On Saturday I went to Xipamanine. Xipamanine is a bustling market (it's also the name of a suburb) in Maputo similar to Kampala's Owino Market. Fresh fruit and vegetables, secondhand clothes and shoes, open air bars with pool tables, rat poison in small plastic bags, bicycles, pots and pans, fresh meat including whole heads of cows and goats (I was told they are tasty when cooked in a broth), and all the ingredients for a voodoo potion can be found at Xipamanine.
My company for the trip were Custodia and Miguel. Miguel (pictured below) is a property agent in Maputo and was one of the first people I met when I arrived in the Mozambican capital as I was searching for an apartment. Custodia is the embregada (maid) where I live. Custodia and I mostly converse with hand signals and smiles so Miguel, with his impeccable English and Portuguese, helped us to communicate.
We met in the morning at the chappas stop near my house on Avenida 24 de Julho (24 July Avenue) and jumped on a chappas to Ximpamanine. The 20 minute trip cost us 5 meticais each - about 20 Australia cents.
We ate lunch at the the market perched on top of small stools and water containers with our plates carefully balanced on our laps. I had rice, salad and grilled chicken with a good dose of piri piri (hot chilli paste) which I have become quite fond of whilst I've been here. It seems that mayonnaise - not one of my favourite condiments - is quite popular here so I carefully separated the blob of mayonnaise on my salad to the side of the plate. Other than the mayo situation the meal was hearty and good.
After the Xipamanine we "chappa'd" it back to downtown where I bought a rhinoceros head made out of beads which had captured my attention when I was downtown the previous week. It's quite a piece - I'll put up a picture of it on my next post. You'll have to let me know what you think.
Salma dear, I love your blog! Thank you for sharing :)) You've totally inspired me - I've lived here too long without experiencing Maputo the way you have - must leave my car and start walking and talking. Please keep writing!! x Jenny
ReplyDeleteHi Jenny, Thanks so much for your words! I'm glad you've enjoyed the stories so far - hopefully I can keep them rolling. You're right, I've met some really interesting (and some not so interesting) people simply travelling by foot. I definitely recommend it. :)
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