Lomba

Bump.

‘Chama se lomba’, (it’s called bump) hollered Paulo as he skidded over a speed bump near my house. This was a new word for my vocabulary.

After a day of moisturising my peeling skin frantically between calls, meeting Gisela for a lunchtime coffee at a hotel (see image) and reaching a semi-satisfying conclusion with work tasks, I headed to the beach for the weekend with Lundula. Ponta do Ouro in the southern reaches of Mozambique is a haven for South African holidaymakers and middle class Mozambicans needing a break from the city. When I visited last year it didn’t wow me in the same way as some spots in Mozambique, as it has a slight den of iniquity vibe and isn’t as chilled as other beach towns. Sometimes dens of iniquity are fun so it’s certainly worth another crack.

Funny how words new to the vocabulary are immediately noticeable. On arrival in Ponta we were trying to get direction by video call from Tshinde in Maputo, who will join us tomorrow and whose cousin’s house we’re staying in. The lombas de madeira (bumps of wood) on the road were highlighted as a navigating feature as we attempted to find the house. We eventually located it although sadly the lombas de madeira had been removed. Perhaps they were driftwood that someone has used for cooking or for an animal pen.