Maputo, here we come!
So we have not written a while on our blog. It has been a hassle to be able to write in the last few months with the business, travel and frankly, just poor internet. Apparently in the month of May a cable was severed in the Pacific Ocean which basically shut down all communication for about 2 weeks. The internet and phone systems have never quite been the same. Now we have moved to Maputo and we have finally bought ourselves broadband internet. Now after 3 years we have re-established communication with the outside role.

Our move to Maputo was a fun time. We ended up hitting an owl while driving at night. We stopped at a gas station and the attendant told us that we had hit and killed a great witch doctor. The rest of the trip was almost a nightmare. Our clutch went out before we reached our destination. We then spent the next day fixing it. Fortunately we found a really nice hotel not far from where we broke down. The next day people told us that it would take us 5 hours to get to Maputo. What they forgot to tell us was that their was road construction which we hit as it began to rain, turning the road into a flowing river of mud, soaking our things in the back and dowsing mud on them. The trip in fact took about 9 1/2 hours. We straggled into Maputo at 10. Fortunately the nice ladies at the Koinania guest house welcomed us in and gave us supper and a bed for the night. The next few weeks was the adventure of getting things together for our house, buying furniture and kitchen ware, a fridge and fixing the water system. The owner put in a shower heater for us. The only thing that seems to need to be done yet is to fix the leaks in the roof. I am not sure how or when that will happen.

Work has been good and we have just hired a nanny for Nadia so that Jenny can work as well. Overall, Maputo is a nice city with lots of flavor, places to eat, stores, museums, even movie theatres and malls. Unfortunately the nice mall has just been deemed off limits to American citizens because supposedly the President has declared that the owner is involved in the drug trade. Someone said that it is actually trade in Uranium but that they use drugs as a cover up. Who knows. What I do know is we are told to use cash if we go there so I think it is best we steer clear.

We can take walks here and the road to 'Costa del Sol' (the Sun Coast) along the beach front is beautiful past big fancy houses of national and international government people. There is plenty of art sold on the sidewalks and parks to stroll around in. The only downside is that we can't play in the grass.

In any case, we are feeling more settled and happy to be in one spot for a while.