While many of us think of Africa as a place now utterly in turmoil and misery, the New York Times is bullish on Mozambique, calling it one of Africa’s most beguiling destinations. The country has some 1,500 miles of pristine Indian Ocean coastline, and is emerging as a truly viable tourist destination, a notion deftly described in the article here. The culture of Mozambique is a curious melange of African and Portuguese, so you might be given to think of places like Bahia, Brazil. At least, that’s the sense I got from the piece. I have to say, I am intrigued. I have only seen north Africa, but I have a feeling Mozambique may be a place I want to visit in the near future.
Young Explorers
Here’s a look at the new crop of young explorers and the things they’re doing to advance the species. Among them is one of my favorites: Kira Salak. NYT called her “a real-life Lara Croft”, which is kind of lame. Anyway, Salak has traveled to almost every continent, visiting some of the world’s most remote places, including Madagascar, Mozambique, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, and Borneo. She was the first documented person to kayak solo 600 miles (966 kilometers) down West Africa’s Niger River.