Friends

I found these two while I was roaming the streets of Huambo, in the middle of Angola. This area suffered greatly during the war, and the episodes people have been telling me are too horrible for words. The war ended in 2002, with the death of Unita leader Jonas Savimbi. These two guys probably never had to deal with any of the horrors, and they are normal children, just like any others in any part of the world. Playing, going to school and wanting their picture taken. The city is also showing ever less signs of war. The building in the back is still scarred by bullet holes, but the one on the right looks brand new. It's like this all over town. Little by little, bad memories and signs of them disappear. Time (and in this case a lot of money) heals all wounds.

Mural

I spotted this mural last month while I was in Água de Madeiros. In the middle of the rubble of a construction site (probably adding yet another extension to an existing building). It's a sign of questionable taste you see very often around the countryside. Not that it's something exclusive to Portugal. I guess that every country has its own form of tacky decoration in and around buildings. We usually find our own kind tacky and that of other countries amusing. For me, this is tacky, but very amusing at the same time.