6 June, Monday Dar es Salaam Mozambique embassy
We pack up as soon as we wake up – just a light pack and strap,
because the other campsite is less than 2 km away: Sunrise Beach. It is by the
ocean, clean, private and we are under big shady trees.
Willie makes a few phone calls and we do need to get our visas
for Mozambique here in Dar es Salaam. There are no facilities yet to issue visas
at the border. The boys scramble to find clean, decent looking clothes. Andrej
produces a t-shirt that I’ve not seen yet this trip and shorts that he’s worn
maybe once. Hugo has very little that will pass the‘decent-looking’ grade. His
shorts, pants and jeans are ripped and torn beyond the point of repair. He has
one pair of pants that passes, but his attire selection is on its death bed.
I’ve suggested that we find him a new pair of shorts, but there is resistance,
like with the mattress. So, I’m not sure if this is another of those
self-chastising, masochistic decisions to go through Africa with no mattress and
maybe 1 pair of shorts and a t-shirt?
There are several people waiting at the embassy. Willie explains
our situation: do we need visas, what will it cost etc. We wait almost 2 hours,
and we realize that we do not have the tolerance, or resilience to deal with
another visa complication. They cannot tell us whether Namibians need visas or
not; it takes 5 days to get a visa; rush fee for US visa is $95 and then you get
your visa the next day.
We have a team/family meeting in the embassy: how important is it
for us to go to Mozambique; will we be grief-stricken if we do not go there; who
wants to go; who does not want to go; who does not care…what are the pros and
the cons?
Andrej and Willie feel $95 is stiff and both of them can skip
Mozambique. Hugo and I would of course like to go, but if it is $95 for
Namibians as well, then we will reconsider. We wait another ½ hour and they
still cannot tell us whether we need a visa or not. Waiting-time helps to push
the vote over to ‘skip Mozambique’. I can live with that. We can hopefully go
at another time. It cuts down on our distance and gives us more time to drive
unhurriedly. Peace descends on the decision and we leave in unison. Next stop will thus be Malawi. All of us do want to go to Zanzibar and we will have to do that in the next day or 2.
We pack up as soon as we wake up – just a light pack and strap,
because the other campsite is less than 2 km away: Sunrise Beach. It is by the
ocean, clean, private and we are under big shady trees.
Willie makes a few phone calls and we do need to get our visas
for Mozambique here in Dar es Salaam. There are no facilities yet to issue visas
at the border. The boys scramble to find clean, decent looking clothes. Andrej
produces a t-shirt that I’ve not seen yet this trip and shorts that he’s worn
maybe once. Hugo has very little that will pass the‘decent-looking’ grade. His
shorts, pants and jeans are ripped and torn beyond the point of repair. He has
one pair of pants that passes, but his attire selection is on its death bed.
I’ve suggested that we find him a new pair of shorts, but there is resistance,
like with the mattress. So, I’m not sure if this is another of those
self-chastising, masochistic decisions to go through Africa with no mattress and
maybe 1 pair of shorts and a t-shirt?
There are several people waiting at the embassy. Willie explains
our situation: do we need visas, what will it cost etc. We wait almost 2 hours,
and we realize that we do not have the tolerance, or resilience to deal with
another visa complication. They cannot tell us whether Namibians need visas or
not; it takes 5 days to get a visa; rush fee for US visa is $95 and then you get
your visa the next day.
We have a team/family meeting in the embassy: how important is it
for us to go to Mozambique; will we be grief-stricken if we do not go there; who
wants to go; who does not want to go; who does not care…what are the pros and
the cons?
Andrej and Willie feel $95 is stiff and both of them can skip
Mozambique. Hugo and I would of course like to go, but if it is $95 for
Namibians as well, then we will reconsider. We wait another ½ hour and they
still cannot tell us whether we need a visa or not. Waiting-time helps to push
the vote over to ‘skip Mozambique’. I can live with that. We can hopefully go
at another time. It cuts down on our distance and gives us more time to drive
unhurriedly. Peace descends on the decision and we leave in unison. Next stop will thus be Malawi. All of us do want to go to Zanzibar and we will have to do that in the next day or 2.
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