From Tete to Maputo

I walk to the middle of a monumental suspension bridge to take a look at Tete. The Zambezi River, of course, is the setting for one of Dr. Livingstone's most famous expeditions. He was convinced that bringing commerce up the river into the interior would also bring Christianity to the Africans, thereby ending slavery and superstition. In the books, historians call him a failure on many accounts. I dunno, but maybe these academics should put on some dirty clothes, leave the file cards at home, and come stand on this bridge. The commerce is sure going on: trucks are lined up for miles on end waiting to cross the river with goods for Zambia and Malawi (and I would say Zimbabwe except it all goes to Mugabe there). And go up the road to Malawi and check out the Christianity effect there; it's huge. It just all didn't happen in Livingstone's lifetime, that's all.

Surreptitious photo of Tete taken from suspension bridge over the Zambezi.
An even more surreptitious picture of the bridge. Shhh, police aren't looking.

As for superstition, that's still a whole other layer of culture. On BBC Radio this evening, I hear of a Tanzanian sting operation that arrested a Kenyan for smuggling an albino into the country to sell to the witch doctors for body parts. Albino murders are a big problem the Tanzanian government has been somewhat successful in stopping. And back in Rwanda, I read reports in the newspapers about young children found dead in Uganda with their tongues missing--attributed to the witch doctors.

So here in Tete I consider my options. I can either take a bus to Johannesburg through Zimbabwe and Botswana for 24+ hours, retracing a route I've already mostly done in the 1990s, or take the bus to Maputo, Mozambique's capital, which takes up to three days done in stages with early morning departures at between 3-6am. And the chapa drivers tell me, while smirking and shaking their heads: "road is very bad." I'm not that much of a masochist and decide to just get the hell out of here and fly to Maputo.

In Maputo I try one backpackers hostel for a bed but it's full (why is it half the backpackers in these places lie around looking like they're on Quaaludes?), but across the street is the Hotel-Escola Andalucia with decent rooms, a reading lamp next to the bed, a full length mirror (horrors! major renovation needed once home), and corn flakes (!) at breakfast. The staff actually makes up my room--another first I haven't seen in over two months.

The school is on the corner of Patrice Lumumba and Salvador Allende, and nearby streets in the city are named Mao Tse Tung, Ho Chi Minh, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Vladimir Lenin. Oh, and there's Kim il-Sung! And even a Robert Mugabe, destroyer of Zimbabwe, plaza. I'm looking for Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, or perhaps a Pol Pot to complete the pantheon. Along with the AK47 on the national flag, you would imagine a public relations challenge, but I think eventually the names will have a sort of retro hipness, and the newer generation will have no idea who any of these people are. Meanwhile, commerce is thriving on these streets.

Mozambique, so far in my very superficial visit, is worthy of a far longer stay and a road trip up the coast to Mozambique Island to do it justice. The blending of African, Swahili, and Portuguese culture here is fascinating and unlike anything I've seen on this trip. In Maputo, the food is good and the music a huge improvement. Leafy trees, outdoor cafes, and a great gelato place make me hate to leave.

The 100-year-old train station in Maputo