Maputo memoirs (part 1)

 I cannot begin to thank  God enough  for his benevolence, for that discerning spirit (that loud voice in my head ,insisting I borrow myself brain).
The 24 elders at the cardinal point ,I thank una gan for your endeavors in my matter.
I can't still believe how lucky I was to have dodged this last December "fuel crisis" bullet when I decided to spend the holidays in Mozambique.
 My  eternal gratitude to God as I escaped the pangs of the scarcity. The march 2016  fuel scarcity still fresh in my memory:the sweats,tears and well...the frustrations that accompanied my visits to over a dozen filling stations. You can't begin to imagine how close I was to personally vandalizing oil pipes , just to get fuel(story for another day).so you can understand the gladness of my heart as I dodged the December impasse.

 I decided to spend Christmas in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique because one I have never spent Christmas outside Lagos. Two , I reckoned  it will be a great way to close the year and herald the new year.
I have been visiting Mozambique for the last four years and on this visit I have decided to tear myself away from the shopping malls,restaurants ,all ostentatious affiliation and explore  Maputo.

 conferenza sullo sviluppo 

Maputo at night.

The rustic yet metropolitan town with amazing ...really amazing sky so blue ,it looks so surreal almost picturesque, that  it got me singing halleluyah on replay.
Maputo is such a tourist delight , its Portuguese influence still  is much evident, as the colonial heritage  reverberate its undoubted alluring charm through the wide streets lined with graceful old Portuguese architecture.
The city is so slow paced it will exorcise all the Lagos high tempo frenzy  out of you once you step a foot on the Maputo soil.

Streets of Maputo.

The thing is ,there  are no direct flights from Nigeria to Mozambique so you have to transit either in Ethiopia or south Africa. I will advise strongly that if its a family trip  and  you are travelling with "plenty children" like me ; The Ethiopia route is definitely a better option.

Maputo Airport

Mozambique is situated in southern eastern Africa,and it borders by Tanzania, Swaziland and South Africa.The country got its independence in 1975.Its lush capital,Maputo sits on the shore of the  long Indian ocean coastline, initially founded as port town by the Portuguese.
Mozambique is a lusophone  country meaning Portuguese widely spoken and their currency is called Meticals.

overview of the polana area

Maputo has these beautiful beaches and there is so much to see ;statues of heroes,the kaleidoscope of colours and movements.

Torres Vermellhas(minha casa)

The skyline view from my window

However Maputo is quite an expensive place to live in o.The only thing cheap here is food and somehow each time I land here,I'm usually possessed with this culinary genie.I can't just stop cooking ...I just cook  up a storm. Sometimes I pity the neighbours as the strong ...very strong smell of locust beans ooze out from my Efo delicacies. I usually imagine what goes through their minds;but as I'm not equipped with any telepathic prowess,I just have to contend with the many" side eyes" I often get.
To be continued.....