Mozambique

Hey everyone.

Mike and I successfully made it south of the equator and are currently adjusting to the major season change.

Thursday morning we flew out of Accra and everything went smoothly. We landed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia because I chose to fly Ethiopian Airlines. Well I highly recommend them! The airlines put us up in a nice hotel overnight, provided transport to and from the airport, took care of our visas at the border and gave us two meals at the fancy hotel! It was service like no other. I really wish I had time to explore Addis Ababa, it just means I will have to go back someday. It looks like a fascinating city.

Friday morning our flight was only minorly delayed and we flew from Addis Ababa to Johannesburg. At the airport, we were able to find transit directly to Pretoria. We spent two days in Pretoria which was plenty of time to explore. We stayed at the Hotel Victoria, Pretoria's oldest hotel and walked all over downtown. We visited the famous Church Square and saw the Palace of Justice where Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment. We also went to Freedom Park which is a beautiful hilltop memorial to all the people who have fought (and died) for South Africa's freedom.

Sunday morning we took a bus to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. It took us about 9 hours to get here, but it was worth it! The border crossing was pretty slow and we had to get our visas there. We were also in a bit of a rush because the bus company warned us that we would get left at the border if the lines were too long. Luckily, we got through the Mozambican side pretty quickly.

We spent all day today (Monday) exploring Maputo. This is quite the town. It is pretty modern and developed despite Mozambique's gruesome past and fairly recent independence. We saw the old Portuguese fort, the cathedral, the train station, the central market and an artist's cooperative called "Nucleo de Arte." They displayed innovative art made out of old Kalashnikovs as well as local paintings. We watched more football games and met some cool travelers at a chill little backpackers' hostel right in downtown. We also walked along the major ocean-side boulevard and saw some cool municipal parks. It was a great day exploring this very interesting, dynamic town, "Africa's only Latin capital".

So, tomorrow we head back to South Africa. We are hoping to catch a mini bus to the border and then find a bus to Durban. Our soccer (football) match is Saturday at 4 pm local time in Port Elizabeth and we want to give ourselves plenty of time to get to the match city. Hope everyone has a great week!