After last night’s storms the morning dawned cold, wet and windy. The drive into work was punctuated with swirls of sand blowing against the car, a fallen palm tree and huge puddles. From this I drove my colleague to the airport for her trip to two of the regional offices in Tete and Chimoio. The temperature in Tete, which wears the badge of hottest town in Mozambique and not for its nightlife, was 42C.

So began my first solo drive in Maputo, I knew the way - the city is built as a grid - I was careful, I was vigilant over the junctions where the traffic lights were out, I kept below 50kph. But as I drove down the hill into the city centre I could see the police standing either side of the carriageway, letting motorists past. I knew what was coming. Single white guy on his own? Let’s pull him over. A quick check of paperwork and my almost zero Portugeuse saw me right this time. We have all been stopped once each, the full set!

I still went to work in a T-shirt, but it was amusing to see the local workers huddled in pullovers and …

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