Hanky panky january

Today could have been dire, facing severe back-to-work blues after a very decent break. However, January in Mozambique, despite fomenting temperatures close to those on the Sun's surface, is also go-slow month when most people take leave. Therefore partner staff said they were surprised to see me so early, despite showing up halfway through the month. I could get used to luxuriating in annual leave in January.

In the office Ilidio (different Ilidio to my Portuguese teacher) played Dire Straits Money for Nothing, symbolising the carefree January attitude. I managed to spend the day getting on top of the backlog that had built up. At lunchtime, colleagues from this partner office I'm currently using whilst we get set up, took pity on my pot of instant noodles by carving up their own lunches. One element was matapa, a Mozambican dish made of cassava leaves and additional ingredients such as coconut milk and cashew nuts. As we scoffed, Inês turned to me and asked a question which had obviously been plaguing her, 'hanky panky - what does it mean?'

As I walked back to my apartment in the early evening, a security guard manning a random building indicated embarrassedly that my fly was undone. This came just after an interaction with a man who strode up and clasped my hand and shoulder very strongly and deliberately, speaking fast in Portuguese about being an immigration officer at the airport who remembered seeing me when I passed through. Could I give him money for a litre of gasoline for his car? I was a little spooked as I'm still arranging the best type of visa to be using here, but I remembered this guy pulled exactly the same scam on a nearby road last year, so I was able to shake him off.

Drinks and snacks in the evening with a new friend Tassiana, at a gorgeous outdoor restaurant called Botanica. Bourgeois boutique places are less commonly found than in Phnom Penh but they are around, tucked into the backstreets. Good to come to quaff fresh juices and to eat cheese and honey chamuças (samosas), which are apparently a speciality.