambican winter.

One of the big challenges of our trip was paying for things. Though many of the hotels and restaurants we were at had credit card machines, there was often issues in using them. Whether it was because they actually did not work, or if the owners wanted to avoid fees, we'll never know. Either way, my parents and I got to enjoy the pleasures of  Mozmabican banking: long lines, excessive paperwork, frequent cutting, broken machines, and withdrawal limits

Before we left Quelimane, I arranged a visit to my friend's sawmill. Though originally from Holland, Enrique relocated to Mozambique several years ago to make use of the large amounts of dead coconut trees. Thanks to a terrible blight that  has been mysteriously turning whole plantations into a sea of telephone poles, there is an almost inexhaustible source of free timber just rotting in the ground, and Enrique is making good use of it. This relatively low quality wood is in demand locally because of the high prices on exported hard-woods and timber

Upon arriving in Molocue, we made a quick stop at my house to securely store the goodies (locked trunk with sleeping dog on top) and made our way to my favorite bar/restaurant: Pensao Fambone. While we waited for our exclusive roof top terrace table to be prepared, I trounced my sister in a game of pool. Take that water slide!

The next morning, my sister and I left from my house and went to pickup my parents at the nicest hotel in Molocue (not saying much)  for our tour of the town. This started with a trip into the Mercado Central (central market) for the basic food purchases necessary for the next two days meal's

Though it was a Sunday, the market was pretty well stocked and we found everything we needed: tomatoes, cabbage, peppers, carrots, tangerines, bananas, tuna, bread, beans, eggplant, and rice

We also took the time to search through the wide selection of capulanas available. These colorful fabrics are used for everything from floor rags to baby carriers to material for dresses. My family picked out a few patterns for various uses.

For lunch, we invited Tojo and Gloria over. Along with salad and bread, Gloria brought a homemade Mozambican specialty, Matapa: Collared greens + coconut milk + peanut flour + fired tomatoes, onions, and garlic=Delicious!

My neighbor Gloria with her adopted son/nephew Raymundo. Having trustworthy, friendly, and hospitable neighbors like her have made my time in Molocue super easy

After lunch, we went to the Centro Juvenil (Youth Center) for the specially scheduled scout meeting. With the 4 of us seated in the center, and the scouts seated around us in a wide arc, we had a very entertaining question and answer session. Since all 4 of us were/are scouts, most of the questions revolved around that and our family life. One of the funnier exchanges happened when the scouts became convinced that my parents, and therefore all scouts, got married because of scouting. We also talked about their families and living situations, which was a real window into Mozambican life. Though I was there to translate, my parents and sister did a surprisingly good job of understanding and responding to the questions.

Afterwards, we walked around my school and neighborhood for a while. Here we are in front of the pump near my house

While dinner was cooking (rice and beans), my sister made this lovely addition to my home. I don't know what her obsession is with animal butts ("Look at that butt" was a popular phrase in Kruger), but it does make for funny art

The next day we went out to Monte Rupi for a visit with my favorite Italian Padres (equivalent to my mother saying "you're my favorite son")

Since both my Dad and I are engineers, they figured we'd want to take a look at the blueprints for the monastery under construction. Seeing the full vision was impressive, though it provoked a lot of questions about the point of a giant beautiful building in the middle of no-where. What I keep telling myself is that the combination of teaching locals new skills, providing an space for reflection and contemplation, and just pure getting-something-done in a region where most people are content to sit around and watch clouds go by make it worth it

During the trip, my sister and mom took it upon themselves to make up for my lack of English lessons with Tojo. Between Rihana, Justin Bieber, and MJ songs, they gave him a lot of new material, but what stuck was a new phrase: "Oh shit!". Rebecca used it when she realized that she had left her backpack at the monastery upon our arrival in Alto Molocue, and it instantly became Tojo's favorite expression. We've run out of rice: Oh shit! Our car to Ilha de Mocambique leaves at 5am: Oh shit! My dad loves rice and beans: Oh shit!

Sticky was a regular fixture of the visit and made a good show of his chilled out but loving ways. On our way out, he followed my sister and I from my house to my parents hotel, waited for our car to arrive, and then ran behind the car while we drove out of town. Such a good pup!

Family photo on top of Rupi. Showing your family where you've been living for the past 18 months in a quick 3 days was tough. But between the walk around, meals with neighbors and friends, scout meeting, and school tour, I think they came away with a good idea of what my daily life is like.

So ends Part 2 of the Bars in Africa mini-series. When we're back, our heroes will go on an epic journey to Ilha de Mocambique, enjoy some much deserved R&R, and get called "macuna" (white person) by at least 100 different children. See you next time.

Bars in Africa: Arrival and Animals

For the longest time, I have been looking forward to these past two weeks. Being able to share one of the most transformational places of my life with some of the most important people in my life was sure to be incredible. As the Bars have a long tradition of far flung family vacations (see Belgium et. al.), coming to visit me in Mozambique could be seen as just material for another family photo album. But thanks to many factors, it was so much more. Since putting all the details into one post would be a little daunting for both myself to write and my lovely audience to read, I have decided break our trip into installments of heavily captioned photos. Today we’ll start with Part 1, Arrival and Animals.

We spent the majority of our first afternoon at the Maputo Fish Market, a sea of tables of and tourists. Upon arriving, you get swarmed by restaurant workers trying to get you to sit at their tables through sheer overwhelming enthusiasm.

After sitting at your table, it's time to go select what of the day's catch will be your meal. The 40 or so stalls that make up the market carry all types of sea food, but we settled on a 20lb fish, 3lbs of tiger prawns, and 2lbs of calamari. Pro tip: keep constantly giggling sisters at a distance, as they tend to blow your "tough negotiator" vibe

Once we purchased our catch, we sat down at the table to enjoy our beers and food. PCVs Adrienne Marvin (Moz 17, pictured above) and Vicente Rodriguez (Moz 16, not pictured above) joined us for lunch

My mom enjoying the tiger prawns. Though she doesn't normally eat shrimp, the freshness of the fish and the experience warranted an exception.

Though you can't tell it, my dad was beginning his tour of Mozambican beers at this point with a frosty Manica, second only to 2M by his ranking.

Our hotel's pier/bar/restaurant where we enjoyed a night-cap in front of the Maputo skyline. Thanks to the Belgian owners, they had both Chimay Bleu and Duvel available to celebrate Belgian Independence Day (July 21st)

Next day we took a bus to the South Africa border crossing at Crocodile River and on our way into Kruger Park

After picking up our SA rental car, we made our way to the Malane Gate and into the park. The welcoming committee was already there waiting for us, causing my elephant obsessed sister to promptly freak out

Over the next few days of rental car and game drives we saw everything: rhinos, baboons, warthogs, impala, kudu, horn bills, water buffalo, zebras, giraffes. Each one prompted their own Lion King reference.

"They call me Mr Pig!!"

"It doesn't matter, it's in the past"

"This is the morning report. You get the long and the short......"

On one of our mornings, we went on a bush walk with two Kruger guides. Though we didn't get to see many animals, we did learn a ton about poop. For example, did you know that rhinos regularly poop in the same location? This is known as a miden, which they use like a smelly messy brown message board. If one rhino is just passing through, he'll do his business near the miden in a small tidy pile just to say "hey, what's up?". But if they want to throw down with the owner of the miden, they'll  use the middle of the pile and stomp it all over the area saying "whatcha gonna do about that?"

On another day we went to the Elephant Whisperers Sanctuary for some personal time with our favorite cartoon character (Babar). Super touristy, but in the the best way possible

Beyond touching and riding elephants, we also learned about their lives and habits. From how many times they poop a day (up to 19) to the gestation period for calves (22 months!), they are truly fascinating animals.

In the afternoon we would relax by using our hotel's awesome water-slide. This photo shows my disappointment at getting trounced in this round of the classic sibling rivalry. Rebecca is by-far the best at flying down a large plastic water lubricated tube at high velocities. I concede the title to her greatness

Thanks to his sharp eyes, radio friendships with every guide in the park, and years of bush experience we were able to see all of the big 5 (lion, leopard, water buffalo, rhino, and elephant) within a single hour. Go Gert!!

On our last morning we went on a game drive with Gert (pictured above), a master of all thing mammalian

Upon our return to Maputo we went to visit the CFM train station, an architectural masterpiece designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel.

There, we met two Maputo based US expats who I've become friendly with (Larry and Diane). The rarely used station platforms are a great place for lunch

Before we made our way to the airport for our flight to Quelimane, Larry gave us a tour of the first and only synagogue in Maputo. Who knew?

So ends Part 1 of this series. Next ti

me on "Bars in Africa", my sister teaches Tojo a new phrase and my parents reveal the true foundation of their relationship: scouting.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Even though my birthday was on July 3rd, I waited until yesterday to hold my birthday dinner. Between end of trimester work and waiting for some important guests to arrive, Tuesday the 9th just made more sense. So at 6:00 PM I gathered with Dylan, Eric, Tojo, Rosario, Gloria, Leonilde, Gil, and Louisa at the Pensao Fambaone for the commemorative meal. The spread was a fantastic mix of chicken Zambeziana, goat curry, matapa, salad, and rice with beer and sodas provided by a few of the guests. After everyone had eaten, and before a couple guests had to leave early for other commitment, I made a champagne toast about how my family has a tradition of birthday dinners, and here I'm continuing that tradition with my Alto Molocue family. After some clapping, cheering, and singing we got down to the main event: a beautiful 2 x 3ft chocolate cake graciously provided by Gloria, Leonilde, and Louisa. Between the good friends, the good food, and the good drink it was a fantastic way to celebrate my 25th birthday.

Thanks again to mom and dad for sponsoring this party. Can't wait to see you two and Rebecca in 10 days!!!!