Caia and back

So I am going to try to keep this one a little more brief as their are lots of captioned pictures which tell the story just as well as I could. The last weeks took me up to the northern extent of our operations where we are currently clearing a suspected hazardous area residing in the "back forty" of a secondary school. Some issues with one of our equipment transportation vehicles, and valves on the third tempest were my main interest but I also had some time while there to see a controlled demolition of an explosive remnant, as well as soak up the sights, sounds, and smells (some better than others).
It is about a 1000km to get there which isn't so bad in an air conditioned CRV... the return trip on a bus where they sold the standing room of the isle and everyone carried all of their recent purchases/luggage/weeping coolers etcetera which made those tens hours pretty exhausting. I finished my book, and sweated through my clothes to keep entertained for most of the time.
Highlights of the north include: washing in a pail of cold water mainly to provide contrast to the hot shower three days later, total portuguese immersion with the travelling maintenance team (my dictionary rarely left my side), and a chance to see Mozambique beyond the palm trees of Inhambane province.
For the final leg we sailed home which totally made up for the previous 10 hours travel, and this past weekend included a Festival fo the sea celebrating the marine resources of the area and intending to give the Mozambican Nationals a chance to see why all these toursits flock to the beach in Tofo. Unfortunately the weather was less than cooperative for the ocean based activities but the reception on shore I think largely made up for that. Again the pictures paint a better picture.
As for me, having toured the majority of the operations I have a much better sense of the work to be done and have begun sketching out required training refreshers as well as visiting the spare parts system for opporunities to increase our odds of keeping everything running. That trip also reinforced the need for foresight as it is no minor task to get a team and spare on site as required.
An if it all didnt sound entertaining enough, the winds have been great as of late and now equipped with tide tables I am able to plan my recreation with ease. The locals in Inhambane seem to get a real kick out of my trips around the bay and I have enjoyed some more entertaining conversation trying to explain the equipment upon returning to shore.

Got to go to Caia now…

So training week has been quite something to observe. All the troops come home so to speak and a flurry of activity ensues to ensure that they are fully ready to be deployed back into the field. Despite having near 2 weeks off following a 12 week rotation, (of 10 on and 4 off) the vehicles only come back with the demining teams leaving the maintenance department with effectively 2 days to assess all filed driver complaints and complete any scheduled maintenance activities as required based on the observed mileage or hours clocked on the machines. The language barrier makes me feel like I have my hands cut off, and I think to date I have likely been responsible for a net reduction in productivity as I am constantly asking poorly constructed questions, or requiring intervention from one of the “more bilingual” individuals.
On average I would say that 1 in 15 Mozambican individuals speak English at a functional level, with “functional” being actually somewhat technical for my purposes here. This is based on my experience and observations and is likely biased as I am working with a foreign NGO, in the south of the country. One might then expect that the average is actually lower across the board but I suspect that I speak far too quickly, and am often asking seemingly odd questions about their day to day activities. If given the option I would likely not let on to speak any English either! All that is to say it is tough going to get the specifics you are looking for, and whenever I find myself with time to spare I am back to studying to try and come up to speed.
Not a lot of time on my hands as off of late as training week also saw the transfer of duties between technical advisors visiting the Mozambican operations, Zac and Olivier have handed off responsibilities, the former to the latter, at this position and continue to tour, suggest, inquire and generally help out where required with training or logistical planning issues. Both of these guys have extensive military experience and then a number of years working in Humanitarian de-mining efforts. So many of the people I have met in the HI organization have wild stories of their tours in war torn regions around the globe. It seems like all of the scariest places or times reported in the popular press have been visited by at least one of the folks I have met over the last couple weeks.
For the coming 3 months Olivier and I are sharing accommodations through the end of his tour here. He is a good laugh, speaks French, Portuguese, and English and generally makes my life easier. (for example he was able to explain to the gardener/guard that we don’t need the yard swept a 415am every morning, swish, swish, swish, swish, had been my daily wake up call until this point)
I question how much shared accommodation we will actually see as we both have requirements to head into the field and actually see the operations at work. The current plan has me catching a ride to Caia (Kaya) on Friday to see the third Tempest which is currently blowing fuses regularly. As I understand it there is also an issue with the axle of the five tonne 4wd truck used to transport the Tempest. I have observed some questionable maintenance practices since being here, largely born out of necessity but nonetheless inexcusable, wiring fuses together across the terminals for example, sure it saves you a dollar and maybe gets you home but…. It is a fuse,,, on purpose,,,, ya?
Anyhoo some pictures from the casualty evacuation exercise, and dog drills during training have been added.
In the mean time I had a request for a run down of local cuisine. I have only found one traditional dish and that is Matapa, a delicious combination of dark green leaves (cassava? Pumpkin? Spinach like anyway) and mild spices. Usually served with a side of rice and laced with small shrimps or chunks of crab. The other day it had a whole crab still in shell, cut up and cooked inside the matapa. I am not sure if this was intended as a joke or not, but imagine trying to eat crab fished out of a spinach soup with any grace. Not happening. Anyhoo there are 6 or so bakeries in Inhambane so bread is a staple, in burger bun size or half length baguette. At the restaurants you can get almost all foods although meat is relatively expensive. For the most part I have stayed with the grilled fish, grilled prawns, or fried calamari but the chicken piri-piri (spicy) is worth trying as well. An egg sandwhich is my typical breakfast, although I recently found some local wild honey which is like a hyper-sweet alfalfa honey, a little margarine on bread, mmmmm. The local fruit is cheap, and you can also get imported fruit from South Africa although the price jumps four fold.
On the way to the beach, and on the edge of town there are large expanses of gardens growing vegetables of all varieties. The crazy bit is that it is a tidal area so the canals are filled twice daily with sea water. I intend to take a wander through this area but am waiting for either more language skills or someone to offer to show me a round. It is really quite beautiful from the road and I am intensely interested to understand the irrigation systems employed there (who me?, a geek?).
Anyway, I expect to be in the North for a week or so, taking lots of photos, Caia is located on the banks of the Zambezi so that should provide some vistas.
Adeus for now.

On with work, and kiting!

Another big week to report on here, even though it flew by on account of the long weekend Monday. Apparently we have two holidays in September so in that sense it is a good transition month for sure. Wednesday we made the trip up the coast to Mapinhame (map-in-yann) for the phonetic fans out there. The photos added with this entry all stem from that trip as I have been frantically searching for an Mozambican to North American plug socket adapter ever since to recharge my camera! Neat to see the equipment in action for sure, and as you look at the photos note the “mowed down” brush and understand that the alternative is garden shears… not saying this is the only way of doing things, just trying to explain the need for 150 thousand dollar pieces of equipment. (and yes I am considering a side business in fabrication)
The third tempest now resides in Inhambane, following its engine replacement in Maputo. A couple minor issues exist before it can be called operational but I believe we have scrounged enough spares to patch it back together. I have been getting to know the head mechanic and he seems like a good guy with more English skills than he originally let on. I am still trying to understand the work… how you say… schedule? without coming off like a “hardass”.
Luckily we have a bit of time as next week is re-training week where all three field teams are recalled from their various locations across Sofala, Manica, and Inhambane provinces for intensive sessions which are intended to act as refreshers on SOP’s as well as introduce any new equipment or procedures. I guess I fall under the equipment category as I have been asked to prepare a brief introductory speech! So far I am able to tell you where I am from, my name, my profession, and in a nutshell why I am here. Although I am pretty sure the term “in a nutshell” might not translate word for word! I understand there will be a translator present for any questions, so I am not too worried. I have been hitting the books with renewed vigor to try and figure out this Portuguese thing. They say it is a relatively simple dialect spoken here so that bodes well for me. A friend of mine has offered to teach me over beers, and he is extremely patient so this is also favourable.
I am starting to get a better sense of what it is they are looking for from me, between being given my terms of reference today and observing the delta between the written SOP and “in practice” practice!! I suppose the difference exists necessarily, as the SOPs are written for best case scenarios, but they also need to be not so burdensome as to be ignored. Generally I am impressed with the equipment and capacities but have already noted a few significant issues to be addressed.
So that was the work week, I am just enjoying some kind of veggy curry my emprigata has prepared for me, Rosita is a sweet lady, although I secretly suspect she may be not be “bringing all the groceries home” if you know what I am saying. It might just be that I am still surprised at the cost of living here. As I said before you can get everything you could at home, but it costs the same. For this reason I am finding my diet trending more and more so traditional in order to keep costs down. But even today for example I bought some peanuts in the market which are sold by the little plastic cup full for 10 meticals (meti-caash) a cup, now I am not complaining, but these peanuts likely came from a field within walking distance and by the time I got a reasonable size bag we are talking about the better part of two bucks. Don’t get me wrong I am all for fair trade, I am just at a loss over where to find the bargains… save for the clementines I guess, and the sweet, sweet pineapple, ok nevermind, glass is definitely half full…
So after work today the wind was still blowing, the sun had finally burned through the clouds that had rained on Inhambane for about 12 hours straight last night and we still had two hours of light. What better day to go and make an ass of myself for the local population! If you recall, there was a picture from the last post from the end of my street, well if you walk towards the water there, down the embankment you are on a huge expanse of tidal flats and also right in front of the school and three or four basketball/football courts, great an audience!
So where to begin, no one really takes notice until the kite is pumped up, and then a number of locals come over in small groups to inquire what this is all about including one gentleman, who I can’t decide if he owns the place or is employed by the state, but the acronym on his shirt, he leads me to believe, should certainly mean something to me… hmmm. We conclude that I should go out, but it is not entirely clear to me if I will be welcome back or not!
So it is high tide which means two things, this is even a shorter walk to the beach then where I lived in Ottawa, and secondly there really isn’t much exposed tidal flats to work with. I set up for self launch, and not once, not twice, but three times have my kite roll over on my head buggering all my lines and starting the process again. The crowds anticipation is building. So finally I sort it out, launch the kite, and what the hell? This black mass of something is well into my lines on the one side so much so that whatever steering I put in under tension sticks. (all you motherly types close your eyes for a moment) So at about this point I am realizing that the forecast for Inhambane is not representative (no surprise here) but even my pre-launch observations might not have been correct as my 17m is kind of lofting me around and combined with this inability to steer fluidly things get a little exciting. A short 12 foot hop over some reeds, followed by a down loop into the mangroves has me skipping 30 feet downwind to raucous laughter. Thankfully the mangroves secure my kite, and I am able to rise for a bow.
With no real option here, I persevere, recover the kite, untangle the lines, wind seems down a bit, so I start again. Now the stern gentlemen from before is right into it, measuring my lines for me??, helping to remove the giant wad of black hair that had made for the craziest entanglement I have ever seen, holding the kite, etc. So I decide to teach him via sign language how to launch me, and all is much smoother. It is still way to windy especially in the middle of the bay to do much other than hang on but I do my best to give a more controlled demonstration and come in to a lot less laughter. Rodreeg (not Rodrigo, or Rodriguez) is now my best friend and does his best Mr. MeeYaggee meets Bruce Lee imitation and insists on a series of photos with me and all this crazy equipment, then me and his wife, and then him and me…. At this point I smell the Tipo Tinto (local rum) on his breath and his demeanour makes quite a bit more sense. He also makes me promise to come back next Thursday, but for the life of me I could not ascertain the significance of the day. It is going to be good though! Stay tuned!

On week 1 and settling in.... (long)

Howdy all,
So a couple things off the bat, this is my first blog – so bear with me, this is also my first trip to Africa – so pardon my naivety. I am hoping to use this to keep in touch with anyone who is interested and try and share my perspective and experiences here.
Why am I here? I was fortunate enough to be selected for a CIDA funded, 5 month internship via www.MinesActionCanada.org to work with Handicap International – Mozambique’s Demining efforts. Specifically they were looking for someone to assist in the maintenance of the various vehicles and mechanized equipment used in the demining operations.
For a background on Mine Action check out the MAC site, note that the international campaign to ban landmines is a “success in progress” but much work remains. Also note that this fall the Cluster Munitions Campaign will hopefully receive its first signatures from heads of state with the intention to ban the use of another indiscriminant, disproportionate and devastating weapon from use. There is so much information I will leave it your own path of discovery, if you are more visually inclined maybe spend 15 minutes perusing youtube, a lot of people had worked very hard to shed some light on the issue which has fortunately(?) been largely removed from our experience in the west.
As for me I have thus far enjoyed a very easy transition into Mozambique, having been hosted by the HI program director’s house in the capital city Maputo while recovering from jet lag and picking up a couple last minute items too heavy to pack. You can get anything you want in Maputo, and you can expect to pay about the same as in Canada. This week of big city life included my first assignment of shopping for 2 vehicles to replace one lost in an accident in the north of the country. This alone was an eye opener, in short the used car market here consists of the cars deemed unfit or unwanted in Japan. They show up in Mozambique, and are essentially marketed as is. After inspecting around 40 cars we found two that were in decent operating condition.
Following the completion of that task I was given a lift ~500km north to my new home in Inhambane. A sleepy little town with a lot of history, and an idyllic setting. The relatively comfortable life that Inhambane provides makes it home to a range of NGO’s, a university, and backpackers passing through. As the provincial capital (of the province of the same name) it also has a wide range administrative buildings, and related infrastructure. Again for further reading I suggest Wikipedia.org for a backgrounder on the history and geography of Mozambique. Their former status as Portuguese East Africa is especially interesting and relevant to the current situation.
So here I am settling into life in Inhambane, it was a long weekend here this week celebrating independence from Portugal, this meant they turned the music up on Friday afternoon and pretty much kept rocking until sometime last night (with the exception of when the power went out Saturday night around 1am). With Monday off I had a chance to visit around the town (takes about 25 minutes to jog around in its entirety) as well as the surrounding beach wonderland. Friday night some friends and I headed to nearby Tofo beach for an all night disco African style, cool mix of Mozambicans and expats, live music, dollar beers, etc. The Chapas (local buses) don’t really drive after dark so we ended up at the beach for the night and caught the first lift back in the morning which happened to be the DJ’s equipment truck. They like their bass here but nonetheless I caught a couple hours of zzz’s in a deck chair overlooking the ocean.
Saturday evening I had a chance to break Ramadan’s daily fast with a co-worker and his family and was treated to a feast just after sunset. Even had a pineapple/crumb bottom desert dish that was likely as close as I will get to my mom’s pineapple refrigerator cake for another 5 months anyways.
Sunday I caught a ride to the beach with an American who is working for an S. African cotton farm that is re-investing in the area and had the chance to explore further down the beach from Tofo and check out the surf conditions. Not huge sets but some nice 4/5 footers suitable for surfing proper, all kinds of waves for kiting on. I saw a kiter the other day, wind was a bit light but comforting nonetheless that they exists in these parts. The place is packed full of lagoons and bays and waves, and whale sharks (largest living fish species, but only eats plankton and the like).
Monday checked out another local beach called Barra which has some pretty high-end accommodations including a string of lodges on stilts sitting on the tidal lagoon called Flamingo bay (apparently there are Flamingos here as well)
Pretty amazing place physically, with I am told, the highest density of palm trees in all of Mozambique… The area is certainly gifted in terms of attractions with world class diving, seafood, vistas, etc but short of a couple water-wells “courtesy of lodge X” it makes me wonder what life is like on the fringe of affluence brought by the visiting tourists. I intend to travel well beyond Inhambane and its surroundings so hopefully I can get a sense of what the real Mozambique is like and then have a better understanding of the contrast.
Speaking of travel, the buses (Chinese minivans) run everywhere at all times between sun up and sun down, charge about 50 cents, and literally shake themselves to pieces often packed to the rafters with 5 extra people standing in the sliding doorway. The other day the door fell off on a particularly rutted section. No problem, the driver just pulled ahead to a safe pull off, dispatched the “doorman” to retrieve it and set it back in place…
As for work, thus far I have spent my time familiarizing myself with the SOP’s, facilities, and staff to try and get a sense of how things are done around here. My Portuguese is terribly basic, but coming along. Tomorrow morning we head further North to see some of the equipment in action. The engine replacement in the 3rd Tempest (think lawnmower meets wood chipper on steroids) has been completed in Maputo and should be joining us shortly.
Sorry for the gratuitous first post, this accounts for almost two weeks and all is very new to me.