Interesting things learnt from the lecturer

Mozambique uses rats to determine the existence of tuberculosis….and can do it faster than human lab techs.

They also use rats to search and clear land mines

Maputo, Mozambique is the absolute worst “point of entry” experience that probably any of us have gone through. Three immigration officers, “face to face”, pictures, finger prints, over 650 passengers plus the crew. Horrendously long procedure before going out to face the city. The day we were there the temperature was 36C with over 100% humidity….. brutal!

Maputo (inside joke…. Ray says it means “big airport”), was not what we/I was expecting esp. since we all know they had a terrible civil war not that terribly long ago. I expected Mombasa all over again. Not! First there is this 3 km long bridge span in the process of being built. It will be the longest suspension bridge in Africa. We heard that is being financed & built by the Chinese. (Amazing seeing as we can’t get our Johnson Street bridge built…..the steel which is being built by Chinese, that is nothing as elaborate as this one….. completed & in a reasonable time)! This city is huge, with all kinds of high rises, wide avenues, (I heard also with beautiful mansions…. residential areas….. had been way ahead of and more beautiful than Portugal before the civil war. The war began after Portugal gave the country its independence). We did a walking tour but were not impressed! We wanted to go back after the tour but the heat/humidity was just so oppressive…. we just couldn’t!