I woke up at 3 AM and was unsuccessful getting back to sleep so I gave up about 4. Ash managed to sleep until 5:30. I went down to the steam room when it opened at 6 AM. We went for breakfast a little after 6:30.

This is probably a good time to talk about some Mozambique history. Vasco da Gama discovered it in 1498 after he first circled the Cape of Good Hope. Portugal colonized the area and ruled it for essentially the next 500 years. It did not gain its independence until 1975. The name itself is related to an Arab leader named Mussa Bin Bique that was in place at the time, but the Portuguese couldn’t pronounce it and it became Mozambique.

Portuguese is still the only official language and you hear it everywhere. Schools also teach English because it leads to better paying jobs for those that learn it. Some private schools speak only English to learn through immersion. There are currently about 35 million people in the country, and about 1.5million in the city of Maputo, which is the capital.

After breakfast, we went for a walk and ended up logging over 4 miles. 

The above photo and the couple that follow are just more pictures of us walking around the beach area.

This art piece symbolizes the accord that was signed in 1975 at Lusaka in Zimbabwe. Many other already free African countries assisted with the negotiations between the Mozambique people and Portugal. 

There was an odd chirping coming from our right and we started moving in that direction. Fazio asked us what we thought the sound was coming from. Ash said birds, but I assumed from the way he asked the question that was too obvious and answer so I said monkeys.

Can you hear the chirping?

We had lunch at a restaurant called Dhow. It was Flavio‘s recommendation, but also happened to be on our list so it was perfect. https://dhow.co.mz/?v=6ee58d337915

And a little bit of story time first. You may be familiar with the New York Times game called Connections. I typically play it on our morning walks and ask Ash for help when I get stuck. The other morning there was clearly a category that had something to do with cuts of beef, but I couldn’t figure out the fourth one. So I blew the game and when the answers were provided, I learned that Tomahawk was the missing cut. I had never heard of it before.

Flavio dropped us back at the hotel after 3 PM. We both took naps and then went out again and search of a haircut. Google directed us to one about a half a mile away walking. 

It was called the Gentleman’s Barber Shop, and it had this whole vibe that was actually pretty cool. We were offered beer or whiskey as soon as we walked in which of course we politely declined.

It was pretty busy which we thought was a good sign, so we had a bit of a wait. They took me first and then Ash. We each got a haircut and a shampoo. I got a 15 minute neck, shoulder, and arm massage. Ash got a complete shave plus a nose waxing. All for the low, low price of $27. This is why we intentionally wait to get haircuts for when we travel because they are so much cheaper than what you have to pay in the US.

After the haircuts, we went across the street for dinner.

Talk about a full day. We were out and about for roughly 11 hours and logged over 8 miles of walking. And enjoy every minute of it.

Tomorrow we venture out to Kruger National Park.

PS: i’m still learning how to do this from my phone. It had some photos jumble around and repeat in the middle. So there’s a couple of repeats that I didn’t intend. I’ll get the hang of it one of these days.