One week in Mozambique

Dave and Bella gave me one week holiday and I got the occasion to enjoy the private transfer to Maputo with the Dutch students teaching in Schoemansdale who were also going for their last week in Africa. On the way, kms and kms of sugar cane. Dave took us to the memorial of Samora Michele who was the president of Mozambique and died with a couple of his colleague on a plane crash. They built a memorial on the place the accident took place with the rest of the burnt plane. I am not sure a lot of people get to there because it is quite lost in the middle of nowhere, but it was a good feeling to see some people involved in it even if the museum is not bigger than a few photos of the member in the plane and some words about their position and their role.

At the boarder, Dave arranged everything for us, with a tip of R10, we got the Visa easily and faster. Lots of Mozambican were crossing the boarder by foot with their huge amount of bags and food, regards to the very bad conditions for them at the moment in South Africa. Indeed, all of you heard about the trouble happening for a couple of week now and I received some emails of you worried about my situation. What's happening here is crazy even if it doesn't change my own situation. Most of the victim are Mozambican or Zimbabwean established in South Africa with the hope they can find a better life here than in their country. The South African claim they steal the money, make the suburbs unsafe and take the few jobs available. And for this reasons and wrong ideologies, people get murdered in a very grisly way. The murderer burn their victims alive, strangle them, shoot them if they answer with a foreign accent at their questions. These are the terrible picture you probably saw, or maybe not, but they appear here in the newspaper. I haven't heard any report on white foreigner attack; I would have thought it would give the chance to some of those criminal to in the confusion though. Funny to think that the president of South Africa Mbeki claims since the last election in Zimbabwe the situation in the neighbour country is under control and there is no reason to panic when his population in his country kill those same neighbours...total confusion...

In our first km in Maputo in our vehicle registered in South Africa, a guy in the next car as we stopped greeted us friendly before giving this sad reproach : "what's up in your country with us man? what do you think of we would do the same here?" At this moment, you realize how awful the situation is. However, it wouldn't happen in Mozambique, crime exist also but the difference is an attack in Mozambique means you get robbed, South Africa you get killed. I don't speak about Zimbabwe because I'm not sure how it is but everybody agrees to say, it's worse than South Africa. Don't wonder if they come through here to get some peace, even if it is a complete paradox for us.



Maputo is safer than Jo'Burg or even Nelspruit, but it's far to mean it is safe. Some parts of the capitale are to avoid by day as by night, and by night, ue a taxi everywhere you want to go, don't walk alone,... in a part of the center, street with restaurants and cafes you can walk, always with precaution though. You wouldn't live alone in an appartment in Maputo either, a guard for each house etc...



Dave took us first to the fish parket to have some lunch. I was wondering to see how unconfortable the girls felt when a couple of young people trying to sell us things, walking close tu us keeping talking even if you don't listen to them. It's their business, it can be annoying, but if you are a bit confident and you show them you are not interest then they leave you in peace. After 10 minutes, each of them was come around us and eventually let us the chance to relax. Dave went to the market and bought some prawns, before we went there and smelt the nice fresh fish, prawns, crabs,... it is not a big market, almost a tidy one, with 15 sailors maybe, fruit and vegetable also available. The nice thing about this famous market is to buy your fish and give it to the chef of the restaurant of your choice to cook it for you. Fabulous isn't it?






**********INHACA**************

Inhaca is an island close to the capital. Just the ferry boat is an adventure, jumping in a motor boat before the arrival, I wouldn't recommend it if you have more than one bag, the Mozambican do though, taking everything they can from the mainland to the island to bring to their family and it's a kind of funny mess when you arrive there, more funny than anything else actually.I stayed there in this little hut with other Mozambican tourists from Maputo too.3 or 4 villages in total on the island, the main one is the one here, it means : some shops for tourists, 2-3 bars restaurants, a little-tidy market and a huge lodge for people from oversee with ambiance Club Med on the evenings, too bad...

A motor boat took us for 300 Meticals, 100 rands, 8 euros to Portuguese island, nowhere there just sandy beach and wild desert bush.

2M is the most popular beer in Mozambique, even though I enjoyed the sweet cheap rum : Tippo tinto.




Once back, I was pleased to meet American 2 guys in The Base, central backpacker in Maputo also going to Tofo with the minibus, so I wouldn't have my first long journey on my own. At the taxi rang at 5:30 you can buy every kind of food or other products for your house and on all the way, people all along the road selling fruits, sofas, shampoo.... the mozambican bread is lovely, white bread quite similar to french bread, delicious!! sweet pineapple for 1 euro, coconut for 5Meticals, I don't even try to make the conversion in euro it would be ridiculous.

*********Tofo / Inhambane*********

Tofo is the tourist place in Mozambique : just backpackers, restaurants and see-activities companies, beaches, souvenirs and food market. Lots of accommodation facilities,... I met the duth girls again there even if we didn't stay at the same place, Tofo is such a place every tourist is it was very unlikely I wouldn't have seen them there.

I don't believe it yet but I did swim with whale sharks!! just amazing and unbelievable, but so easily available here, it is a must really even if you are not keen on diving or snorkelling. I must say I was hesitant for the diving tour, maybe later, so I went for the ocean safari and snorkelling. On the wednedsay, normally my last day in Tofo / Inhambane, the tour was cancelled because the weather was too windy and the Tofo Scuba member were not sure they are able to see whale sharks. Too bad, I HAD to come back the day after if I really wanted to do that, so I decided to stay one more day. It just made my trip back to Nelspruit in one day and I didn't know exactly how but anyway, it was one more day holiday on the beach and one more evening with Lynne in Inhambane. So I went on the Thursday, on the tour I met the 2 guys on the right hand side here, a Canadian and a Greek living in Belgium and Germany. It is an unforgettable experience. I didn't expect to be able to jump out of the boat and be so close to the huge peacefully shark!! When I jumped into the water the first time, I almost touched it so close I was!! impressive and king of frightening also...

After all those emotion we deserved a nice meal ; the 3 of us ate seafood at the nice restaurant Casa de comer in a charming environment.

I stayed the first night in Tofo at Fatima's nest which is a very nice backpacker right on the beach, sand everywhere cute little grass huts… For the second night, I stayed at Lynne’s house, a Canadian girl working in Inhambane. She has a house with a free room and bathroom, ideal to receive people. I don’t know how many Couchsurfer she met here before me but a lot. I felt good in her company as soon as we met at the market. Cooking, drinking some Tippo tinto bought in the next baracca. I fell in love with Inhambane because everything is available by foot and it’s safe to walk around, even at night time just make sure to be a group of minimum 2 people for more security and have fun : go to the market, the shops of the nice Indian community, to the restaurant, have a coffee in the morning, a beer in the evening… I met Jimmy on a terrace one morning waiting for the bus to Tofo, we spoke together for 20 minutes and exchanged our phone number which was a great idea for the rest of my African events I think. I’m sure we are going to meet again in the next weeks so he could explain me better chat he is up to, sort of golf place with accommodation…
The second evening by Lynne, a friend of her, Luis, came to cook prawns and coconut rice. It was as simple as delicious, such a great dinner really. Luis is still at school but also a professional DJ. Lynne recognised he has the skills to be better and to become a real DJ and they try to find Luis a school in Canada to study more about electronic music… The third evening we went to 2 barracas and staid until the middle of the night, I slept one hour before I took the minibus to Maputo. Once back in the capital, no time for an overnight, I had to find a minibus going to Nelspruit the same day. The bus driver and a young Mozambican in the bus were very helpful, the taxi driver drove me right to the minibus going to Nelspruit. BUT it was only 5 of us who had to get to Nelspruit, I was waiting in the taxi right in the sun from 11:30am ‘till 3:30pm without any clue if I eventually would be able to arrive in Nelspruit this day. The taxi driver informed us finally that he was not going but organized an other taxi for us, it’s what usually happens if his taxi is nit full obviously. I was glad a guy also going with me could speak English and explain me what was going on ‘cause I felt a bit hopeless during 4 hours reading my book trying not to be impatient… Finally I arrived by nicht at the taxi rang : exactly what you don’t want to, the driver let me wait for my Thabo taxi inside his bus then I felt safe. But Dave and Bella still now repeat me that I must NOT recommend it to their clients because it is really too dangerous. It’s actually not just because of the security, that’s more or less manageable with a bit of sense, but because of the way they drive, fast, risky, and the state of their vehicle…and that’s right, you can’t do anything to avoid it.
Anyway, I arrived safe at Old Vic with the biggest part of my heart staid in Inhambane, peacefully town with charming population. Lynne and Luis’ company, sun and beach, African landscape with grass huts in the little villages all along the road, woman with colourful dress and bandanas in their hairs…