Africa 101---My Adventures in Mozambique

My experience in Mozambique was one of the highlights of my life, to date. In many ways, the weeks I spent there brought me right back to my missionary days. There were indeed many similarities. What do the two experiences have in common besides the Portuguese language? Lets see....

In Portugal, I found joy in spreading the gospel, going door to door, and talking to everybody. In Mozambique, I also found joy in spreading the word about preventing HIV/AIDS, how to avoid and recognize STDs, and how/where to get tested. And believe you me, we talked to EVERYBODY!

(Our AIDS clinic for youth and adolescents)
(Giving a"discussion"- I was trying to hold a straight face... and a diagram about the female reproductive system)

In Portugal, I spent many hours passing out Books of Mormon and other free literature. In Mozambique, I spent many hours passing out supplies of free condoms.

(Before setting out for the morning, we stuffed our bags with as many of those white condom-filled boxes as we could. They were all gone by the end of our rounds. Too bad the mission couldn't have been more like that)
(My companion, Sebastion. He was awesome!)

In Portugal, I ate my share of bolos (cakes, pastries), fresh bread, and other carbohydrate-rich goodies. In Mozambique, I ate "xima" (pronounced "shima")-a thick paste of white flour and boiling water.

(I then took a stab at it myself--with a slightly more modern approach) In Portugal, I ate till I could eat no more. In Mozambique, parasites enjoyed eating me.

Worthy travel note: when travelling in developing or third world countries, don't touch the fresh produce. Especially from street vendors. And then be sure to not EAT it, and to not WASH it beforehand with contaminated water. Smart one.


I fell in love with lots of little creatures. This chameleon had to be my favorite.

I also experienced many other sorts of adventures. While walking on an army base to give a "discussion" to a group of military men, I split my toe against a rock and broke it. This was my medical attention. I got a "mystery tablet" for the pain and some gauze with petroleum jelly (I think).
Luckily, I was with some people from my group, so I hitched a ride. We definately stuck out like a sore thumb--or pinky toe. Whatever.
Getting out and about was always my favorite thing. Especially when we made the all-day trek to the beach. But not just any beach, mind you. A beach-lover's paradise. Transport wasn't exactly easy though. Yes, we did ride this bad boy. Not only were we all sprawled out on top of other people, but believe it or not, on top of livestalk as well. The yelping cries of the goats really started to get to me...

We then had to hop aboard a barge and cross a river.....
And then walk for a few miles....just following the crowd.
And at last.....worth all the effort. The beaches in this country are magnifico.
Another beach adventure....this time to an island outside of Maputo (the capital city), a two-hour boat ride.

But the adventures didn't stop there. Our Safari in South Africa did not disappoint. I loved seeing all the critters in their natural habitat...untouched. You had to keep your eyes peeled though.

The elephant stampede was an adrenaline rush. But not nearly as exciting as being charged at by the black rhino. His horn made it into our vehicle, but we got away.
The elephants were my favorite though. This baby one was too cute.
So you're not supposed to get out of the jeeps while in the game reserve---apparently, visitors have gotten trampled. But this view was just too good to pass up.
At the end of my stay in the country, me and two of my girlfriends took a trip up to Northern Mozambique. It was like we entered another country completely. Not that Mozambique is a heavy tourist attraction anyway, but up North, you really can't get too much more remote. It was incredible....and one heck of an adventure.

Part of our journey included staying in a beach-side hut (well, it was a pretty decked-out hut, actually. I even managed to avoid the bedbugs, my friend...not so much).

I enjoyed going off by myself, and exploring up and down the shore.

This is a baobab tree. They are native to the region. For some reason, this tree just called out my name. It was gorgeous. An 18x24 print of it now hangs in my studio apartment in DC.

Back at our hut. We could walk right out to the water.

The biggest adventure of my life entailed visiting "Ilha de Mocambique" (Mozambique Island), a historical island off the coast of Mozambique. There are no words to describe the trek there. Honestly, no words.

The island was incredibly small (you could walk around it in about 2-3 hours), incredibly impoverished, but incredibly beautiful. I loved the kids.

There was also a notable Muslim influence on the island --evident especially in the unique and gorgeous architecture.
We found a place to stay by word of mouth......we ended up following a group of children who led us to a lady's house with a room we paid for. It was actually really nice. (The bed was suspended from ropes and swung). She had stairs leading up to the rooftop, and that night, we went up to watch the sun go down across the ocean. My favorite single moment of the trip....
Africa, and especially Mozambique, really got into my blood. I love it. I've said it once, and I'll say it again. If I wasn't already white, I'd most definatley be black! I can't wait to go back...