On the 23rd of May, I had the pleasure of welcoming two amazing guests from Germany: Felicitas and Hanz. I must admit, I miss you guys already. What a fun afternoon that was!
Hi, my name is Romão Nenane from Nenane Tours, and this tour was brought to you in association with Maputo Trips. 😄
As many people who know me can tell you, I am a huge football fan. I watch football, talk about football, think about football, and occasionally convince myself that if things had gone differently, I could have been playing in the Champions League instead of guiding tours around Maputo.
So you can imagine my excitement when I discovered that Hanz was a former football player. My dream had finally come true. At last, I was standing next to a professional footballer from Germany. A footballing giant. A sporting icon. A man who had successfully played in the 12th division of German football.
Now, before anyone starts laughing, let’s put things into perspective. Germany takes football very seriously. Reaching the 12th division still means you’ve probably kicked a football more times than most people have walked to the fridge.
For the rest of the tour, I naturally treated Hanz with the respect reserved for football royalty. Felicitas seemed very amused by this.
As we explored downtown Maputo, the conversations flowed effortlessly. We shared stories about our countries, our cultures, and the strange things that happen when people from completely different parts of the world meet in the same city.
One of the highlights of the tour was, of course, our visit to Tunduru Botanical Gardens and its famous bat colony. Every single time I take visitors there, the reaction is almost the same. First comes confusion. Then disbelief. Then someone points upward and says: “Wait… are those real?”
Yes. Very real. Very large. And very comfortable living in the middle of Maputo.
We also talked about one of the most fascinating chapters of Mozambican history: the story of the Madgermanes. These were Mozambican workers who spent years working in what was then East Germany. Their experiences became such an important part of our history that a garden in Maputo was named after them. “Madgermanes” literally means “The Germans”, and the story remains one of the most unique connections between Mozambique and Germany.
As we discussed this shared history, it felt fitting to be walking through Maputo with two German visitors, discovering yet another unexpected link between our countries.
Felicitas and Hanz, thank you for the laughter, the great conversations, and for making the tour such an enjoyable experience. Meeting travelers like you is one of the reasons I love doing what I do.
And Hanz, thank you for helping me fulfill my lifelong dream of meeting a German football player. I won’t mention the division again. Well… at least not until the next blog post.
A Luta Continua.