• The gross inequality between the rich and the poor
I know that this title, before any of you write to tell
me so, is a pretentious one. It is written with
"tongue in cheek". It is simply a site to look at
some of the aspects of the country that have left
an impression on me

It is a personal web site to share with those of you
for whom a world atlas may be a very exciting book,
those who have already been to Mozambique, those
who see it around some curve on their voyaging
path and for those who feel the name Mozambique
to be vaguely exotic.

When first mentioned to me as a destination I had to
consult an atlas. One quick look convinced me - I
saw two thousand three hundred kilometres of
Indian Ocean embracing a long narrow strip of
Southern Africa. I easily imagined myself strolling
barefoot on white sands or being rocked in my
hammock by a dusky beauty who made sure that I
was shielded from the fierce midday sun which tried
to reach me through the tall graceful swaying palms.

Previously, the only times I had heard the name
Mozambique was firstly, in a song by Bob Dylan  
called "Mozambique", taken from his “Desire” (1976)
album and secondly, when watching people being
plucked, in a flooded countryside, from the tops of
trees,  in 2000 and 2001. But that was on TV.

I like to spend some time in Mozambique
The sunny sky is aqua blue
And all the couples dancing cheek to cheek.
It’s very nice to stay a week or two.
Bob Dylan (1976)

These observations and photos will, I hope, give
you a small window into, what is for me, one of the
most attractive African countries I have so far
visited.
Places are rarely as you expect or imagine them to be and Mozambique was no
exception. Some of these impressions have modified or even changed completely
over the years. Some not. In any case, I’d like to share some of them with you. In
this site I’ll be looking at some of the following aspects:
  • The enthusiasm, happiness and inventiveness of the children
realmozambique.org
A personal look at this intriguing country on the Indian
Ocean
The AK47, with the hoe and
the yellow star, pictured here
as part of the national flag,
revives memories of the
Marxist part of its recent
history.
Donal Conlon, Irish, has lived in
Mozambique for more than five
years where he has been helping
to train secondary-school
teachers, first in the central city of
Beira and, at present,  in the
capital, Maputo. He has already
worked at second and third-level
education in Ireland, Thailand,
Greece, England and France. He
also set up  and ran, while living in
France, a travel agency
specialising in educational travel.
He took early retirement from his
university in France to work in
education in Africa.

He has also worked at  various
other jobs: fisherman in Greece,
barman in New York, construction
worker in London, etc.

Travel has always been one of his
principal passions.
  • The ability of Mozambicans to enjoy the moment
The site will have a look at some of these subjects through observations and
photos. I will be adding, in the next weeks, pages with the following titles:

  • Music and dance
  • Hairstyles
  • Using your head
  • The Mozambican attitude to sex and marriage and children
  • Landscapes
  • Informal markets
  • Education
  • The light, ranging from blazing white to velvet mauve and black and
    the sometimes startling juxtaposition of colour
  • The good-humoured, good-natured behaviour of the people when,
    materially, they seem to have little to be happy about
  • The beauty of  Mozambican girls and their relaxed relationship with
    their bodies.
  • The important place of music and dance in the culture
  • Religion, the role of witchdoctors, worship of ancestors and some
    unusual beliefs
  • The difficulty of giving children a decent education
Reminders of the
ex-colonial power
Portugal
Hard-working women
Transplanting rice near
Beira
Women netting small fish at
dusk off Pemba Beach
Mozambican faces
Exotic hairstyles
Informal markets
South Africa to the south
and Tanzania to the
north, plus Zimbabwe,
Malawi, Zambia and
Swaziland.
An ex-luxury hotel in Beira,
squatted by several thousand
people. No water or power.
  • The beauty and exotic nature of many landscapes
In black and white
The beautiful Villa Algarve in
Maputo  Once used as an
interrogation centre it has
remained abandoned since
the end of the War of
Independence..