Caminho da praia (beach walk)

Mom and I studied our Portuguese this morning, reviewing numbers, articles, the alphabet, diphthongs, nationalities, and a few other odds and ends.  Anybody walking by must have thought we were a little bit louco (crazy) when we starting singing the alphabet song with Portuguese pronunciation.

After exercising our brains for the morning, we took a walk down to the beach.

I've been down to the beach before, but this time, I actually walked into the Indian Ocean.  It is winter, and it was a little chilly.  As you can see from my apparel, the weather isn't too cold however.  

The beach is very pretty, but there is a lot of rubbish that isn't visible in this picture.  Because this is a port city, the water can also be rather yucky.  Some days it looks lovely and blue, but other days it almost brown.  The better beaches for swimming are north and south of our location.  Mom and I are a little limited in our activities while Dad is away in Maputo.  He has the only working vehicle, so we are staying within walking distance of home.    

Wandering on foot through cities like Paris, Edinburgh, Dublin, Madrid, Rome, and of course, London, helped me to appreciate the perspective given by walking tours.  Pedestrians need to take a bit more care here.  The chapas (minivan taxis) don't seem to feel the need to yield.  Most roads in the city do not have lines painted, so traffic determines how many lanes there are and in which direction they travel.  It is acceptable to proceed to the middle of the road if one side is clear, wait for traffic to clear from the other side, and then continue the rest of the way across the road.  Despite the obstacles, which include holes in the pavement, tree roots, rubbish, stray dogs, and fruit stands, I really enjoy these walks.  There are numerous homes from the colonial period, which some beautiful architecture.  These homes have numerous staircases and verandas.  Most of the verandas and windows are enclosed, some from the original architecture and some for modern security.  Regardless of the state of repair, each of these homes are unique, in contrast to the block apartment buildings from a later era.  

There are two different types of stop signs here.  They are essentially the same, except they differ in size.  As Dad told me, the smaller ones are optional and are regarded as a "Yield" sign.  Some intersections have traffic robots (lights), but often, only the post remains and the actual robot is missing (or not working).  If a driver is at such an intersection, he needs to make a decision.  His options are as follows: 1) try to see a robot facing another direction, 2) guess when the light is changing, or 3) proceed whenever traffic allows, or 4) disregard the light entirely and proceed whenever he sees fit.  Roundabouts, or rotaries, are a much easier solution to traffic patterns.  I say "he" for the driver because most women do not drive here.  Orlando, our language instructor, told Mom that he once saw a female taxi driver. 

As you can probably tell, I'm enjoying getting to know Moz.  One sweet gentleman told me, "Welcome!  Enjoy your time here.  This is now your country too."  I wish I could know he would get the same warm welcome if he visited my country.