Goodbye Maputo, Mozambique

Thank you girls and guys for coming to say goodbye to me today.

Diana's kids

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Mike from Melbourne

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Getting ready for the road

It's time to hit the road. Departure from Mundos cafe, Maputo, Mozambique, tomorrow March 11th 2012 at 10 am. Thank you Yamaha Marine Maputo for helping me to drain the engine oil out of my motorbike.

Manual

Engine oil after 15.000 km in Africa

Facts about Slovenia in 30 seconds

Slovenia has 2 million people. One man is fighting for human rights in Sudan already for 30 years. One man is designing, building and selling ultralight aircraft in the world for more than 10 years. One man is just flying solo 80.000 km around the world in an ultralight aircraft for the second time. We are wating for news about the rest 1.999.997 people. :) http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=4mo5DKUTMsA&feature=player_embedded

Polhograjski dolomiti

Behind the agriculture scenes

It is exactly three years when idea of having a pepper farm in Mozambique arrived into Mike's brain. And yesterday it was D-day when the first real crop of peppers were mashed in his Drotsky machine on his Elephant Pepper farm. After starting the machine, everybody was coughing and sneezing very intensive. Hopefully we didn't hurt anybody's respiratory system. The air was so densed with chilli acid gas that we barly kept our weeping eyes open.  But we successfully prepared peppers for next Tabasco factory shipment. Mike is one of seven suppliers in the world who supply Tabasco (Lousiana, USA) with peppers. He provides employment to almost 100 local people so far. His farm is located in Augusto, Marracuene, Mozambique. 95% of employees are women.

Elephant Pepper farm

Filling the buckets

Sign on the wall

Cat waiting for chilli adventure

Drotsky milling machine

Full buckets

Electrician reading the manual

Electrician connecting wires

Adding salt to chilli and weighing

More weighing

Cats leaving the place

Mike pouring chillis into machine

Masks on

Starting the machine

One Saturday on a pepper farm

Mike from Australia is driving his tired Toyota Hilux Surf diesel to his Elephant Pepper farm in Marracuene, Mozambque. His farm is 35 or 40 minutes hard-driving distance from his rented appartment at Polana district, Maputo. He drives to the farm at least three or four times a week. He needs to check if everything is ok, if people are working properly and if they need some instructions or help. On the farm there is always time for some fun as well and there is always a good feeling if you talk to the people on the field. And by the way, you find exactly these peppers from this farm later in Tabasco and Nando's products.

Mike driving

Marracuene back road

Farm plan

Employee

Pickers

Bucket with peppers

Male picker

Mike and Novela checking fields

Field mark

Warehouse

Farm dog called Spicey

Kids having fun on the farm

Whiteboard

Farm logo

Macaneta, close to Maputo

Maputo is a nice city but more and more busy (noisy). In recent years it became stincky, mainly due to increased number of cars and other petrol and especially diesel vehicles. If you need some relax for a day or two, a weekend or even a week away from Maputo, you can always hit a short 35 km road from Maputo to Marracuene, where you turn right and take a short ferry to Macaneta peninsula. There you can find pretty nice beach and also nice resorts like Lugar do Mar.

Ferry

Sign

Terrace

Beach

Swimming pool

Life is good

To Catembe and back

One sunny Sunday in Maputo. Perfect to visit Catembe with a ferry.

On the ferry

Leaving Maputo

On the other side of the bay

Maputo from Catembe

Another Maputo view

Girl looking to Maputo

On the ferry

On the ferry