Adventures in Mozambique

Greetings and happy July to all my friends and family on this beautiful planet. I am a little late getting this post up about my trip to Mozambique but things happen and in the realm of African time I am doing just fine. So as said in my last post in May I went on a 2 week holiday with 6 volunteers including myself to the land of Mozambique. We left just after our mid service training and the trip started out on an amazing note which continued through its entirety. We left from our capital here Lilongwe, and split up in 2 teams so we could hitch to the borderand save money. My hitching partner Mel and I were picked up by a Malawian in a brand new Mercedes which to ride in style is always nice (note to anyone who ever plans travels in Africa, if you want to hitch as a man you should always try your best to have a female partner it makes a HUGE difference to say the least). The gentleman was very vague about his life and profession but after a stop at a gas station where the attendant made reference to seeing him on T.V. the previous night he opened up to us and told us he was a top member in the president’s cabinet. He was supposed to be traveling with a security detail but he snuck away because he like the freedom of being alone and anonymous and having the option of such things as picking up hitch hikers. We proceeded to have an amazing conversation for hours as we were traveling about a variety of subjects in including the state of Malawi, international aid in Africa, the life of women in Malawi, and many other related topics. His take on things were amazing, refreshing, and overall was probably one of the best conversations I will ever have on this continent.

So needless to say we all made it to the border in one day and were able to make it to a city called in Tete in the northwest part Mozambique. We were exhausted when we arrived and we found an economical hotel (to put kindly) to stay the night. A few of us wanted to rest while a few of us wanted to grab a beer and some food so we made it to a local bar. It turned out to be quite an interesting time with a generous man buying us food and beer who spoke no English but that did not stop him from chatting in the least. We were also joined by an extremely drunk Portuguese man who took quite a liking to me and he would not leave me alone as holding my hands and he even planted a kiss on forehead. My friends and I were tired and were a few beers into the evening. We proceeded to laugh and smiled through the entire event. The following day we got bus tickets to start our journey to a coastal town call Vilanculos. The only problem we found out that the bus did not leave until 4 a.m. the following day. We made plans to close down a bar and just wait at the bus depot to save money on getting another night at a hotel. By 7:30 p.m. our plan seemed like a nightmare, we were tired and one of my friends Lyn was a bit sick. After we ate we decided just to get another hotel room for a night even though we did not want to spend the money. As we were walking towards the hotel a Brazilian named Gui and I started chatting. He was in the country teaching at a college and the city gets few foreign visitors so he was excited to chat with us and before we knew it he offered his house for us to sleep at. We all said what the hell and we ended up talking with him at his house for a few hours, getting showers, food, and a free few hours of sleep before we headed out the following morning. He was an amazing guy and we all made a new friend who plans to come and visit us in Malawi.

The following day’s bus trip was quite the adventure. The first leg took 6 hours on one of the most crowded buses I have ever been on. 2 of us myself included had to stand and were so packed that if someone moved anywhere the rest of us felt it. I just laughed and made the best of it by having fun conversations and just taking in the new scenery. It ended up taking 5 different modes of transportation and around 16 hours but we made it to the coast late in the day. We stayed in Vilanculos for about 3 or 4 days and enjoyed being in one spot and on the beach. The Indian Ocean is absolutely courageous to say the least. The water is so clear and even going in the cooler time of the year for Africa the temperatures in the water were high 70’s and low 80’s. The highlight in Vilanculos was going snorkeling at a reef on a day long boat trip. I had done little snorkeling in my life but I was astounded by the beauty of the reef we were playing around. The aquatic plants and marine life were amazing and I was lucky enough to have an underwater camera so one day I will get to relive the pictures.

For the rest of the trip we traveled further south down the coast to a district called Inhambane and a place called Beira. The area is beautiful and has lots of old Portuguese architecture. We made it to a small beach town of Beira and were lucky enough to rent the top floor of a beach house. It was not enclosed which was amazing. Every night we went to sleep and woke up to the sounds of the ocean with fresh sea air all around us. We stayed there for 4 or 5 days and just had an amazing time. We had a kitchen so we would cook big dinners nightly while enjoying spirits and great music. During the day we lounged around the town and of course relaxed to our fullest on the beach. I had no idea what to expect with the Indian Ocean but besides being beautiful it had fun waves. I tried for a few days to rent a long board so I could surf a bit but by the time I finally found a board and a good rate the waves had become not so good for surfing. My dreams of surfing on this continent are on hold for now, but I have not given up. One night after going out for beers we were coming back and we were all walking along the coast feeling nice and enjoying the night. We were near our house and I just decided right then and there to shed my clothes and go for a night swim. Before I knew it 4 others had joined me (only 1 decided to take a pass) and we all enjoyed a moonlit swim playing in the waves and feeling about as free as one could feel. The last night before we started our departure back north towards Malawi was a perfect way to end our beach adventure. A big dinner was cooked and many drinks were had. There was live music that night so we all ventured to a hotel with a huge patio for the band and festivities. When we arrived all of us were already feeling quite good and happy. The place was packed and the band was playing fun music but no one was dancing. The 6 of us proceeded to grab and drink and get right to dancing. The band was happy that we were out on the floor dancing it up and soon after the entirety of the place decided to join us. The 6 of us only stopped dancing when the band took a break and it was just an amazing evening that could not have been scripted better. After that we took a few days and made it back to Malawi with little money left but memories that will last a lifetime.

So I just want to give my overall take on Mozambique and its people. First off it is not nearly as packed as Malawi. You can go hundreds of kilometers without seeing people or villages which is dam near impossible in Malawi. There are baobab trees everywhere which to me are some of the most beautiful trees I have ever seen. I am in awe of them every time I see them. With that said deforestation does not seem to be near the problem as it is here. The food with the Indian Ocean near is obviously heavily influenced by seafood. The people are not nearly as friendly as Malawians. Many say that is because of the 25 plus year civil war they had which ended in 1992 You can still see remnants of the civil word when traveling at times in such things as guard towers and certain buildings with bullet holes. Greetings in Mozambique often times involve the waving of both hands to say hello. This comes as a result from the civil war. With both hands waving in the air it is a sign that you have no gun in your hand and you are safe. The people also make less of an ordeal about you being white as compared to Malawi. We could walk down the streets and not be shouted at because of our skin color which was a nice break. The integration of the Portuguese with the local Africans seems much less segregated than Malawi. You see many Portuguese and Africans side by side enjoying each other and often times you saw people of mixed blood which is quite rare here. Also the adoption of the Portuguese language by the Africans in Mozambique was astounding. Almost all people can speak Portuguese where in Malawi, a huge majority of its population speak little if any English. Things were much more expensive than Malawi which left me with little money by the time I returned but well worth it. The country itself was much more developed than Malawi. Even small cities in Mozambique seemed to be further along than most cities here in Malawi. I have been told by quite a few people that you will see Malawi’s true poverty once you see other African countries and this was the first time I saw that with my own eyes.

Overall as you can probably tell it was an absolute great time and I enjoyed every minute of time in Mozambique. I am curious to get out and see more of Africa and I am planning around Christmas this year to do the Victoria Falls area and get into some of the parks to see some wildlife. I hope as always all is well and good for all in the states. My life is amazing and I enjoy life everyday here in Africa.

Cheers,
Pat