As I was temporarily bike less I checked into a local guest house in Centurion - on the outskirts of Pretoria. It had similar security arrangements to a military base. Intercoms, security gates, cameras & two rottweilers. "Expecting trouble ?" I asked Geoff the amicable owner."Yes, there are people who have nothing here & will steal anything".Security is one problem. Water is another. There has been no rain so far this year & they are being rationed. "The dam is empty, it has never been this bad David".
Back at the bike place & I've been upgraded from standard to business class. I am now on the bike equivalent of the star ship enterprise - a R1200GS LC Adventure. Gadgets galore. This is the bike the man who has everything would buy (& he'd probably be bald & portly). The rental guys maybe feeling guilty - or grateful that they hadn't had to recover me from darkest Zimbabwe.
Arrived in Mozambique & felt somewhat over dressed. Like arriving at a barn dance in a dinner suit. On a $20K+ bike, inconspicuous I wasn't. Mozambique is Portuguese speaking. The absence of the familiarities of the British colonial countries makes this country feel more alien. More like the French speaking African countries. I arrived at Maputo at dusk. The place was a rich mix of traffic chaos, street markets, shouting, dust, smoke...& darkness. Perhaps unwisely, I'd gone cheap & booked a hotel out of town in the suburbs for £20. With no street lights, no Portuguese, a GPS that would gives up after main roads & more wayward African directions (but now in Portuguese), finding the "hotel" was a challenge. That said, the star ship is now parked relatively safely & I'm having a curry & a beer. Tomorrow the beach - hopefully.
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