Blogs from Southern, Mozambique, Africa - page 11

July 16th The morning started with a farewell to a great friend of mine, an awesome Brasileiro by the name of Nicio. His travel plans were similar to mine in that he was heading for Egypt, just a few weeks ahead of me. We had some good times together, seeing incredible places and cultures and learning of life outside of our homelands. I am happy to have made such a good friend, and I can’t wait to see him in Brasil in 2014! After saying our goodbyes I got my things packed up because my travel plans were to head east to the sunny and Portuguese speaking country of Mozambique. That afternoon I jumped in the backpackers taxi and headed for the bus station and by 3pm I was at the border paying for my visa ... read more

After the massive day that was Australia pumping Serbia in Nelspruit and the preceding and following shenanigans at the Jock and Java and the Casino, we decided a hungover drive to Mozambique was in order. We had to drop by the airport to get papers to take the rental cars over the border, then the 6 of us in the trusty Nissan Tiida and Volkswagon Polo made our way to Mozambique. After the 2 hour border stop for visas and back and forward with papers to get the cars over the border, we finally arrived in Maputo, the capital just after nightfall. Being pretty hungover and tired, we weren't on our guard and the local police could smell it. Thankfully, we hadn't taken any money out yet, so the bribes they exhorted from us amounted to ... read more

From Manzini, Swaziland, we took a Kombi to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. We held up the bus at the border because none of us had visa's, so we had to wait about 20-30 minutes to get them issued. When we got to Maputo, we walked for about 45 minutes with the full backpacks to Fatima's backpackers. I found Maputo to be much cheaper than South Africa. Across the street from where we were staying, we could get a beer from the tap for 22 Meticais which is about 60 cents US. The next day we walked to the fish market. This place had everything you could think of. I got almost a kilo of prawns for around 6 USD, then took them over to one of the many restaurants next to the fish market, and ... read more

Ilha is actually further east than any part of Tanzania, yet Mozambique is one hour behind timewise. Consequently it gets light very early here and also in Nampula, a little to the west of Ilha, where I must return to catch a bus heading south. But the enthusiastic sun of northern Mozambique has not yet risen as my transport departs at 2am! Even by standards here this is a getting a bit ridiculous. On the plus side I do save on expensive accommodation by arriving early the night before and sleeping on the bus. Well I say sleeping... In fact I spend most of the time moving between seats, from row to row, trying to get horizontal for long enough to pass out. Yet every new passenger who arrives as the vehicle steadily fills up seems ... read more

Disclaimer: I take full responsibility for this rather long and rambling account of our latest adventure. I hold free of liability and responsibility, the US Peace Corps, the American Government and any of its affiliates, clandestine and public with liberty and justice for all. Read on at your own risk. Ahhh, vacations! I once reveled in dreams of exotic beaches, sun, books, and deep relaxation, but this vacation, this was not to be just a vacation, but a vacation to the beaches of Mozambique, even the name sounds romantic and relaxing. Mozambique, it just rolls so smoothly from the lips. I used to relax just hearing the name, but no more. This is one of those vacation stories that I will find amusing to tell about in maybe a decade, should I live so long after ... read more