Um ano

One year.

Today marks one year since I stopped being based in the UK, and relocated to Mozambique. I would say it has been far from easy on the work front, but many aspects of the challenge have been character-building and very interesting, such as learning Portuguese, visiting beautiful locations and grappling with new project ideas. Maputo is a great base and I’ll happily be lodged there with no end date.

I wish I didn’t have increasing frustration over institutional processes, which are souring my day-to-day at work, and I continue to strive for more balance in life.

This is the airstrip at Chuilexi Conservancy. This morning at around 5.30am, the pleasing roar of a plane engine could be heard taking off from here. Yesterday, after a two-year wait and huge bureaucratic faff following a minor prop strike and repair, Wim, the Conservancy Manager heard he could get back into the air. With aerial monitoring and visits to distant outposts now possible again by plane, it will assist a lot with activities and effectiveness in this remote patch of northern Mozambique.