Leaving Rainy Mbabane in Search of Sun & Seafood

I know I won't get much sympathy from all of you freezing through Stateside/East Coast winter, but boy, can it rain here. That image you may have of a hot, dry, dusty Africa is most certainly not the place I currently reside. So to escape the fog, mist, drizzle and rain, and to celebrate a few birthdays, a group of us headed for the eastern border and descended upon Maputo (my 6th trip there in as many months!). As usual, Maputo did not disappoint, and the weekend was filled with plenty of seafood and beach time. And of course some mayhem, because crossing out of calm Swaziland immediately makes me brace myself--for fun but also for cops, corruption, and the chaos that comes with a big city (I remember those days, I think...).

This weekend, the main mayhem was not in the form of cops (luckily), but rather as a result of a journey to the beach, which consisted of a muddy (extreme understatement) road, and a inefficient ferry (again, there are no words). Only one of the two cars in our beach-bound caravan--both SUVs mind you--made it to the ferry port on the treacherous road. The drive was only about 15 km out of Maputo, but it got very rugged very quickly, as we traveled through grassy marshes on dirt roads that turned to thick, soggy swamps in places. I was in a massive Land Rover, but an old beat-up truck traveling behind us with 8 people weighing down the bed looked like it would never make it. It did, but our second car did not make it after the new ruts the truck created. So we clambered out of the cars and started pushing with all of our might, slipping at sliding in the deep glop. The car tires spun, mud flew, we were all covered, but finally the car lunged back out of the sinkhole. That car turned around and went back via the tarred highway, while ours carried on. We were to meet at the ferry port...where the adventure continued.

Our car was in line to get on the second ferry, which floated about 1 kilometer across a narrow channel, but took 30 minutes to load pushy cars and people and then depart and dock. Just as we were about to be the sixth and last car, a pickup truck hurdled by us. And that was it--time to wait for the next one. We got on the 3rd ferry, and our friends' car pulled us 5 minutes later. So we waited for the 4th ferry to bring just the people across (the car line was monstrous by then), and all 8 of us piled into the Land Rover and sped off towards the beach. It was now 1:30pm, despite having left Maputo at 10:30, oy. We placed our lunch orders, and walked over the dunes to a beautiful white sand beach and spent a few glorious hours lounging (best beach nap ever) and swimming in the warm waters. Then we headed back to the open-air restaurant for a delicious seafood lunch of prawns and calamari.

Totally relaxed, we headed back to the ferry port, where we proceeded to wait for 3, count 'em, THREE hours. Oh my. There were laughs to be had, as it was just all so absurd. As the time passed and we had said at 6, "no--NO--by 8pm we will definitely be back on the other side. Nope, 9pm it was. This also included one point where the ferry just decided to dock at a different location, sending all the cars in line (about 15 or so) scattering and screeching out of their arrangement and towards the new location and front of the line. Yep, we were last. And you know what we did about it? Nothing. There's nothing you really can do. Just get mad, but that doesn't help. I could tell everyone in the car had been traveling/in Africa for a while because they handled it quite calmly. Let's just a typical New Yorker may have had a head-spinning session to rival the scene in Exorcist. In any case, we made it back to the other side safely and then drove back through the chaos of Saturday night/every night traffic and bustle of the outskirts of Maputo.

We showered back at the hostel and headed out for some late night pizza at a classy bar, Mundo's, which was still open (amazing--this would never happen in Mbabane!), then went out for some dancing to celebrate the second birthday of the weekend. On Sunday it was time for our third and final round of seafood binging with a massive feast at the fish market--clams, prawns, calamari, and 2 fish weighing 3 kilos each! Yum. Not one to waste any of the perks of Maputo, I also picked up some coffee and bagels from Cafe Sol, and a nice gelato, before surrendering to the drive back to Swaziland. And yes, it's been raining ever since I got back. Here's to the next trip to Moz!

A new little wahoo!

Congratulations to my wonderful friends, Jess and Matt, who welcomed a handsome baby boy--Joshua Michael Klinger--into the world this past week! Not every baby gets a stuffed elephant from Swaziland, so I hope he likes his gift from Aunt Lo :)

A Proud Daughter

Not only did my lovely mother purchase a laptop, and also figure out how to connect to the wireless internet (at their B&B in the UK no less!). Oh no, there's more: she downloaded Skype, called me on it, and even figured out how to click to bring up her video image. Well done, MamaLo!

Here's to your technology-based New Year's resolution--you're well on your way, congrats! :)

My Weekend Hike: Sibebe

This weekend I finally climbed Sibebe, the largest exposed granite dome in the world, which is a mere 10 minutes--and one very steep hike--from my house. I can't believe it has taken me this long to do it, as it is one of Swaziland bigger claims to fame (I know, I know, you've never heard of it--but now you have!). However, given the precarious weather we are having--during what is supposed to be summer but has been strangely more akin to London or Seattle with a few thunderclouds thrown in--a large granite rock is not the best place to be in inclement weather. In fact, Swaziland also holds a reputation for "one of the highest numbers of people struck by lightning per capita in the whole world," as reported on Wikitravel.

The hike made for an adrenaline rush, spectacular views, and some much needed training, as I will be hiking Kilimanjaro at this time next month! In a hilarious twist, my hiking boots which I'm quite sure I've had since 1995 (and which my parents kindly lugged to Swaziland for me) disintegrated about halfway up the climb, leaving me to hike in what more closely resembled moccasins. It was made all the more hilarious by the fact that I had just remarked on how impressive how some things last for so many years (careful what you say!). I don't recommend climbing in moccasins, but I did make it to the top not too much worse for the trouble. In any case, better to happen now than on Kili, but I definitely have some shopping to do before then!

View from the start:


Hard to show the steepness, but these should give some perspective--
View from hikers above--I'm the one lagging behind!:


A side view of the rockface we climbed:


Look ma, no shoes--well, just no soles really:


Panoramic shot from the top:

An interesting read...

Sometimes I step back in wonder at the fact that after my pursuit of an MBA in nonprofit management, I now find myself working at a public health organization (should I have done the health sector program instead?), and surrounded by many others working for public health organizations. The issues are numerous and fascinating, and I find that inevitably many conversations on off-hours will turn to work. One example is this article written by a friend here on a huge effort taking place in Swaziland--a project which another friend is helping to organize and run:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/01/the-kindest-cut/8338/