Start of Spring (or Winter) Break

Happy birthday, Dad! I sent him a card..may not get there for another week, but oh well. Megan will be there from New York and Kelly will be going home for his spring break. Wish I was there, but it’s awfully nice here in Tofo Beach, Mozambique. Emma, Jen, Sophie, and I left on Friday around 2 from Gabs stations to Joburg—arrived at Park Station around 8pm. VERY sketchy station—every speed bup we slowed down for scared me because I thought we were about to be dropped off. It was very dark, and there were little fires blazing and people all around. Not a clean city at al. We were amart to make friends with a lady on the combie with us who showed us exactly where to catch our InerCape bus to Maputo, Mozambique. Once we got to the bus station area, I felt much safer. The bus was to depart at 10:30, so we got some Nando’s before we left. While eating, we were asked for money several times by the same 3 people. The bus station wasn’t extremely busy, but there were still beggars around, so we were on guard at all times. When boarding time came, around 10pm, we all piled behind the exit area—no order in the line formation at all—people just pushed themselves, and their bags, through to get on the bus. The bus was a double-decker, very cool when we initially got on, but that soon changed to hot stuffiness, with absolutely no air circulation, by the time we arrived around 11am the next morning. The trip took longer than expected because the line to get across the SA-Mozambique border was by far the longest line I have ever waited in. The whole process took 3 hours. On the SA side there were so many people—some who lived there on the side of the road, some who were trying to get across the border, and some who were selling things (airtime, food, slingshots). We got our passports checked once to leave SA and then again to enter Mozambique. The line of vehicles to get across was also very long, so once we got ourselves to the other side, we waited for the bus to do the same. The whole process was a big pain, but we made it and about 3 hours later we arrived at Fatima’s Place in downtown Maputo. Two of our friends from UB were there so we made plans to eat together later that night. There was a bit of a room mix-up though—I’d called over a week prior to make reservations for one suite for 4 people, but when I went to check in, there was nothing for my name. There was a suite for 4 for some name like Rego Nellie—which is sort of comparable to Rapp Allie (and could have been the result of miscommunication over the phone). The guy working wasn’t sure what to do, so he just said to wait for a little bit until he came back. I agreed, but was a little nervous that some guy named Rego was going to show up and that we’d have to find another place to stay that night. We all showered, using the our friends’ dorm room facilities at the hostel, left our bags in their room, and went back out to talk to the guy about the reservation situation. He ended up giving us the room, which was pretty nice for $12 a night. I sort of assumed the whole thing was all a mix-up, but I wasn’t 100% sure there wasn’t going to be a group arriving later with the actual name of the reservation.

All of us walked together to see the ocean—about a 15-minuted walk from our place. It was so beautiful and so great to see. Then we did a bit of vendor shopping. I bought a few shoulder bags for gifts and also a pair of earrings. We went to a nice restaurant called Mundo’s for drinks and appetizers before our real meal later at the fish market. Our two friends, Eric and Matt, had been there the night before and said we had to go, so we took a taxi from Mundo’s. The fish market was one of the best experiences I’ve had here. When we got out of the taxi, people immediately starting hounding us to buy their fish. There were maybe 30 different vendors all in this area selling their different foods. Eric, while being followed by 5 girls trying to get him to go to their restaurant, led us to the place he had gone to the previous night. After the vendor area, there is a square with 20 or so restaurants that would cook the food for you and serve you drinks with your meal. After finding the restaurant, we all made a plan as to who was going to buy what. Sophie and I were on crabs, Jen and Emma on prawns, Eric and Matt on mussels, and Veronica and Kait (two UB students that arrived after us) got the prawns. After purchasing our meats, and really enjoying the whole process, we met back at the restaurant and while waiting for our food to be cooked, we had some of the local Laurentina beer and enjoyed the free art show, that wasn’t supposed to an art show at all. Guys would stand just outside the ledge bordering the restaurant, only a few feet from our table, and hold up massive drawings for us to look at…and hopefully buy. We had a good laugh at that—some of the art was of women’s backsides. There were also people selling cashews, jewelry, and fabric—which I bought 4 pieces of. The fabrics women wear here are so beautiful—such vibrant colors, and I’ve been wanting some for a while. I’d like to hang them on my wall or make curtains or pillows. (And when I have children, I want to use the fabric to carry them on my back.) We were so ready to eat when the food came out. Everything was so delicious Sophie (from Baltimore) was totally in her element with the crabs and she gave us all a little lesson—not without her Old Bay spice, of course. The whole meal was so great—will definitely go back to the fish market the next time I’m in Maputo (hopefully there will be a next time). My family would love it.

We took a taxi back to Fatima’s, got another beer there and then went to bed to prepare for a 5:30am shuttle to Tofo Beach. Looking forward to the beach—hoping the weather will be nice.

The shuttle experience the next morning was one I’ll always remember. The drive started out well—so wonderful to see Mozambique and all the rural villages. The views out my window were so beautiful. So much green—lots of palm trees—and none of it ruined by development. It was all just so NATURAL. It started to rain about 3 hours in—just about the time when the pavement ended and the dirt/sand/clay roads began. NOT good timing. The roads we drove on for the next few hours were probably the most exhilarating, and frightening, I’ve ever been on. I was 99% sure we were NOT going to make it to Tofo. We passed vehicle after vehicle that had gotten stuck in the mud. It was a pretty hilly road and more than once I looked ahead at an approaching hill and prayed that we would make it up! I hated it when we slowed down to get around oncoming vehicles because we would lose momentum. Surprisingly to me, we powered up the hills pretty well and with each hill conquered, I became more and more confident that we would make it to Tofo that day. I think everyone in that bus was a little anxious on that ride. It was fun though—in an adrenaline-pumping kind of way :)

Me, Jen, Sophie, and Emma (just before I bought my sarong)

We made it to beautiful Tofo Beach around 3pm and unloaded our things at Fatima’s Place in our new bungalow. The place is right on the beach—just have to go down a flight of stairs and the ocean is right at your feet—pretty amazing. It’s not a really touristy place, but I do wonder what it’s like during the prime tourism season. We went to the beach for a little bit, but the sun wasn’t the best—overcast—but the water was so nice—warm and good-sized waves! We checked out our friends’ place and then planned to cook dinner that night. Prawns, mussels, veggies, and rice—really good, and fun to cook for ourselves. I know I have a kitchen in my house in Gabs, but it felt great to cook like that with my friends…my favorite helper was Sophie, or “Old Bay,” as we called her whenever we needed some of her special east coast seafood seasoning. I am so happy and grateful to be here—a bit surreal to think where I am, though. We spent many so hours getting here (around 25)—and to stay only a few days—but SO worth it. This place is like a little hole in the wall. Really wonderful but seems like not a lot of people know about it. I definitely would not mind coming back here.

Our friend, Nugget, who stuck with us all week...so cute