Well, it's once again been a bit of time since posting, but I come bearing many photos and a green-chile-induced smile only made all the sweeter by having been able to spend a week touring some of my favorite parts of Mozambique with Michelle and her family. Michelle's parents made the voyage from the Wisconsin and met Michelle in South Africa for a safari, before heading northward into Mozambique and being kind enough to let me tag along on their adventuring through some of the highlights of the north for a week.
A picture says a thousand words; here's the story of our trip:
Mutuáli, Nampula (My site)
After meeting Michelle and her parents at the airport in Nampula we rented a car (the dream of every Peace Corps Volunteer when it comes to transportation), did some shopping and then drove the roughly 4 hours on mostly paved highway to Mutuáli, the new site that I was moved to after the whole Cabo Delgado relocation. It was great to be able to show them around my new haunts and give a first taste of the volunteer life. The plan was to spend one night there before continuing on to Michelle's home in Lioma, Zambezia.
 |
We had lunch at the hostel/restaurant run by my landlady. I think it was easy to convince the Emersons of the value of a cold Coca-Cola after some walking in the hot sun
|
 |
| We took a walk through some of the machamba, fields, paths. You can see the burning that happens to clean up the areas before planting |
 |
| Some of the market crew posing for a photo |
Lioma, Zambezia (Michelle's site)
After a morning of touring Mutuáli, we packed up the truck and made the 50km, 2-hour trip to Lioma. Those numbers might not add up and that might be because you haven't factored in the abysmal state of the dirt road that connects our sites. We spend a few days in Lioma and Michelle was able to give the family a walk through her daily life at site, as well as show them some of the incredible projects that she is a part of in her community. Michelle's parents were able to experience firsthand the incredible amount of time and energy that goes into the everyday tasks of existence in Mozambique, such as one morning that was spent in its entirety simply collecting water from the nearby well and washing clothes. We finished and it was time to start the hour to two hours of lunch prep.
 |
| Michelle showing the community library she organized the building of to her parents. A weekly reading program takes place there every week and it is part of a bigger movement funded by an international organization to increase literacy |
 |
| Michelle's parents got a good taste of the walking involved as a PCV and enjoyed a full tour of Lioma, presented through the eyes of a local |
 |
Beth brought some sunglasses and sweets to give out and found Michelle's younger
neighbors to be willing recipients |
 |
| Everyone sporting their new shades |
 |
| This little guy couldn't get enough of the camera. He kept standing and looking up at me until I took a photo. Then I'd show him and he'd think about it. Then he'd look up again and wait for the next photo. By the fourth photo he had a better idea of the process and would recognize himself in the photo and smile when I showed him |
 |
| Jeff trying his hand at starting the charcoal stove...and of course in Mozambique there must always be at least one spectator |
 |
| All of the fires (something that happens across the entire country around this time) do very interesting things to the skies and sunsets. This photo doesn't capture it, but some days the sun is an extremely dark, blood red due to the haze |
 |
| We took a trip to Lioma's orphanage (one of the places where Michelle helps out frequently) and Beth read a book to some of the children. A-Z animals in Portuguese and then English |
 |
| At night the burns become especially impressive and, as can be seen from this photo, many times take place alarmingly close to houses. From the looks of it, you would think the entire town was aflame |
Gurue, Zambezia - The Land of Tea
From Lioma we headed over to the fabled tea fields of Gurue, where we spent the day and the night. While there, we did one of Michelle and my favorite hikes to the large waterfall that is just outside of town. That night was passed at the local Catholic monastery
 |
| Bamboo groves and tea fields |
 |
| Spider spotting: common to the tea fields is a small spider with horns that flare out...here the Emersons are searching for the perfect shot. Luckily, the spider is very small. |
 |
| Jeff and Michelle divvying up the realms |
 |
No waterfall hike would be complete without a takeaway chicken and fries picnic
at the top of the falls |
 |
| A walk through the tea fields |
 |
| Afternoon sunlight on the treetops |
 |
| Along the hike children will run up and ask for empty bottles, money, your hat or anything else in the world they might possibly be able to think of...these two ended up settling for a photograph |
Ilha de Moçambique, Nampula (The final stop)
What better way to end a vacation than with the classic ingredients of a good, relaxing time: sun, beach, ocean and seafood? We covered the 7 hours or so to Mozambique Island, which happens to be the first point of contact for the Portuguese explorers who brought with them the societal benefits of colonialism and the slave trade. It is also where the country gets its name, the name of the island's king at the time. Michelle and I had been to Ilha once before and it was long past time to return for round two. Ilha de Moçambique is a magical place and has a different vibe than many of the other places I've been in Mozambique, surely in part due to the fact that it's an island. We spent our last two days there embracing the island life and gorging ourselves on the miracle of fresh seafood prepared according to local recipes.
 |
| The view from our rooftop terrace at sunset |
 |
| The Emersons a hop skip and jump away from Wisconsin |
 |
| My girlfriend capturing something cool on camera |
 |
| Swimming off the pier in the Indian Ocean. It was a blast because there were a ton of 'flying fish' in the water that day and if you swam a little ways away from the steps you would all the sudden begin getting pelted in the face by tens of fish and they jumped around trying to escape |
 |
| We took a tour of the fort on the island. In the photo the chapel can be seen that was used to give slaves a final prayer before being executed after they stopped being able to work in the way the masters wanted |
 |
| Prawn from Heaven. The lower right is rock fish prepared with green mango. And the upper entree is rice with a vegetable mixture known as "matapa." This mixture is usually made with sweet potato leaves or other greens in Mozambique, but in Ilha it is made with seaweed |
