Maputo

I had a great time at the backpackers in Joburg talking with all the Belgians. They are young, opinionated and idealistic so the conversation was good.
Had to wake early on Saturday to get to the airport and make the flight to Maputo. I was real nervous because I had no idea what to expect in Maputo. I sat next to a nice Canadian lady who had never been there before, but she was with a non-profit group and everything was arranged for her. I, on the other hand, did not have anything arranged, including my visa or a place to stay. But you can do both of those on arrival. Its an hour flight. Waiting in the immigration queue, I started chatting with an English professor who was there on business, too. He didn't have a visa either. Although Mozambique joined the Commonwealth (they are the only member of the Commonwealth to not have been colonized by England, they just wanted to join), the English still need a visa. We told the immigration officer and she took our passports and disappeared. There were more of us who needed visas, including a woman from Lake Tahoe, three Canadian women and a delegation from Burkina Faso. We waited nearly an hour and were last to get our passports processed but we finally had everything in order and could leave. I knew where I wanted to stay, at another backpackers in town, so I looked for a taxi but they said it would be more cash than I had. But it was still reasonable and what I expected to pay, I just didn't have any local currency. Neither did the three ATMs at the airport. So I offered him what Rand I had left and he reluctantly agreed. On the taxi ride I wondered what I was getting myself into by visiting Maputo. Its big and dirty and falling apart.
The hostel had a spot in the dorm for me, which I was not keen on, but that was the only thing available and I didn't want to walk around Maputo looking for something better. I rested a little and then headed out to see the sights, of which there aren't many. Mozambique is stable now but has had a terrible history and after they delcared independence from Portugal, the Portuguese pulled out post haste and left the country with nothing. They looked to the USSR and East Germany for help. So there are grand Portuguese buildings and cafes with wide boulevards next to Marxist type apartment buildings that are very boring and generic. The streets are Avenida Vladimir Lenine, Avenida Kim Il Sung and my hostel is on Avenida Mao Tse Tung. Its very dirty and about 90% of the shops and restaurants are closed. So I wasn't too excited about Maputo. It was really windy and I had something in my eye, so I removed my contact and it blew out of my hand. I scoured the sidewalk but couldn't find it. People stared but didn't bother to help. And I don't think I could have communicated to them anywhere as their English skills are as bad as my Portuguese. Needless to say, I was very upset about this and headed back to the hostel to secure the remaining contact and put my glasses on. I didn't do much the rest of the day.
Today I walked down to a local cafe and had a nice breakfast, then walked around the city more to see if anything else was open. Not much. I went to the local market and walked around, then killed some time before the National Museum opened. Its free and has some good stuff but its really small and I was finished in 20 minutes. Then it started to rain, having been overcast and windy again all day. So I have ducked into the internet cafe and am catching up on everything. I wanted to go to one of the nearby islands, but there's no boat running on account of the weather. I wanted to visit the nearby elephant park, but its $100 per person with a four person minimum and I can't find 3 friends to come with me. so things in Maputo aren't working out as I'd hoped. Plus there is no direct way to get to Swaziland from here, so I am a little lost as to what I should do next.