This was the last view I had from my balcony at Pestana Ravuma hotel (Aka. The Palace Mozambique!!). Catherine and I finally found an appartment and we moved in Tuesday. Now we can officially feel more like Maputan residents as opposed to simply tourists (although our cushy life at the hotel was a luxory neither one of us will soon forget). Yesterday was Victory Day here in Maputo which is a national holiday that honours the valiant efforts of the Mozambican Liberation Army during the country's struggle for independance from the Portugeuse. War, however, was the last thing on people's minds as yesterday simply meant a day off work and the streets, parks and cafes were packed with Mozambicans of all shapes and sizes out to enjoy the lazy afternoon. I spent the better part of the day exploring the city by foot and checking out Maputo's unique cultural flavour. The city has no shortage of interesting colonial architecture, especially in the neighbourhoods close to the harbour, but unfortunately many have the buildings lie in various states of decay and many of the otherwise picturesque park areas are covered with thick layers of garbage. Garbage in fact seems to grow in place of grass around much of Maputo and this reminds me of my experience in the West Bank...right down to the ever present smell of filth. The smell of the Third World I guess you could call it. I met some very interesting Mozambican fisherman down by the harbour who shared with me some stories of their lives at sea. Mozambique is famous for its delectable seafood and fisherman can often find their nets so full of Jumbo Prawns that they cannot even lift their nets out of the water. However, bad fortune had visited my sea faring friends as their boats had broken down and they were not expected to set sail again for at least a month. "That's Africa my friend," one of them explained, "some days are good and some days are crap." The others all nodded their heads in agreement.