A small airfield in Mozambique - March 2013
Yup I cannot see the landing strip either.
At least suitable measures were in place in case a fire had broken out...
To be fair when you go on honeymoon and it involves a lodge in a reserve on the coast in a third world country this is pretty much what you can expect. The helicopter that was supposed to transport us from the airport to the lodge had a mechanical fault - I am thankful that it wasn't detected while we were in it - so we had a tiny plane all to ourselves.
We didn't struggle for a flight path - I am not sure when last a plane actually landed in Maputo - and soon we were puttering over the countryside towards our final destination.
The lodge itself had been cut into a hillside and the views from our balcony were breathtaking - and the beach extended as far as the eye could see. (The lady in the pink bikini is my wife - she cracked an amazing smile for this pic..)
The staff were friendly and the atmosphere was super-chilled; even the animal life enjoyed the odd bit of sunbathing...
I met one of the hotel workers who asked me to take his picture. He was a young guy working in the Accounts department. We chatted briefly about his job and then I snapped off a few shots. When I looked through them later I was struck by the way he held himself. He had a seriousness about him that belied his youth - a certain intensity. He was too young to experience the horrors of Mozambique's civil war but members of his family might well have.
I cannot pretend that the experiences we had are typical of the ones you might have should you want to get to grips with the pysche of the country but that was not really the point given that it was our honeymoon. Understanding the impact of landmines on the lives of ordinary Mozambiquans is massively topical, but a slight intimacy killer!
A final pic before signing off - an early evening view from our balcony
