Mozambique
December 8, 2006
Ah Mozambique at last! It was a bit of a pain in the ass to get here, but how beautiful it is.
The charter leaving Sadiola was late arriving. That’s okay because we had plenty of time until our Air Kenya flight to Jo’burg. We hung out in our living room and watched TV and such. When we finally went to the airport we discovered that Zachary wasn’t on the passenger list. We had to do some wrangling, but eventually they let him on.
Off to Bamako, Nairobi, and Johannesburg. We zipped through customs and were met by Willy, our host. We stayed at Willy’s Chateau, a place we stayed the last time we were there. It didn’t take long for us to remember how much we dislike Willy. The guy is negative about everything; no matter what choices we made, he pooh-poohed them; a comfortable place, but a very unpleasant man.
Our flight to Maputo was uneventful; an hour long with a meal. The Maputo airport is smallish, but pleasant. We lined up for immigration. After about thirty minutes we got to the front of the line to discover that we should have bypassed that line and headed off to a different place to buy our visas. We turned over our passports and $25 each and were told to find our bags. We watched all the bags go by, but ours were nowhere in sight. I finally asked and was told that they were in Lost and Found. Bags found, all we had to do was wait for our visas. At this point we have fifty minutes until our next flight. Fifteen minutes later we had Zachary’s visa and my visa, but the ladies were still waiting. We went on ahead so we could hold the plane if necessary. Z and I checked in and told the woman that two more were coming. She told us to go pay airport taxes. Finally, Carrie and Anna showed up; we had thirty minutes left till flight time. We marched up to the counter and were told that there was one seat left; someone would have to stay behind. We hemmed and hawed and complained loudly until a gentleman secured one more seat for us…in the cockpit. Anna and I threw odds and evens; she won.
The plane was a twenty-five seat dual prop job, complete with flight attendant and snacks. We landed an hour later in Inhambane, a small coastal village. Now we are at the Palm Grove Lodge. Our “self-catering cabin” is a palm thatched hut with two bedrooms and a three burner camp stove; quaint, but comfortable. We are steps away from the bar/restaurant and steps beyond that is the beach. The water is emerald green, the sand is white and clean, and we can get the sense that we are the only ones here. The water is like bath water; it is magnificent! I am here with two lovely ladies and nothing to do but swim, relax, drink, and get sunburned…life is good.
MJR
Ah Mozambique at last! It was a bit of a pain in the ass to get here, but how beautiful it is.
The charter leaving Sadiola was late arriving. That’s okay because we had plenty of time until our Air Kenya flight to Jo’burg. We hung out in our living room and watched TV and such. When we finally went to the airport we discovered that Zachary wasn’t on the passenger list. We had to do some wrangling, but eventually they let him on.
Off to Bamako, Nairobi, and Johannesburg. We zipped through customs and were met by Willy, our host. We stayed at Willy’s Chateau, a place we stayed the last time we were there. It didn’t take long for us to remember how much we dislike Willy. The guy is negative about everything; no matter what choices we made, he pooh-poohed them; a comfortable place, but a very unpleasant man.
Our flight to Maputo was uneventful; an hour long with a meal. The Maputo airport is smallish, but pleasant. We lined up for immigration. After about thirty minutes we got to the front of the line to discover that we should have bypassed that line and headed off to a different place to buy our visas. We turned over our passports and $25 each and were told to find our bags. We watched all the bags go by, but ours were nowhere in sight. I finally asked and was told that they were in Lost and Found. Bags found, all we had to do was wait for our visas. At this point we have fifty minutes until our next flight. Fifteen minutes later we had Zachary’s visa and my visa, but the ladies were still waiting. We went on ahead so we could hold the plane if necessary. Z and I checked in and told the woman that two more were coming. She told us to go pay airport taxes. Finally, Carrie and Anna showed up; we had thirty minutes left till flight time. We marched up to the counter and were told that there was one seat left; someone would have to stay behind. We hemmed and hawed and complained loudly until a gentleman secured one more seat for us…in the cockpit. Anna and I threw odds and evens; she won.
The plane was a twenty-five seat dual prop job, complete with flight attendant and snacks. We landed an hour later in Inhambane, a small coastal village. Now we are at the Palm Grove Lodge. Our “self-catering cabin” is a palm thatched hut with two bedrooms and a three burner camp stove; quaint, but comfortable. We are steps away from the bar/restaurant and steps beyond that is the beach. The water is emerald green, the sand is white and clean, and we can get the sense that we are the only ones here. The water is like bath water; it is magnificent! I am here with two lovely ladies and nothing to do but swim, relax, drink, and get sunburned…life is good.
MJR
posted by Bronx to Timbuktu at 11:12 AM
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