Mozambique

Well I'm here to tell the tale of Mozambique so it must have been a good trip if I made it back right??

From Johannesburg, we took a bus to the capitol of Mozambique- Maputo. It was a double decker bus and the trip started off well enough. However about 2 hours in, during the heat of the high sun- the AC broke. It became a miserable inferno in this bus because the windows did not open. We made it to the capitol safely, albeit, much sweatier and dirtier than in the beginning. We stayed at a backpackers' place called Fatimas. A note on the term 'backpackers''. These are essentially hostels set up for weary travelers. While there are some private rooms- most are dorms, but everything is super cheap. The very next morning we took a shuttle from the Fatima's in Maputo to the Fatima's in Tofo. This was a very comfortable ride. However we found out later that they had jacked up the price of the shuttle the day we arrived because it was the holiday season- oh Christmas spirit...

Anyways, Tofo is a beach community in Mozambique. The backpackers' there was much more geared toward the party traveler. We stayed in dorms, and had the benefit of listening to soul rattling base coming from the bar area all night every night. The beach was a haven though, and had nice waves. We spent Christmas here with a few other volunteers from Zambia. There was a special lunch buffet for the holidays so I ate lobster on Christams day- can't believe it. Because there wasn't a whole lot to do in Tofo, and we were afraid we might loose our hearing if we stayed any longer, we decided to trek up to another beach area called Vilankulos. Transport there consisted of the most crowded mini bus I've ever been on in my life, a ferry, and a hitch with two Turkish Canadians on their way to their mattress factory.

Our accomodation in Vilankulos was also a backpackers' but we opted to spend a bit more money and rent out a 'challet'. It was right on the beach and was definitely worth the ridiculously inexpensive charge. We spent almost a week in Vilankulos and had a blast. Kerry and I went snorkeling, while our friend Blair went SCUBA diving (she's certified). While it was some really rough water we were snorkeling in, we had lots of fun. We were dropped on an island which is part of an archipelago off the coast. There was a huge sand dune that we climbed and had the most amazing view of the mainland and other islands. We also went horseback riding on the beach which was an incredible experience. During our stay there we met some PCV's from Mozambique an discovered that a volunteer actually stays in Vilankulos... Yeah, PC Zambia vacations in other people's sites- can't believe this girl lives on the beach as a volunteer.

As I always like to say, the people of the trip, made the trip. We met a bunch of interesting characters from Capetown, South Africa. It's funny because talking to all these new people made me want to travel even more. Heard great things about Namibia and South Africa.

After a fairly low key New Years, we decided to hitch back towards the capitol. We had horrible luck on our first day, but finally ended up getting a lift with a Mozambique national who considers himself Portuguese. We spent the night in a town called Xai Xai (pronounced shy shy), and then went back to Maputo. Spent two nights there and therefore had ample time to do the touristy things in the capitol. It's incredible how much more there is to do there than there would be in Lusaka. Mozambique in general is much more developed- especially in terms of infrastructure. I'm assuming most of this has to do with the fact that it's on the coast and has port shipping and a hefty tourist industry. We went to an art museum, a craft market, a really cool train station, and a fort in Maputo. It was a bit difficult traveling around since the national language is Portuguese and we speak none. In this way, we are thankful for Zambia and English.

Our bus ride back to Johannesburg was much more comfortable until it started raining and then leaking on the inside of the bus. We actually came back to Joberg earlier than originally planned because we wanted to go to the apartheid museum there. It was a very educational and eye opening experience and I would recommend it to anyone travelling through Joberg. It is a bit bizare however because the museum is set in a compound called Gold Reef City- which is an amusement park, casino, and hotel. You could hear the screams from the roller coasters as you were walking around the outside exhibits at the museum... Strange. Like the hungry PCVs that we are- we also stopped at McDonalds in Joberg and saw a movie.

All in all it was a very relaxing and interesting trip. While I could have done without the immense heat and humidity of Mozambique, the cool weather in Joberg made up for it. I had great travel companions and was glad to see a part of the world not many Americans can say they've been.