Mozambique

Waterfront

Lunch @ the Fish Market

Scenic Route on the way home. "God's Window". A little too cloudy to see the view.

We had no idea what to expect...

The border was crazy and it took us over an hour to get through. Made some friends while waiting for visas that told us some good places to go and see! People try to help you fill out forms then ask for money. It was kind of overwhelming, but we made it. We celebrated a little prematurely...

Maputo, the capital, was really crowded and hard to navigate. Some of the major intersections have no traffic lights and like always, there are people everywhere. We were the only white people which drew some unwanted attention. Decided to get out of the city because it was too overwhelming at the moment and drove north. Before we could make it out of the city and road construction we got stopped at a police control point. I had just taken my seatbelt off to take my sweatshirt off and at that moment we were asked to pull the car to the side of the road. Then I preceded to have my first experience with corrupt cops. He was holding Luke's passport and told us he would have to right us and ticket and fine us if we did not give him R500. We didn't even have that much! We gave him some meticais (mozambique currency) but he kept asking for more and told us not to hold it up high (he seemed really nervous and shady about it all). Finally I gave him R300 because I just wanted him to leave us alone and was not quite sure what would happen if we didn't. The rest of the trip we were nervous of interacting with police... not a very comforting feeling.

It started downpouring, getting dark, and people were walking along the sides of the road but we made it to Xai Xai. Found a gas station attendant who spoke a little English, Portugese is their national language, who directed us to some accomodations. Stayed at a B&B with an ocean view. Lost power several times during the night. The next morning the wave were huge and we decided it wasn't the best spot to snorkel. Tried to drive north, but the roads were too muddy and washed out and we were slipping all over the road. Back to Maputo we went.

After asking a couple people who couldn't really help us much we found an internet cafe where we got directions to a backpackers. No one really spoke enough English to be of help, I understood some written Portugese because of it's similarity to Spanish, but speaking was impossible. Found the backpackers, the nicest place we stayed so far! Walked around town, found some delicious seafood. The next day we drove around the waterfront. It was beautiful. The water was so warm. The whole country is very tropical looking. Had a delicous lunch at the fish market. Outdoor seating, then your waiter takes you through the market where you choose from live lobster, crabs, prawns, fish, calamari, and other seafood. Then the restaurant cooks it up for you. The best seafood I have ever had!

Back across the border, which was much easier this time. Stayed a night at a half-way point. Drove some more along a scenic route by a canyon, some waterfalls, and the northern mountains. Stayed at an ex-mafia mansion backpackers in Jo'burg, hopped on a plane, back to PE with an hour to spare before class!