This is a typical scene in Mozambique. Friends getting together to share food, drinks, stories and much laughter around a communal table. On Saturday we had the extreme pleasure of being invited to share a meal with with a true Mozambican hero. Her name is Lena Maguia and she is the lady sitting on the left joining in on the chorus of the Mozambican national anthem. In addition to being a fantastic cook and a successful farmer, Lena was one of the first female members of parliament in this country. She is an extremely colourful lady who has worked tirelessly for most of her life on human rights issues, particularly those of rural women in Mozambique. She published a popular book entitled Peasant Tales of Tragedy in Mozambique which documented many of the attrocities suffered by rural families at the hands of the brutal RENAMO bandits during the 17 year civil war. The gentleman standing is named Kida and he was Chief of Security under Samora Machal, Mozambique's first president after independance. After we feasted on Roast Duck and other local delicacies, we were treated to a concert of old FRELIMO revolutionary songs, hymns that reflected the heart of the people and defined Mozambique's struggle for independance and peace.

On Sunday I checked out an international church here in Maputo. The service was in english and half the congregation was made up of ex-pats (ie. westerners living in Maputo). I guess I was expecting something with a bit more Mozambican flavour but the worship was certainly heartfelt and the sermon was delivered by a South African minister that looked and spoke like a young Nelson Mandela. After the service, I went with some Americans to the local fish market for lunch. What an event!! I had never experienced anything like this in my life. First off, you go through the market and pick an elaborate assortment of fresh seafood ( and i mean hours out of the ocean fresh) and the local restaurants will cook it up and serve it to you while you sit in a large court yard enjoying the shade, live Mozambican music and the leisurely paced Sunday afternoon. Some of the jumbo prawns for sale were, without exageration, the size of lobsters...it was incredible!! Between the eight of us we picked through an enormous bowl of clams, a fat red snapper and three kilograms of butter garlic prawns. With my belly full of the best of the Mozambican sea, I thought that I had died on gone to heaven.