Late, But Better Than Nunca

Yes, my mom was here for a short visit two weeks ago, and yes, I have been very delayed in blogging about our time together.

To sum it up, we had an incredible time despite the fact that it was way too brief.

I think my mom was pleasantly surprised by Maputo and all it has to offer. We had delicious lunches each day she was here, drove up the coast to Costa do Sol, toured the banana plantations at the Empire (unfortunately without meeting Hugh Marlboro, as he was in Cape Town), bought hibiscus and bouganvilla from a roadside vendor near Boane, visited a local ceramics factory, went to a beautiful photography exhibition at the Franco-Moçambicano cultural center, and hung out a lot at home drinking tea while I made jewelry and laboriously did the caligraphy on the envelopes of our wedding invitations.

Easter Sunday was a highlight, though it was spent in spectacularly secular fashion. Rico, my mom and I had lunch at the Macanese* restaurant downtown and enjoyed deceptively delicious food given the shabby look of the place. We had peri-peri stir-fried chicken, rice with shrimp and squid, prawn curry, and hot and sour soup. All super delicious, and cheap to boot. Rico had said he wouldn't have gone in there on a bet, but I'll wager a dollar or two that he would go back after our lunch experience.

We rounded out the traditional Easter experience (ha, ha!) with a movie at the Gil Vicente cinema. From the look of the place, my mom estimated it was from the 1920's. Full of character, but notably empty of patrons on the holy day. We thoroughly enjoyed "Charlie Wilson's War", complete with sweet popcorn and cokes (incredibly delicious and made with real sugar, as my mom noted).

I'd like to upload the photos from my mom's trip, but unfortunately Blogger is not feeling cooperative. Perhaps tomorrow...

*proper adjective for something or someone from Macao