mozambique
just a quick note afore I get to write up properly:
drove 10 hours from Cape town to Kimberley (and early crashed due to falling asleep at the wheel!) then flew from Kim to Joburg, then Joburg to Maputo. AND I GOT MY PASSPORT BACK!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!
anyhoo, I was supposed to get picked up at the airport by the hostel van…but didnt. so got ripped off by a taxi (not too badly though) Maputo is AWFUL! its supposed to be a nice mix of portugese and arabic, but is in fact a lot like Beirut without the nice areas! buildings are all falling down, pavements have been bombed, theres police with AK47’s everywhere and armed guards at nice houses and shops with pump action shotguns!
I met 2 people that got robbed…a BIG afrikaans guy got his wallet pinched and a german girl got her bag pinched (complete with money, cards and passport!)
oh and it rained the WHOLE time I was there!…torrential! the roads were flooded and all kinds
the good news was that I met a guy from Consett!!!…works in Maputo at the mo with his wife Christine. I met them at a cafe where I was struggling with a waitress that couldnt speak english!…can you believe that! ..anyhoo, Christine helped and we all got talking…nice to meet a geordie out here. they are a real nice couple who drove me around maputo one night to show me the best – and worst – of the place, then we had a smashing seafood meal at a real nice restaurant where embarassingly enuff, Gary paid! so I paid for coffee in a flash hotel that the diplomats use in Maputo apparently, great stories thru the evening of Garys fun and games in border control for Mozambique and his army days kept the dreary weather at bay
…and so I moved on ‘ in the rain: 8 hour bus ride to Tofo…where it still rained. nice hostel thoug h which is right on the beach (Fatimas Nest) it stopped raining yesterday, so I took a boat trip (rib) out to snorkel with Whale Sharks!…we only got to see one, but I was first into the water and it swam right undernath me!….so close I had to swim to the side to miss its tail! fabulous thing! incredible visibility too (and the water is 26 degrees!!!!)
in Inhambane today to get cash and check the place out…its OK, I guess but not THAT scenic
more later
Tags: chuggy, maputo, mozambique, tofo, Travel
chuggy
Where are you going to spend Christmas / New Year then chuggs?
On a beach somewhere with a cold beer in your hand no doubt
Don’t forget to post my Christmas card 😉
Sounds like you’re having quite the time over there mate!
It was one of those situations that did not make sense, I could hear the Geordie accent but the word I heard repeated was ‘Water’ and not ‘Beer’….I thought I was trapped in some sort of bizarre nightmare.
Christine is a natural helper and could not see a person in need of help without helping, her Portuguese (for that’s what we speak here) is better than mine (so, embarrassingly, is her English and she is Chinese! She thought she was fluent English until her first trip to the N East when she discovered a whole new language – Geordie)
Chuggy forgot to mention that after his first attempt at ordering the waitress thought he had ordered for 4 and was waiting for friends, that sorted out we could find time to chat.
All my company are locals (except a few Indians) and it was truly great to have a local from home to chat to (I left Consett in 77 but the NE is still home) I am sorry for Chuggy that the weather was so bad as, although he never seen it, we do have some decent parts of the city in Maputo but with rain (big rain) it is as close as hell on earth as you can imagine, not one decent road and everywhere grim. I am also sorry that I could not have spent a bit more time showing him around as both Christine and I really enjoyed his company. (She is from Manchuria (North East China) which is strangely and oddly similar to our own beloved homeland)
Sorry for embarrassing you Chuggy by paying the bill but I rarely get the chance to entertain for friendship and not to bribe another corrupt official, (chuggy did try to pay but his money was no good in our company, not that night) He did pay for the coffee afterwards, the hotel was the Polano Hotel, a glitzy glimpse of the past from colonial days and the only true 5 star in town, (err, not 5 star by normal standards, 5 star by Maputo standards, its a different thing)
This was a Thursday night so the World famous? well, African Famous? well, Maputo Famous ‘Coconuts Nightclub’ was closed. If you are in town on a Friday or Saturday then its the place to head for (fun starts round 2am and ends around 8) Imagine an aircraft hangar with music so loud you feel it though your stomach and wall to wall local girls wearing not so much as outfits seemingly made from dental floss, now imagine what it takes to be thought of as Brad Pitt, if you are white then you are instantly rich and handsome, whatever you are. Now pump up the heat and the volume and dive though a vat of 2M (local beer) and you have coconuts. Its raw animal indulgence can be quite err, interesting at least. Best to leave your watch and wallet at home though and don’t accept lifts, equally don’t walk, it can be err, dodgy down there.
So, sorry we could not offer more but we enjoyed your company mate and only wish you well for the rest of your travels. Give my love to the NE if you see it again before me and if you are still traveling when we pack up and move we will see you in China.
Gei wo pi jiu (Give me beer) in Madarin, just in case you need it, and I know you will.
congratulations on writing the longest comment on me blog to date!….and prolly the most literate too (I include my actual blog in that too!!! I’m in the middle of leaving Moz at the mo (in Chimioi) as Ive had my fill of the colourful locals i.e. I’m sick of being ripped off and having to argue the toss over every purchase! (and the change) Well met, chum…I’ll keep a beer in the pipes for you both