Coreyography

Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world...

I'M IN: Casablanca, Morocco
HAVING SURVIVED THE TRIP FROM: Mozambique
NEXT UP: España con Mama

My marathon travel session started with a bang: 25 minutes before the bus departed Maputo, I realized I left my ever-feckless WiFi phone on charge back at the hostel, a 20-minute walk away.  There are no hail-able taxis in Maputo per se (just share minibus taxis and taxis you can phone to pick you up) so I just started running while formulating a plan.  I remembered that sometimes taxi drivers would stop to chat with the security guards outside the hostel.  So I hoped for the best and kept my eyes on the uneven pavement.  And the best I got: grabbed that stupid phone and charger, flew into a waiting taxi and made the bus with three minutes to spare!  The accompanying adrenaline rush was not so conducive to bus sleep, but I'm glad to have my phone (and the story of its rescue).

Next challenge encountered: the Jo'burg bus station at 3:00 AM.  For the first time in my life I was hoping the bus would be delayed so as to arrive closer to daylight.  It arrived an hour early (another first).  I have heard many, many horrible stories about Jo'burg (mostly from people who have never been there, to be fair) and I tried to retain a calm, if stern, exterior while repeatedly texting the taxi driver who was to pick me up.  He arrived in 45 minutes.  "I know you said 4:00 AM, but I didn't figure the bus would get here 'til 6 or so - they are always late."  "I know, right?"  "Hmm."  "Hmm."  He dropped me at the fabulous Soweto Backpackers where I collapsed in a dorm bed.

The next morning I took a walking tour of Soweto (offered when my face looked like this when confronted with a bicycle) which was super interesting.  I learned more appalling facts about apartheid, ate at Winnie Mandela's restaurant, and was generally amazed by Soweto's suburban-ness and large population (4.8 million).

Then the plane, where I was mightily pleased with the entertainment provided by Emirates.  Watched several movies and also won $5000 fake dollars playing video poker and $850 fake dollars on blackjack.  I suspect the gambling games' settings were changed from Make Money (usually encountered in casinos) to Placate Passengers.  If so: success.  A train and a taxi later, and here I am in Casablanca!  I'm staying in the ancient medina, which I like a lot because it is (and feels) quite old and funky.  Curiously there are swarms of flies everywhere...  Yeah.  It is true that Moroccan men are quite "attentive" (never thought I would hear "Wanna go to the Mosque?" as a pickup line) but I'm enjoying myself tremendously, and not just because of the fantastic food.  I met a Casablancan woman traveling in Viet Nam last summer and she's been showing me some of the local places, which is always nifty.  So I plan to make my way up to Madrid over the next week but 'til then, here's looking at you, kid!

Ciao Ciao

I'M BACK IN: Maputo, having torn myself away from Tofo
STARING DOWN: an overnight bus to Jo'burg followed by an overnight plane to Morocco

Nothing like looking down the barrel at 48 hours of travel to make one feel queasy.  The question that sends shivers down my spine: how long will my iPod battery last?!  Yeah, I missed a day somewhere and will go directly from a bus to a plane tomorrow.  Well, not directly - that would make too much sense!  My bus arrives at 4:00 AM and my plane doesn't leave until 7:00 PM.  Yikes.  But since I have twelve hours to kill in the greater Johannesburg area, I'm taking a biking tour of Soweto during the day tomorrow - it'll be interesting to see how bad an idea this is given that I'm sleeping on a bus tonight, especially when considering my cycling skillz (zero).  I'm sure my day will be far more interestingly spent than just wandering around the JNB airport at any rate.

I continue to love Mozambique and am sad to leave later tonight.  For my Last Supper in Southern Africa, it had to be nshima.  I've been hanging with some genyouwine Mozambicans, and they took me to a great local place last night.  I knew it was going to be fantastic when I spotted not one but TWO dogs playing poker velvet paintings in the restaurant bar - including the very one that I own!  The restaurant itself consisted of tables and chairs in a courtyard surrounding a pooltable-sized charcoal grill.  Then there was a deli meat counter thing to one side containing stacks of beef, chicken, pork and sausage.  So first you pick your meat out at the counter and pay for it by the kilo.  Your pile of meat is then skewered and placed on the grill, which is outfitted with a moving chain along the side.  The skewers have sprockets that fit into the chain, thus the meat is continuously turning over the hot coals.  My order of beef slabs was gloriously served with chili sauce and nshima.  Oh, but it was good.

Today I spent running errands in beautiful Maputo and practicing my Portuguese, which is shockingly similar to Spanish.  Just about time to run for the bus - wish me luck with my sleep deprivation experiment!

Fantastique Mozambique

I'M IN: Tofo, Mozambique, having visited the capital Maputo
NEXT UP: A brief jaunt to Jo'burg, then Morocco

In true 'we've been involved for a week' fashion, I am completely charmed by and giddy about Mozambique.  I have perma-grin, feel irrationally happy and have been wondering why on Earth I devoted so much time and attention to my relationship with South Africa.  Not that I regret anything about Cape Town, which was nonstop fun and excitement, but I'm starting to look at time spent in other parts of the country as time NOT with Mozambique.  But we'll always have Maputo.  Yes, it's wonderful here - Maputo is beautiful in the way I thought all African capitals would be (but aren't): palm trees, Art Deco architecture and tree-lined boulevards named for Communist heroes.  Plus sidewalk cafes and mojitos, a wonderful combination.  And it's definitely African here, with crowded markets and even more crowded minibus combis and women carrying things on their heads - not too Western, like some other countries I could mention.

So I was already loving Mozambique, THEN I came to beach town Tofo, and wow.  Very relaxed and beachy-beautiful with lots of great diving options and yummy seafood.  This morning I snorkeled with whale sharks!  Not to worry loved ones: they are plankton eaters (although they are sharks/fish not whales/mammals).  They are absolutely tremendous - the largest we saw today was 24 feet long!  At one point I was nose to nose with one - didn't know I could scurry underwater, but scurry I did.  I have a few more dives planned over the next few days, including diving with mantas - how do we feel about a Steve Irwin joke at this juncture?

So, plans forward: I fly to Morocco a week from today for a quick visit before making my way to Spain.  I am meeting up with my Mom (YAY!) in Madrid in time for us to spend both of our birthdays together.  Muy excellente.  I will probably spend some more time in Spain (and maybe Portugal?) after Mom heads home in early June.  Lucky me, I then have a number of folks to visit in Germany, including my friends the Beckriches who are flying to meet me in Munich.  Don't you, too, deserve a European break this summer?  Of course you do.  Come and meet me, we'll have fun.  Or if you're not in the travel mode just now, I'm also in the market for Europe info or tips, so please send them along.  For now, I'll make like Frankie and Annette and head back to the beach!