Before this trip had someone asked me if I knew anything
about Mozambique, I would have said, “Well, I know it’s somewhere in
Africa!” It’s amazing how much we learn
about our world when we travel through it.
We now have a much better understanding of Southeast Asia after two
visits there in consecutive years, and I can now honestly say that I’m getting
a picture of how the African country jigsaw fits together also.
Back in the late 1400s, Portuguese explorers came down the
western coast of Africa, and Bartholomew Diaz arrived at the Cape of Good Hope
in what is now South Africa. Ten years
later Vasco da Gama ventured even further, rounding the tip of Africa and
heading up to the Indies. Because of the
extensive Portuguese exploration, many countries have had Portuguese
influence. Mozambique was colonized by
the Portuguese in the 16th and 17th Centuries and is the
only country in the southern part of Africa that has Portuguese as its official
language. Portugal retained possession
of the country until 1975 when it gained its independence. At that point Mozambique faced years of civil
war before finally establishing a democracy in 1994.
Mozambique lies along the east coast of Africa just above
South Africa and covers an area of about 310,000 miles2. About 75% of the population of 25 million is
unemployed so we can only begin to imagine the poverty that exists here. For
those who work, the average monthly wage ranges from about $50 USD (basic wage)
up to $5000 (prestigious jobs). Sadly, life expectancy here is about 45 years
due to the great number of people who are infected with the HIV virus. According to our guide the UN has reported
that it is the poorest country in the world!
However, they have found a reserve of oil and are hoping that in the
future this might help the economic situation.
Mozambique has been working with South Africa to create a
“friendship” game reserve. Also, with
its natural harbor, Maputo is a very important shipping port that its
landlocked neighboring countries depend on.
These things are also a help to the economy.
Tourism is quite new to this country, partially because of
the political unrest that was present until the mid-90s as well as the fact
that they are just getting on their feet. We had been warned that the buses
would be quite basic, possibly without air conditioning and that the guides
might be struggling with their English.
Despite this, our guide was quite easy to understand and the bus was
relatively comfortable and did have air conditioning (yay)!
Our excursion, Maputo
and Lunch in the Bush, took us through the capital city out to the
surrounding area. Despite the obvious
poverty, we enjoyed seeing the city, including the railroad station that was
designed by Gustav Eiffel, who is best known for his iconic Paris
landmark. We stopped at an open air
market that had a lot of lovely wares where we were able to bargain for
favorites. I wished I’d had more money
with me because they only took cash and they really did have some lovely
things. Those of us who bought items
agreed that we were happy to help out people who did have jobs in this
work-deprived country!
As we set out on our journey to the Mucapana Sanctuary
Reserve, where we would enjoy our lunch, we found the journey a veritable feast
for the eyes. Life is so different in
Mozambique that it was hard to take everything in at one time. Those people who were working all seemed to
be entrepreneurs. I don’t know when I’ve
seen so many shops! Literally the entire
journey through Maputo we saw things for sale – and very unusual things at
that! When we’d come to an intersection
with a side road, there were shops lining the side road as far as we could
see. When I say “shops”, I do not mean
shops in our sense of the word. These
shops were small canopied “tents”, perhaps as wide as a sofa, lined with
various wares. In one area we saw shop after shop with things like
backpacks. Another place there were
clotheslines laden with t-shirts. Then there was the women’s lingerie – I don’t
think I’ve ever seen so many bras in all colors and sizes, all hanging from
clotheslines, and one woman was diligently hanging up pair after pair after
pair of underwear. But I think the
biggest surprise was the sewing machines.
When I saw the first one, I commented, “Darn! That would have been a
picture!” It was a small Singer treadle
sewing machine, open and ready to go – just sitting on the side of the
road. Imagine my surprise when a block
or so farther down the road I saw several men at machines, all appearing to be
diligently working – right there along the road! Then there were all the car parts – what
looked like old-fashioned hat trees that were laden with carburetors, pipes,
and other parts that, mechanic that I’m not, I couldn’t identify beyond the
fact that they belonged in car engines. On
one intersection I was sorry to miss the picture of what looked like hundreds
of goats, all apparently for sale.
Most of those who weren’t working to sell their wares seemed
to be walking. The streets were absolutely
teeming with people. Women with babies
strapped to their backs or sides, sometimes balancing things on their heads,
headed down the road with great purpose.
And I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen so many children in uniform
flooding the streets! Apparently they
start school very early in the day and finish late in the morning or early in
the afternoon, and it certainly appeared that every single student in
Mozambique was walking along the roads between Maputo and our destination!
Those who weren’t walking were in the backs of pickup
trucks. As many as possible were sitting
lined along the sides. Those who
couldn’t sit were standing. At times it
looked like there were as many as 25 or 30 people crammed into the backs! Considering the fact that so few people own
cars and that apparently the possession of a car is quite a prestigious event,
it looks like riding in the back of pickups was the preferred mode of
transportation!
Eventually we turned off the main road and headed inland
toward the sanctuary. We had been told
that the roads would not be paved and that they would be bumpy. They were not kidding! The ride reminded us of the cross-country
vehicle we took last year to reach the penguin colonies in the Falklands! I would be hard put to figure out which was
the more bumpy! Actually, the Falklands ride is the winner of the bumpiest ride ever award. The Mozambique ride is the winner of the bumpiest road award. But as
we went, we thoroughly enjoyed the sights.
People were going about their daily business. And they continued to walk – we couldn’t tell
where or for what reason, they were just walking, heading somewhere or other. We didn’t seem to be able to easily identify
many houses. There were lots that had
been built for people, but considering the pricing at $150,000 USD, this was
far beyond what the average unemployed citizen could afford, so the entire
development sat empty. And everywhere we
went people greeted us with wide smiles and waves. Despite their situation, they were happy,
friendly people.
We arrived at the Mucapana Sanctuary Reserve, where we found
great seats for our buffet lunch, prepared by family members of the reserve’s
owner. These were traditional recipes of
Mozambican and Zambezian cultures and were quite good, despite all the use of
coconut milk. (I am not a fan of coconut!) After lunch, the reserve’s owner described
the work that is being done. His father,
Philippe Gagnaux, had hoped to convert a former eucalyptus plantation back into
natural bush vegetation and reintroduce wildlife to the area. He was killed during the civil war so his son
took up this vision and is continuing to develop the area. The land is looking more natural, and
gradually animals are being brought in.
Upon our arrival at the gate, we were greeted by the largest of birds,
the ostrich, as well as colorful peacocks.
We arrived at the restaurant, and outside there was a large cage with
monkeys inside. As we entered the open-air
facility, we were greeted warmly by the staff and selected seats where we could
look out at the bush area. A traditional
Mozambican band was playing drums and a xylophone-type instrument.
After lunch, we enjoyed the entertainment provided by six
Mozambican dancers. Their energy was amazing
– just watching them doing all those jumps and twirls in the hot weather was
enough to exhaust me! After they
finished their performance, we had the opportunity to walk around the
grounds. Chuck found some cape buffalo
(one of the big five animals in Africa), so I was glad to walk over and see
them. There was obviously a crocodile in
the river, but he didn’t surface so I could see him. I could see the muddy waters swirling and the
air bubbles coming up, but I had no desire to lure him to the top for pictures!
All too soon we were back on the bus for the long and bumpy
journey back to Maputo. I kept thinking,
“People pay good money to go to amusement parks for just such a ride as we’re
having on this bus!” Everyone was so
fascinated by the sights and in such good spirits that nobody seemed upset over
being tossed around in the bus. As we
passed through, once again people waved and smiled, a sign of the good nature
of the local people.
Despite the utter poverty these people obviously live in, we
thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Mozambique and came away with a much better understanding
of the country and its people.
As we head to South Africa, we once again think of our
friends Carole and Conrad, who had originally planned to do the cruise. Carole had so looked forward to visiting
Auckland, where she was born, and Conrad had been planning to see relatives
when they visited South Africa. He was
born in Cape Town, but hadn’t been back in about 40 years. We know he would have loved this next segment
of the trip, and we are looking forward to visiting South Africa, having heard
such wonderful things about it!
BT
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