…and like that, he was gone (from the Usual Suspects)
As you all know, if you read the blog on a regular basis, I planned on taking a trip up to the Central region of Mozambique. Pretty much everyone I know has either had family or friends in Moz or have been able to do a fair bit of traveling in and out of country due to school holidays. I thought I was due for a break from Xai Xai that didn’t involve an extended stay in Maputo, where I tend to waste vast amounts of money on expensive food, ice cream and pirated DVDs.
So I planned a trip up North that was to commence with a week down in Mafuiane helping out with Pre-Service Training of the new group of volunteers (Moz 12). I tried to take pics of where I went, at least the places that you have not gotten to see before now. Here was my schedule and a map of my journey. (Yeah Microsoft Paint!) 
Sat Oct 20: Maputo-Chimoio
Sun Oct 21: Chimoio
Mon Oct 22: Chimoio-Amatongas
Tues Oct 23: Amatongas-Buzi
Wed Oct 24- Thurs Oct 25: Buzi
Fri Oct 26: Buzi-Nhamatanda
Sat Oct 27: Nhamatanda-Machanga
Sun Oct 28- Tues Oct 30: Machanga
Wed Oct 31: Machanga-Inhassoro
Thurs Nov 1: Inhassoro
Fri Nov 2: Inhassoro-Cumbane
Sat Nov 3: Cumbana-Quissico
Sun Nov 4: Quissico-Xai Xai
It would pretty insane for me to recount every day, so I’ll try to pick out a few highlights.
First, let me say that I have never spent 16 hours on any kind of public ground transport before. Wow. The ride from Maputo (commencing at 6am- one hour later than expected) to Chimoio was not the most comfortable cruise I’ve taken, but once I hit Maxixe (the furthest I have been since last New Year’s Day) I was just happy to be going North.
I arrived in Chimoio… well, let’s just say it was late Saturday the 20th.
Paulo, if you are reading this, I TOTALLY arrived before sunset.
As soon as I got there, I was greeted with lots of seemingly helpful men willing to help this big goofy muzungu (the word for white people if you’re north of the Save River) with lots of baggage (my hiking pack as well as my bookbag) get where he needs to go. I ended up sharing a cab with a woman who literally brought everything including the kitchen sink (also a toilet seat, comforters and sheets, tv stand, tv, and a boombox) from Maputo to go eat the best pizza in Mozambique with Chimoio volunteers Veronica and Mark. Apparently, the cabbie is “the only honest guy” who was working that night, as he told me that the rest of the cabbies would have robbed me and left me outside of the city. Nevertheless, I arrived safely and wolfed down a Mediterranean pizza that rivaled anything that Johnny’s ever delivered…at least that’s what I thought at the time. It turned out to be a bit of bum timing, as Veronica had decided that weekend to leave Mozambique. However, at least it was good to see her one last time. Here, in all her glory, are a couple of my favorite pics of the stunning Veronica….
Take care, V. Hope you are doing well back in the States and good luck with…well…life!
So, with Veronica packing and absorbing as much as possible before her departure, and Mark heading down to Maputo for training, I decided to go take a short hike to the Cabeça de Velho, or “old man’s head”. Here is a shot of the head from Veronica and Mark’s backdoor as well as a couple as I approached the head from the city.
I decided to try to keep a travelogue for the trip- which lasted about 4 days. However, after a brisk walk through Chimoio and a hike up the face of the peak (encountering a few traditional religious ceremonies as it was Sunday) I decided to A) play with the timer on the camera and B) read and start my journal for the trip. (note the very poor attempt at me taking a pic of fake-falling-off-the-mountain)
It was a beautiful view, and great weather. I was immediately popular with the dozens of lizards that inhabited the peak. They reminded me of the Procompsognathus (Compys) from Jurassic Park that ganged up on and tore up the old man at the end of the book. They encircled me and kept moving menacingly closer until some started to jump off of nearby rocks onto my head or back. Apparently, I was attracting their main food source, flies. Why not grab a snack if you have a smelly big white object that brings copious amounts of food within your grasp? Anyway, I spent a few hours becoming one with Chimoio on the Old Man’s Nose and then headed down, checking out the mysterious religious script that people paint on the side of the peak.
I had planned on having an “alone day” about halfway through the trip when I needed to escape PCVs for a day, but this ended up being that day.
The next day, I went just outside of Chimoio to see Jenny, another Moz 11 health volunteer. She lives in a small roadside town called Amatongas.
It was at one point a busy train stop along the Beira corridor, but now it is a stereotypical Mozambican ghost town. Jenny was placed there to work as a field rep for an organization based in Chimoio. Her job has been to help coordinate activistas. Her pet project that she has started has been to procure funds and manpower for the building of a bread-making facility (padaria) as well as develop a chicken-raising program for the community. She’s done quite a great job keeping people focused in an area where her organization shows little interest. She went out and got the money herself and now is planning the final phases of construction for the padaria.
One of my goals of this trip was to see what other volunteers are doing firsthand. I didn’t really get to see what V and Mark are doing, though I know Mark has had his hands full since Day 1 at site. When I got to Amatongas, though, I was thoroughly impressed with how someone in a totally different situation has adapted to their situation and is making real progress with the most minimal of resources. Jenny and I went for a run the next morning around the community (man am I out of shape… actually, was I ever in shape?) and saw how well integrated she was. We briefly met a couple of the activistas that she works with and I could tell that they have the utmost respect for and commitment to working with her. It shows in how she is received by her neighbors (the kids come daily to play with a simple rubber ball, which keeps them busy for a long time). I thoroughly enjoyed me night there. Below is Jenny with her ball players, as well as a bonus from the Homestay celebration that I just liked a lot
Fun sidenote: Jenny is also a most considerate host. Not surprising, but still awesome. She took the door off her indoor bathroom because there wasn’t room in the house to keep it open, so she put up a capulana as a cover. You know, when I went into the bathroom in the morning, Jenny was kind enough to spare me the indignity of pooping for an audience. I myself am not too shy about that kind of thing, but I know folks who can’t use public restrooms if there’s someone in the stall next to them. And yet, she was kind enough to sweetly yell “ok david, I’m going to go check on my neighbor for a sec, ok?” as she was already walking out the door. Jenny, you’re too kind 
Here’s my parting shot of the weird ass UFO/ water tower next to the EN6 at Amatongas as I was waiting for a ride to get to Buzi.
Next up, we get down with the Scouts and the Radio, Buzi-style! (but sadly, not the crocs or hippos)
