My last day in Maputo

Back to Maputo

Today I came back to Maputo from Cape Town. I still don't know how I feel like about being back here and having already to leave for Europe the day after tomorrow.
I am definitely sad. I have probably been "africanised" already...you can easily get used to the African way of life (if there is possibly just one)...simple and beautiful people, amazing nature, good vibrations..after all, this is what I need.

Casa Elefante, Maputo

Today I had:

- a meeting at the Ministry of Environment

- a meeting at the National Institute of Meteorology

- a meeting at the Ministry of Science and Technology

- lunch at an Indian restaurant (in Maputo!)

And just before lunch I took a break and visited Casa Elefante which is supposed to be one of the best textile shop in Maputo (and it's in front of the Central Market). I have bought a beautiful piece of textile (although I have no idea so far what to make out it..it could either become a skirt or a tablecloth:)

Here are some of the pics I took today

The streets of Maputo

Today I had several meetings to attend all around Maputo: so I decided to walk from one place to another and take several pics of local ordinary life. Here are just some of them.

I am definitely impressed by nature. Trees and flowers are integral part of the town.

I need to find out the name of the tree with beautiful red flowers you can see in 2 pics...I love it.

Maputo - the handicraft market

I had a wonderful day today. It started with a mass in English at the Anglican Church in Maputo (I am not very religious, but Erkki - the Finnish professor who is hosting me and with whom I am working- is a Lutheran pastor...so there was no way to say no!).
Then we took a long throughout Maputo - unfortunately all the streets look the same and without a map I would get lost in a second-. We spent an hour at the local handicraft market (which is beautiful, it's impossible not to be tempted!)
We had an excellent and luxurious meal at hotel Rodana...then we went shopping at a South African mall and came back home at 19.00. 
We just had a Finnish dinner (Finnish bread, cheese and ham) and now we (Erkki is hosting me, a Finnish meteorologist and a doctor) are all sitting on the couch working (or pretending to work in my case).

Here are some of the pics I took today walking through Maputo.

Pics 1-2-3-4 African signs

Pics 5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 The Local Market

Batik is definitely a must. Batik consists in wax applied to cloth before being dipped in dye. I am still not sure whether I like it or not (I mean, it looks amazing in an African market but I wonder if batik would look equally beautiful in my apartment in Bologna!)

I'd like to conclude by posting the best picture I took today...