Mozambique-Dispatches

As I have stated in the first volume book of panAFRICAproject, the "barometer of any society is how it deals with the health of its people". We seek traditional & modern medicine in almost every country we visit. This is the pediatric oncology ward at a major hospital. We have to be especially sensitive to privacy issues with all the patients. #RoadWaRRioR 

Conventional wisdom outside of Maputo: 95% of the population is involved with agriculture. This new mother & baby & grandmother are surrounded by their smallholder coffee plantation. It is part of a larger cooperative for the lucrative commodity. #RoadWaRRioR 

I worked my way onto photographing transportation with Solenta Aviation. This commuter airline shortens the domestic distances around the long African country. #RoadWaRRioR

Xipamanine Market is a place where you can purchase anything from detergent to spices to capulanas to AK47s. It is huge & rambles on forever with outdoor stalls that even sell traditional medicines. This seamstress seems to have cornered the market on wigs, etc. #RoadWaRRioR 

Rush hour traffic on Avenida 24 de Julho, the treelined boulevard is one of the largest in the capital city. I jumped into the middle of the street with a tripod between red lights while the drivers tried to pick me off. #RoadWaRRioR 

Mozambique is famous for its beautiful beaches on the Indian Ocean. We traveled quite a distance to get to famous Macaneta Beach. Since it is winter below the equator & cold & the end of the day it was sparsely inhabited by tourists & sunbathers but we found this amazing string of fishermen manually hauling huge nets out of the sea. They were none too happy with my taking pictures though. #RoadWaRRioR

The informal economy competes with stores/shops/restaurants downtown in the Central Business District. There are blocks of both types of commerce it makes for aggressive juxtapositions in many ways. It is a very important unregulated share of the economy. For photography the sidewalks are almost impassable with the number of people. #RoadWaRRioR

To extend our visa we had to enter eSwatini but both countries eviscerated & almost exiled us. On the way back I photographed this traditional round, thatched dwelling. They are disappearing very quickly & replaced by concrete blocks. #RoadWaRRioR 

Patients come into Maputo Central Hospital three times a week for liver dialysis. We were allowed in every department of the hospital: oncology, pediatrics, ICU, etc & spent hours in all the units. Health care in the country is a complicated issue. #RoadWaRRioR

Mozambique is famous for its beaches. In search for one I came across Pescador beach, part of the famous Costa del Sol chain where the fishermen put in. Yesterday we photographed commercial fishing but today I found this bucolic area of small individual boats. #RoadWaRRioR

Of utmost importance to the project is to show people in their daily lives. What they do? How they work? Since the country owes its culture so much to the Indian Ocean, fishing is a major industry.

It took us several days to get permission to photograph at the Fish Port. They bring their daily catch in at dusk. Activity increases into the night. The traditional boats & rigging is iconic. Wear & tear increases the character. Men who make their livelihood by the sea are a breed apart. #RoadWaRRioR

Basketball is almost as popular in Mozambique as in USA. This is men's league play in the downtown area of the city. #RoadWaRRioR

Traveling around the country I have photographed several sports: soccer, rugby, basketball, pool but the unusual car racing called "drifting" surprised me. I spent a lot of time on pit row with the drivers. Loud cars draw large crowds in the city.  #RoadWaRRioR

Sitting in two inches of water in a dugout canoe I had the ferryman row me out to the middle of the lake to get an unobstructed photograph of famous Cahora Bassa Dam. It supplies hydroelectric power mainly to South Africa but also to Maputo & coal mines. Some 50,000 people were displaced for its construction. Below me is the Zambezi River one of the most important waterways in the world. (There are crocodiles in that water.) #RoadWaRRioR

With so much distance traveling to gain access to diverse segments of the culture I have had less time than usual to do serious street photography. It took us days to get here but I today went downtown to one of the busier areas I found myself "stalking these women carrying baskets. It is a fairly typical occurrence but when they passed another group I thought it significant.  #RoadWaRRioR

60 Minutes has done at least three episodes & National Geographic did an article on the progress in regenerating this game reserve. This linear combination of vistas, savannah, animals & Pongwe River are amazing. #RoadWaRRioR

Fish is a great source of protein. This fish farm near the Indian Ocean is processing tilapia. We had to decontaminate our equipment & wear protective garments just like the workers to enter the facility. #RoadWaRRioR 

The whole country has an enormous coastline on the Indian Ocean. The capital overlooks the Mozambique Channel. Small fishing boats & dhows anchor in the foreground of the downtown skyline. #RoadWaRRioR

There are informal markets all over Africa. Some are colorful & busy. Some are isolated along the road. This was photographed in a truck surrounded by other vendors. #RoadWaRRioR

Education is such an important component for the progress of a nation so we often seek getting into schools on every level. A new friend knew about CENTRAL INFANTIL E COLEGIO PARAISO. We went into the classrooms but this was taken in the courtyard during break.  #RoadWaRRioR

The port was privatized a few years ago & has expanded to bring foreign goods into the continent & give landlocked interior countries access to the Indian Ocean. This cargo ship is offloading rice dateline: Port of Maputo Mozambique.  #RoadWaRRioR

In the cold & pouring rain (rumors there might be snow in eSwatini) I photographed Lulu Sala (he has the beard on the right) choreographing a dance piece in one of his studios. #RoadWaRRioR

I took a taxi to this famous Beaux Arts train station Estacao de Tren in the center of the city but became distracted by this wonderful woman waiting at the bus stop. I stalked her for almost 15 minutes & she never knew I was taking her picture. You can see she was not happy with my presence anyway #RoadWaRRioR

Rugby was introduced to the country a number of years ago & now it is played by all stratum of the population. This was a set of matches in Parque dos Continuadores.  #RoadWaRRioR 

Agriculture remains the main economic activity & smallholder farmers account for the vast majority. This woman invited me into her organic chicken coop while snatching up chickens for sale. It was reminiscent of my childhood.  #RoadWaRRioR 

I met Idasse a well known artist at his gallery reception & wheedled an invitation to his Jardim dos Namorados neighborhood studio. He spoke very little English & me NO Portuguese. I asked about his influences & inspiration but the conversations were brie.f Still he & his abstract art answered all possible questions & made great photographs. #RoadWaRRioR

We have been invited to a concert by one of the most famous Marrabente bands in the country Ghorwane. They have entertaining for forty plus years. Their music style is a combination of traditional, Afropop & fusion. But first we were allowed to photograph some of the members in their recording studio #RoadWaRRioR

In a meeting with a member of parliament on Avenida 24 de Julho (the best known & busiest thoroughfare in the city), I noticed that street vendors walked periodically by the open window I got off one frame Is this considered street photography? #RoadWaRRioR dateline: Maputo Mozambique

We visited a huge media company. They do film, video, internet production on a large scale all over the country. This is part of their new equipment warehouse #RoadWaRRioR  dateline: Maputo Mozambique

With the sun directly in front of me & a full moon directly behind a "tower" of giraffes was silhouetted at Maputo National Park. Mozambique may not be as well known for its animal reserves but we photographed elephants, zebras, antelope, warthogs, etc. #RoadWaRRioR

We are back on the continent & continuing the panAFRICAproject. I photographed Katembe Bridge which connects the capital with the suburb of Katembe. It is the longest suspension bridge in Africa at over 3 kilometers dateline: maputo mozambique.  #RoadWaRRioR