Saturday evening on my first full day in Mozambique. We went to the market outside the office where I will be working, absolutely masses of African crafts. All my gifts and Christmas shopping sorted later in the trip! Afterwards we went to the supermarket for supplies, they have Kelloggs cereals so got some Frosties, Cornflakes and fresh milk! Stocked up on beer as well. We stopped for lunch at a beach café which was very pleasant once you get used to ignoring the street hawkers. Has been warm but pretty breezy, so not oppressive at all. Check out the latest photos in the gallery…

Here I am sat on the balcony with a beer updating my blog. A long journey and I’d forgotten what a culture shock Africa is the first time you see it, but the house is lovely, the weather is pleasant, warm but not hot with a nice breeze off of the sea. I took some pictures from the plane as we landed, some fantastic views. I will up them here later.

BTW don’t watch ‘Just My Luck’, it’s awful.

Watched a terrible film with McFly in it. Waiting in lounge drinking complimentary coffee. Next stop Maputo.

I don’t think I’ve forgotten anything! Picking the children up from school shortly and then home to wait for the taxi. I should be in Johannesburg around 9.30 tomorrow morning and then I have to wait for the connecting flight to Maputo. Arrival time is 2.55pm. As soon as I have an internet connection I will update the blog.

So much to do, so little time! That’s what it feels like anyway. The trip has come at a slightly awkward time really, the children back at school tomorrow. My Table Tennis league starts again in a couple of weeks and I’ve been collecting fees, team registrations and getting the website ready. My astronomical society starts its new session in a couple of weeks as well, so organising the speaker programme and arrnaging memberships before I go. And I haven’t even thought about packing yet…. gulp!!

Any avid readers of this blog (anyone?) will know that the primary purpose of this website is to provide an online diary during my trip to Mozambique. So I thought a bit of background should be in order!

Mozambique is a country in southeastern Africa, bordering the Mozambique Channel, between South Africa and Tanzania. The capital is Maputo (where I will be) which is in the extreme southern part of the country near the border with Swaziland and South Africa.

Almost five centuries as a Portuguese colony came to a close with independence in 1975. Large-scale emigration by whites, economic dependence on South Africa, a severe drought, and a prolonged civil war hindered the country’s development. The ruling party formally abandoned Marxism in 1989, and a new constitution the following year provided for multiparty elections and a free market economy. A UN-negotiated peace agreement ended the fighting in 1992. In the 21st century Mozambique has continued the sound economic policies that have encouraged foreign investment.

Interestingly …

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