Monday, November 3, 2008

Moamba

I met Chase and Ali on the side of a long highway at the Moamba junction, it was a grand day. I turned South African and greeting chase in some local attire that is called a denitard. I brought Chase his own denitard and he jumped for joy!

The bus ride was pretty sweet, the A/C made it freezing for the first hour. Then for the last 7 hours the A/C broke down and since I was on the lower portion of the double decker bus I got no moving air. It's not just the heat, but the combination of heat, humidity, and the wonderful scents of Mozambique that truly perked my all senses on the trip.

After arriving at Ali's sweet pad we go to participate in the Mozambican Olympics. The events were the swing launch, shotput, bowling, left handed distance toss, and the skeet toss. We all were masters at our individual events.

I then had the opportunity to visit the orphanage Ali works at and spend an afternoon with the children there. Even in their challenging situation, the kids still had smiles on their faces! Ali got everyone to jump at the same time amazingly, arm wrestled the kids to show them who is boss, and then made them climb a tree to make for some good photos. It was fun to interact with the kids and I gave them rubber wrist bands that I brought from home to leave them with something upon my departure. I hope to return sometime on my travels to visit them again.

A more comprehensive photo posting is located at the "Gross de Ali" link on the right side of the page under Friends Blogs if you are interested.

7 comments:

SirEdmundHills said...

Paul...tell me again why the kids were all jumping for joy as you left their town...

Wink!!

I'm excited to be along for the adventure...

Hugs

Hills

Angie said...

Savor the sweet putrid smell of Africa!

Ted said...

I was concerned that your luggage would get lost, stolen, ect. But thank goodness it did not so you could pull off the short short overalls upon your arrival!! Hop Da Hoo!!

brit said...

Were you the bowling champion? I've always envied your bowling skills.

Katherine said...

How neat Paul! What an awesome adventure and experience. I am happy to be able to see what you are doing for the next few months. Be Safe and have fun!

Unknown said...

I didn't see any sunflower seeds in the front pocket of the denitard. Darn.

The kids looked like they loved those bracelets - good call. And you look like you were having fun too.

Vicky Hugo said...

I have been a friend of your uncle Lee's for over 35 years. We taught at Kamehameha together. He shared the link to your blog. It is wonderful! I am enjoying it very much. Keep up the great descriptions. We can be there with you.


Mary Sue Dillingofski
Chicgo