Ponta do Ouro

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At this time we went to the Ponta do Ouro - a very-very nice beach next to the South African border. The way down was already an adventure - around 120km and almost all the way on sand road or on the savanna - without any road signs which direction we should go.

Going to Ponta do Ouro

The first thing that welcomed us in Ponta do Ouro was a Kawasaki. Unforunately we were on a very limited budget, so I couldn't try it out at this time, but next time... :)

Just for the sake of variety, the first think I saw on the beach of Ponta do Ouro was also a Kawasaki:

Anyway, the beach was amazing. But it was a beach of South Africans not of the Mozambicans. Despite of being in Mozambique, it was full of white people, everywher they asked and offered everything in English, and the prices were told in South African Rands. Here are some pictures of the beach (click on the pix to enlarge it):

Praia de Ponta do Ouro

Natural Forces

Wondering Away

Crystal Clear Water

Waves

Taking it Easy

Walking in the Moonlight

Morning Peace

I also had a dream come true: here, I had a chance to swim with dolphins! First we watched them from the boat (and took some pictures), and when they got closer we jumped into the water with a snorkel:

Getting Closer

Swimming

One Big Breath

Coming to Us

Dolphin Art

Friendships

After this I really felt that Ponta do Ouro deserves a point - especially with the possibility of swimming with dolphins:

Lake Balaton : Beaches of Mozambique = 2 : 1

Suspension

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The effect of the financial crisis has been felt here in Mozambique too, and now in one of our project too. The main funds-donor of our orphan program temporarily can't support our Saturday activities with the kids, so we have to suspend these Saturday activities for a while...

I'm sure I'll miss the kids.

We are OK!

Getting High!

(Not) Doing the Right Thing

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One of our orphan kids has HIV. When the kids play together, for an outsider, it would be hard to tell that she has, because she is the most opened and cheerful girl among the kids I met here.

The very sad thing about her story that her Grandmother doesn't want (and let) the treatment for her, what she could get from the hospital for free (and which could easen her sufferings). Nobody understands why she doesn't let the treatment...

Holding her in my arm I started to think that for us, it's so obvious she should allow her little granddaughter to go for the treatment. It's so easy for us to see what is the right thing for her. But do we know in which "mental level" the grandmother is, what intelligence, what (personal) believes she has- how much she understands from this (and from our advices)?

And what about us? We have friends, parents who can see our life 'from a distance' objectively and thus easily can give us the right advices, don't we? Can we understand and do we accept these advices - or we rebel that 'only I can know what is good for me!'?

Or maybe even worse: when we both see and agree, that the right advice was given to us, but despite of this: somehow we just can't take it...

So do we have the right to judge this Grandma?

Lake Balaton

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Some pictures for the ones who don't know the (Hungarian) Lake Balaton:

The North Balaton Highland


Balaton View from Szigliget


The Balaton View from a vineyard

Balaton

The 'Grassy' Beach

Instead of working... :)


I need some more beer...


Sunset at Balaton


Balaton by Night

Godfathers

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It turned out that the Mozambican people have 2 Godfathers. The first one is the same what we have in Europe too (whom we got when we were christened). But they can choose a 'new' Godfather when they get married. The biggest role of this new Godfather is to advise the new couple at their marriage - so when the couple has some problem what they cannot solve between each others, instead of going to a marriage consultant, they expect wise words from the new Godfather...

I wonder if anybody has ever made a comparison between the African and Europen 'marriage advisory system' that which one can save more marriages. I would place a bet fn the African one! ;)

Praia de Marracuene

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Abril 7 - Women's day in Mozambique. After the civil war the first presidents wife MI-A-NEVE-JOSINA was celebrated as a hero for her support and activities during the civil war. Unfortunately she died shortly after the war. Since then, Mozambique celebrates the Women's Day on 7th Abril, on the anniversary of her death.

The Women's day has also become a national holiday too, so we decided to celebrate it on the Praia de Marracuene. It's not so away from Maputo, but the last few km was challenging for our minibus:

The last 15km to the beach...

This wasn't our very lucky day - we arrived to the beach together with the clouds. I could take only a very few pictures before it started to rain. But at least this beach was directly open to the ocean, so the waves were bigger - and it was definitely an unforgettable experience to swim in these huge waves and in the rain.

Praia de Marracuene - just before the storm

This little storm gave an extra spice to this beach - but without this excitement I still prefer the Balaton...

Lake Balaton : Beaches of Mozambique = 2 : 0

Praia de Bilene

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I've been here for almost 2 months so it's high time to check out some Mozambican beaches - afterall Mozambique is famous about its beautiful beaches. The first we checked out was Praia de Bilene - about 200km away from Maputo to the North. We had to leave early in the morning by bus - but I couldn't complain: the first bus I took here in Mozambique which was not overcrowded and it even had TV and very good (and almost too loud) speakers:

'Little' Speakers

Our way to the beach was pretty comfortable and smooth. However the landscape couldn't keep my attention - the local transport could show me some incredible solutions. Can you find a black goat on this picture? (Click on the pic to enlarge it)

Where is the Goat?

When we arrived, we found a nice tropical beach - which wasn't overcrowded at all. It was a Saturday morning and there were only around 20 people on the beach. And this amount of people seems to be an average - since there were only 2 restaurants on this beach.

Praia de Bilene

This beach wasn't directly open to the ocean so unfortunately there were no big waves here...

Praia de Bilene

Maybe I'm biased for our Hungarian Lake Balaton, but I prefer our 'grassy-beaches' to these tropical 'sand-beaches'. However I could easily enjoy this one too! ;)

Almost like in Goa...