10 beds in 10 nights...

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Bom Dia!! Quite a crazy last week or so, and I thought I would let everyone at home know about it. After a night in Blantyre, Malawi, we took off for the country of Mozambique. After a 3 hour minibus ride, we had a reasonably problem free border crossing. The main difference with Mozambique is that we were leaving an English speaking country and entering a country where Portuguese is the ONLY language they speak, especially away from touristy areas. Will and I also have the unfortunate habit of entering countries without any money, and it was a habit we didnt break this time around. After paying for the chapas (minibus) to the nearest city of Tete, we had 30 meticas to spare (approx $1). We spent that on Fantas, confident that in Tete it would be reasonably easy to access ATMs. About an hour into our ride, the minibus ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere. Here we were, dead broke, 40 degrees celcius, hungry and thirsty, and unable to communicate. We got a little stressed. For the first time on the trip, however, we got preferential treatment due to our skin colour. Another chapas approached, and because our first driver knew we were broke, he convinced them to take us to Tete for free. We felt bad leaving everyone else lying on the side of the road, but there wasn’t much choice in the matter. When we got to Tete, our driver was upset because he was expecting a tip, but even he understood my broken Spanish that we had no money to tip with. We headed for the ATMs, where not one of our 7 debit and credit cards would work. Another minor panic session ensued. We decided to find a cheap place to stay, and then deal with it. Lonely Planet failed us again with accommodation, so we relied on my poor Spanish to ask locals for a cheap place to stay. We found an unfriendly run down place right in town. And then found different ATMs that gave us money. Life was good again. Set our alarm for 3am to catch the next bus to Chimoio, about a 6 hour drive south of Tete. We departed at about 4 30am, despite an argument with our driver. He tried to charge us extra for our bags, and we played ignorant travelers, and just ignored him. We were missing Malawi big time at this point. About 2 hours into the ride, there was a large snap from the bottom of the bus that turned out to be an axle breaking. We got most of our money back, and all 25 of us and our luggage hopped in the back of a pickup truck for a grueling 2 hour drive to the nearest village. After regaining the feeling in my legs, we were in a minibus for Chimoio. Never before had I been so happy to cram 20 people in a van originally designed for about 8. After an hour, however, everyone got out, and got into another minibus. Some more money was returned to us, and after a long wait we were off again. No idea where we were at this point, hoping at some point a sign for Chimoio would appear. An hour later, we stopped again, and groaned at the thought of switching again. Instead of a new minibus, however, we got our hands washed by some random guy on the side of the road, and back in the minibus. Perhaps a ritualistic activity, but whatever it was, our main concern was our final destination. Our next stop, thankfully, was Chimoio. A 6 hour journey turned into 13. After a good meal, and a nice chat with some Americans at our hostel, we were awake at 3am again, and off to Vilankulo. With Wills backpack on our laps in a sardine can of a bus, we finally ran into some luck. The 10 hour journey flew by, and with no major detours we were at the turn off to Vilankulo. Hopped on the back of a pickup (while at first its quite an experience, the novelty of legally riding in the back of a truck wears off after 15 minutes or so), and 20 kms later were there. Our first destination in southern Mozambique, Vilankulo, was rather disappointing. A trashy town filled with South Africans, too expensive, and WAY too hot. We were burnt out, and malnourished. So we decided the next day to head to Inhambane. Cant seem to get enough of these all day travel days. The supposed 3 hour ride to Maxixe took 6, and the entire time Will was being made fun of in Portuguese by some drunk guy in the back of the minibus. Normally you hop on a 20 minute ferry from Maxixe to Inhambane, but, just our luck, no ferries were running today. Another hour in a minibus, and we made it to Inhambane, a peaceful, charming, and seemingly abandoned seaside town. That was yesterday, and today we are new men. I love it here. More than likely I loved sleeping in until 7 am, and eating meals on a somewhat normal schedule. Tomorrow we head to Tofo, surfing capital of Mozambique, to swim with dolphins and snorkel with the worlds largest fish, the whale shark. Cant wait. I apologize for the rambling, and lack of punctuation. This keyboard is Portuguese, and rather confusing. Im also on very little sleep, and probably haven’t eaten a piece of fruit in a week. But we made it, and couldn’t be happier. The adventure never ends. Love you all, and go Canucks go!!!
Graham

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