Blogs from Nampula, Northern, Mozambique, Africa

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Africa » Mozambique » Northern » Nampula April 16th 2018

We had a few great days with Leigh (friend and ex-colleague of Judith) and Louis at their amazing boutique guesthouse The Pablo House in Johannesburg (https://www.facebook.com/pablohousemelville/). They really spoilt us and we relaxed a bit but also had quite a night in what was easily the best place we stayed at the past year of travelling ánd we had the best breakfast ever in the popular Pablo’s Eggs Go Bar (https://www.facebook.com/pabloeggsgobarmelville/) owned and run by Louis. In Joburg I (Merijn) went to visit a dentist because I felt some pain but the dentist could not see anything at the x-ray and I left with a handful of painkillers and anti-inflammatory pills. Then, after 3 months and on the last day of our SA visa, it was time to leave South Africa. We left t... read more
Pastel de nata
Enough space for all
Mozambeats

Africa » Mozambique » Northern » Nampula August 13th 2012

Nampula is the capital of this Northern Region of Mozambique, and as such it has lots of administrative offices and lots of activity. It does have a "hard edge" to it, but N.. Walked around and bought clothes and toiletries to replace the essentials that he lost. He managed to find everything he needed except secure Internet access. E.. cheated and used the hotel's computer. N.. refused to use a potentially compromised machine. It took us 2 days to recover from the stomach bug and the ill effects of lousy train travel.... read more

Africa » Mozambique » Northern » Nampula August 12th 2012

We got to the train station at 04:00. There was a semblance of a line up, but there were pockets of people not in the line up too. We stayed near the entrance to the station. At 04:30 the station doors were opened by big beefy men in hard hats who were used to crowd control. We used out torches to get to the unpopular 3rd class caqrriages near the front of the train. They were less crowded because they involved a long walk from the station platform. We got 3 seats in a corner where there was plenty of luggage space on top. We put our 3 bags on the top luggage rack and held on to our day packs in our laps. We chose the corner seats, so there would be more security for ... read more

Africa » Mozambique » Northern » Nampula August 24th 2009

L has said he'll take me to the bus station the following morning but he gets up sufficiently late that I begin to wonder if I'll get out of Mocuba today. I'd been told that I should buy my ticket at least an hour in advance in order to ensure a seat, but we leave at a time where we'll barely make it to the station to catch the bus full stop, let alone get a seat on it. L realises this, and instead takes me to a pick-up spot in town where I should be able to flag down the bus when it passes. We say our farewells, and I'm grateful for that last piece of Malawian hospitality. I don't have to wait long for the bus and it's not surprisingly full however the aisle ... read more
That's very nearly an armful!
Hotel Lurio
Kalashnikov and ploughshare

Africa » Mozambique » Northern » Nampula December 13th 2008

Rui is wrapped in a bedsheet and sleeping under the cashew tree when I set off for the train to Nampula. He wipes the sleep from his eyes, raises half-heartedly, offers to walk me to the station. I pat his shoulder and thank him for the offer, but tell him to go back to sleep. “Estou bêm,” I assure him. The early pre-dawn blue has begun to show in the sky, and sleepy Cuamba doubtless has few surprises between here and the train station. The askari opens the gate and wags his hand and sends me off, no doubt grateful to dispense of his responsibilities before heading back to bed. Stray dogs prowl through the street trash; a truck idles outside the bakery, the driver slouched in his seat. At the station, two surprisingly patient queues ... read more
Rush hour.
A legacy of war.
Village.

Africa » Mozambique » Northern » Nampula July 19th 2008

A train ride in Africa seems like and is a good idea. No more sharing a seat with two other people, no more sitting down for 12 hours, no more potholes which could swallow a truck, being able to eat and drink and actually enjoy the scenery. That is if you book second class. Third class is just like being on a bus. No surprise then that second class was filled with mostly white faces. The train trip starts as the buses do too at the ungodly early hour of 5am but we were rewarded with a nice seat in a sleeper carriage. Why they have sleeper car on a train ride which starts in the morning and ends late afternoon is a slight mystery but I guess they had nothing else. Anyway more comfortable than ... read more
Chaos desended on us every time we came to a halt
chaos part II
Safety first

Africa » Mozambique » Northern » Nampula July 10th 2008

This blog entry could also be called two idiots on a road trip... Jens the German guy I’m traveling with at the moment and I decided that we wanted to go up north as quickly as possible. I wanted to save time in Mozambique to be able to visit Malawi and he wanted to go from north to south. All said and done we decided that we will try to cover as much distance in as short as time as possible. We did … 4 days, over 30 hours in busses and over 1500km later we arrived. This is our story The whole tour started in Inhambane with a Dhow (small sailing boat) across to a small town from which we apparently could get a bus to Beira some 10 or 12 hours up north. After ... read more
First minibus
Safely secured luggage
Four seats, five people, where is the problem




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