After Mozambique's civil war, the government commissioned artists to turn old guns and weapons into art to inspire creativity over violence among their people.
Professor Yussuf Aadam
Ruth First's office where she was bombed!
Olà from Mozambique! I’m am currently laying in my bed in our air conditioned hotel in Maputo, watching tv with my two girlfriends Becca and Sam.
On Monday morning we drove from Durban, SA to Manzini, Swaziland. The drive was 6 hours but very comfortable. When we got there we decided to take a 3 hour hike up Shiba’s peak. I decided to wear my chacos because it was hot out and they’re great hiking shoes. But about half hour into our hike we started to get attacked by ants. Thousands of them were covering our feet and legs; everyone freaked out so we turned around and headed down the mountain. When we finally got back to our hotel, we sat down to dinner at this lovely pizza place. We ordered lots of wine and ice cream to reward ourselves after our hair-raising day!
The next morning we woke up early and went for a run with Imraan. Then we got on the road and headed to Mozambique.
We arrived in Maputo around 1 and got Periperi chicken for lunch. It was super yummy and a traditional Portuguese dish. Mozambique was colonized by the Portuguese until the 1970s, so there is a huge Portuguese culture there. Then we took a three hour walking tour of the city. I must admit, it was not the prettiest city I've ever been in, but it is very safe compared to Durban, and the people are all super nice.
After our walking tour we walked to the grocery store and got picnic stuff and wine and just ate in our hotel room.
The next morning we got up, showered, ate breakfast, and headed to Universidade Eduardo Mondlane. We met with Professor Yussuf Aadam of the African Studies department. He worked closely with Ruth First (a big part of the SA anti-apartheid movement) and was with her when she received the parcel bomb in her office and was killed. We got to see her office where that happened too. It was morbid but also pretty cool.
Then we went to this place called Memmos for lunch and ate yummy pizza! It’s nice when they organize meals for us ahead of time but it also sort of sucks because then we can’t choose what we want and end up eating a ton of pizza or fries... not really complaining though :).
After lunch we went to the Raid of Matola Museum which is located on the outskirts of Maputo. This carefully designed monument details the role that Mozambique played in South Africa's liberation movement and the impact that exiled South Africans had on Mozambique. More specifically, it tells the story of the Apartheid government's raid on Maputo. Homes sheltering ANC exiles were bombed in hopes to eradicate the liberation movement from Mozambique and to prevent Mozambicans from aiding in the struggle. It was really interesting but almost 90 degrees out and we were all so tired that most of us couldn’t keep our eyes open throughout the tour.
Then we came back to our hotel and napped before heading out for sangria and Indian food.
This morning we ran down to the beach and along the water. Then we had breakfast and headed to some markets. Mozambique is known for its inexpensive cashews so the first market we went to we got big bags of cashews. Next we went to the Feima market which has tons of amazing baskets and cloths and things. We bought a ton of presents for our families and friends at home!
Now we are back at our hotel relaxing. Tomorrow we head home for South Africa, yippee!