After all of the wonderful excitement and learning experiences of 5 months in West Africa, I was feeling fulfilled in my goals that I'd had for that portion of the trip. At the same time, my nostalgia for a return to Mozambique was steadily growing. The first step was to transit South Africa, picking up a visa and getting a little R and R in Johannesburg before returning to the 'Bique.
Here is a shot of the hostel that I stayed at in Johannesburg: Brown Sugar. A castle-like building situated on a hill in a pleasant suburb, I was told it was formerly an old mob hideout.
A view of downtown Johannesburg from the hostel's deck.
I walked around Jo'burg a lot, despite the vast distances. One of my favorite things about South Africa is that they post the newspaper headlines on the roadside with really sensational and humorous titles in order to try and sell more newspapers.
The main thing to do in Johannesburg is to go to the mall. You can get all your errands done and catch a movie. In this mall, I think you can even go bowling.
More mall madness.
Another person walking along by the side of the road like me.
"Africa's Greatest Shopping Adventure"
A big divided highway I had to cross in order to get to the mall. Traffic is now on the left like in the UK. Notice the big "2010" sign in the grass on the left with soccer balls for the 0's.....anticipation is building for the 2010 World Cup to be held in South Africa, the continent's first hosting of soccer's quadriannual event.
An interesting shot of the skeleton of an escalator.
A few trips to the mall and an excursion to the Mozambican Consulate......that was about it for my first pass through South Africa. After a few days and a few errands, I took the public transport downtown to the bus station and boarded the bus for the 8-hour trip to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. Stay tuned for a significantly longer posting about the month I spent in Mozambique.
