One final night on the farm

Well, I’m currently on the plane from Chimoio back to Maputo via Villancoulis. Some quick maths tells me that this is actually the 21st journey I have flown since first arriving in Maputo some 3 months ago … and boy are my wings tired! (Maputo, Chimoio, Beira, Nampula, Lichinga, Blantyre, Lilongwe, and Villancoulis … and many times repeated – this will be my 6th time in Maputo!)

It was fun being back in Chimoio – but the highlight for me – apart from a guided tour through the local abattoir (I’ll never eat sausages again!) – was spending one last night back on the farm with the family whose business I was helping to build in my first project here. This was the seed company I spent three weeks working with – when they make their first profit they promised to fly me back to drink champagne! Or diet coke, one of the two.

I hadn’t seen the kids for almost 2 months now, and I really enjoyed hanging out with the family again, playing children’s board games (I won again! Uwa ha ha) and watching the cartoon network on cable TV. Furthermore, there were additions to the family – more dogs – and, would you believe it – chicks! (They’re everywhere!)

There were of course more beautiful African sunsets …



… A whole lot of new fruits and vegetables – check out this pineapple plant …



Bulls carrying tomatoes on the dirt road to the house … (maybe they were on the way to the abbatoir?)



Since I had last been here, they had installed a hot water shower! Making this hot water barrel which the guard used to keep warm for us and then carry in buckets not useful for anything except cooking corn …



… And to get water pressure, you need to have a water tank installed high like this!



I’ll miss my home away from home, Chimoio. Then again, who knows, maybe I’ll be back before I know it?

Blessings
john