Arrived in Maputo
Two long overnight flights done, one super tight connection in Jo’burg done, and I’m here in Maputo, settled into my hotel which will be home until Friday.
The hotel was recommended by the wife of one of my coworkers and it’s quite nice. Little modern art deco touches and there. A nice roof top pool and a good exercise room will help me get over the jet lag.
Apparently Mozambique still falls within the latitudes of the tropics. I admit that I didn’t look that closely at the map before I left. All I really confirmed is that I’d be waaaay south in Africa. To my American sense of geography, that equates with being almost to Antartica – after all, isn’t Antartica just a short ferry ride away from South Africa? Well, that misconception is shattered. We’re close enough to the equator that the days and nights are roughly equal length all year round, and when the sun goes down and comes up it does so fast. I swear that last night at 5:30 it was bright and by 5:45 it was pitch black.
As we flew in to the airport yesterday we passed over a bay, and one side was littered with sunken freighters. I’ll see if the satellite photos on google maps show any of that and will try to post a link later.
Anyway, my big goal for today is to go in search of a market to get water and some other munchies to keep in the hotel. I also need to review a couple documents to use starting tomorrow and finish up a presentation and notes. After that, if I’m still awake, I’ll try to get some exercise and shake the impending jet lag.
No photos to post yet, but hopefully I’ll get some before the trip is over. I do have one I took in Frankfurt of the Kaiserdom – the cathedral where the kings of the Holy Roman Empire were historically crowned. I didn’t get inside (next time), but the building was neat enough on the outside, too.
Another thing I want to do some time, when I have (or can arrange) a long layover in Frankfurt and have time to plan it, is to go to the town of Alsheim. Apparently it is about due south of Mainz and Weisbaden, both of which are relatively near Frankfurt. Alsheim is, I believe, the town where the Hottel side of the Kagy family came from. I’m not sure what there’d be to see, other than the town itself, but I’d be able to say I was there.