Rich / poor divide

Water and electricity shortages greeted me upon waking, so it was a semi-clean start to the day thanks to some wipes I found in the cabinet. On the way to the office I chatted to Paulo about the divide between neighbourhoods when it comes to reliability of services. My office space is in a converted villa in a wealthier, leafier part of town close to the expensive hotels, so it of course was not suffering from the same utility woes.

In the afternoon, I went to the airport to collect none other than Timothy Coburn, the man who has now rather impressively visited me on two continents. His visa acquisition process sounded arduous but he emerged triumphant into the arrivals hall. He found me nestled in a coffee shop, breath still pungent from a strong meia de leite. This was a far cry from my pre-coffee drinking days, such as when Tim and I went to Rome in 2012. There I was horrified at Tim’s attempted induction into strong cappuccinos and couldn’t find any redeeming features about such a drink. Look at me now.

Hosting a visitor encourages you to delve into things you might not necessarily explore. During late afternoon we strolled the downtown Baixa area of the city, went into Tunduru Gardens and enjoyed the sunset views from the walls of the old Maputo fort.