SEEING HOW VICTOR LIVES
2008
It took us a long time to get going, but around 11 we were walking to the car rental place to determine whether we would rent a car with or without a driver. We met a nice young couple, she Portuguese and he Swedish, both living in London after having done their PPE’s at Oxford. They had spent 3 months in Mozambique - he lecturing at the truculent Eduardo Mondlane University, which he swore was just fine. So many coincidences here... but they said driving is very safe and easy, the main problem being crazy African drivers, and that we could easily drive ourselves to the game reserve outside the Kruger Park. So now we have rented a big Ford Pick-up truck. We then sauntered up Avenida Karl Marx (the roads here have irresistible names: Av. Mao Tse-Tung, Av. Kim-Il-Sung, and so on - we keep waiting for a good corner), and met Victor at the corner of his apartment, which turned out to be an airy 4th floor with a distant view of the sea and with a very shy maid, Bernadete, out back dealing with lunch and the laundry. Victor’s room had a little balcony, and if it was messy I straightened it up in no time. Some moms just can’t help themselves.
Victor was taking a driving test downtown, so we caught a ride with him and ‘his’ cab driver. They let us out with many warnings about walking in the Baixa district, and we dove straight into the Café Continental - described in the guidebook as a place reminiscent of former glory. We went unattended for a long time, but eventually managed to get a hot cheese toast and a coffee. While we ate we studied the street scene and decided it wasn’t so bad, so eventually we ventured out and checked the nearby Mercado Popular - a bit like our feiras nordestinas, where they sell mainly food products. I wanted to see African fabrics, so a friendly lady indicated The Elephant Shop in front of the market - an old little shop, with folded patterned fabric hung on every available space. A dream of a place! Emboldened we walked up the Av. Felipe Samuel Margaia to find the Eiffel house closed once again, along with the French Cultural Center - closed - as was the Museum of Natural History, a charming Colonial building, where reputedly they have the region’s only collection of elephant foetuses - when we reached it after a long walk on Av. Patrice Lumumba, and where the neighborhood got a little iffy after a while and we found ourselves crossing the street several times. When we reached the Hotel Cardoso, we settled ourselves in the beautiful garden overlooking the Baixa area we had just walked in and the bay Bahia da Baixa, today sunny and haze-free and ordered gin and tonics to sit back to enjoy the scenery. Then we walked home to our hotel, surprised by the cold and dusty wind that had picked up making the temperature drop considerably. This was a long day for Victor, who still had his evening class to attend to followed by working out, but eventually, around 9, we went all out together for a Thai dinner next to the hotel.
EXPLORING MAPUTO ON FOOT
September 1, 2008 2:55 PM
CURIOUSLY FAMILIAR - THE OPEN CUPBOARD DOORS, THE BAGS STILL FULL OF STUFF, THE CLOTHES SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE ROOM....
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