Atraso

Delay.

I hauled myself out of the hotel bed in Maputo at 5am ready for my onward journey to northern Mozambique. I would have slept better if the adjacent room hadn’t had, let’s say, such a rambunctious couple. I’ll give them their dues. They had stamina.

By 5.30am I was heading to the airport to travel north to Lichinga, the capital of Niassa Province. I checked in for a 7am departure and it was only after passing security that I realised the boarding pass had been altered to an 11am departure. Nice to be informed of the delay at check-in itself. Nae bother, I set about making productive use of the time. Which mostly consisted of drinking coffee and eating toasted sandwiches.

After a whole morning at Maputo Airport we finally travelled north to Lichinga via Nampula. The picture is of the tarmac at Nampula when I ran to the upstairs café to neck an espresso.

Lichinga is probably Mozambique’s most remote and laidback provincial capital. We set about procuring lodgings and food, which are always more challenging than one would expect in this provincial hub.

Basic necessities addressed, I started preparing for the next couple of weeks here. I can’t be sure of the length of time exactly because my stay depends on how successful we are at coordinating an activity scheduled for next week. It should all become clear at some stage.

As Lichinga is in the highlands and it’s the tail end of winter here, tonight I get the novelty of wearing PJ bottoms in bed. Toasty. Small pleasures.