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Archive for December, 2008

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A Change of Plans

Saturday, December 6th, 2008

Day 250

The beach at Tofo was great. Soft sand, warm water backed by beautiful dunes. There was lots to like about Tofo. The problem was there was enough that we didn’t like that we have decided to leave after one more night here. Actually we have decided to not travel further north in Mozambique as previously planned. The original plan was to go north up the coast then cut across the country west to Malawi. However after seeing what things cost here in Mozambique we just can’t afford to travel here. We’ve been really surprised at the cost of things here, from hostel rooms to food things are not priced like a budget travel destination. Not only that but the toughest thing is the terrible value here, our $30 grass hut being a perfect example. So the new plan is one more night here in Tofo then back to Maputo for one night and back to big bad Jo’burg. Some backtracking yes, but then its north to Victoria Falls. A sight that we’ve decided we shouldn’t miss.

With our new plan sorted we still had another day on the beautiful beach here in Tofo. Not much to really tell you about it, well if I did it might just make you jealous of the warm blue waters here. So I’ll spare you the details of our lazy day on the beach. We did have a fantastic meal down the beach at Dino’s Restaurant. Jordana had a great fish kebab and I had some fresh and perfectly grilled squid. It was one of the best meals we’ve had in a long time.

We hit the bed early as our bus leaves at the ungodly hour of 4am tomorrow. I wish Mozambique worked out differently but it seems the country just doesn’t have the tourist infrastructure yet. So what is available is quite pricey, unfortunately just a bit too pricey for Jordana and I.

Posted in Mozambique | No Comments »

Tasty Tofo

Friday, December 5th, 2008

Day 249

Up at 4:30am it was another early morning for us as we rushed out to a taxi to make our bus to Tofo. Pronouced tofu, like the food. The bus station, more like a market with a bunch of buses parked around it was a chaotic place. The heavy rain that fell overnight did little to enhance the beauty of the place, turning it into a sea of mud and sitting water. There was a strong stink from the piles of garbage and constant calls from hawkers selling airtime for phones, water, food and trying to get people on their buses. Standing there watching our bags get stuffed in the back of the dirty bus I couldn’t wait to get to the beach. I climbed on the bus, a mid-sized 30 seater. It was packed with bags, and boxes all through the aisle and under seats. Jordana had secured us the only two seats she could find. I sat on a seat that folded down in the aisle and Jordana next to me. We were packed in, behind me was a mother with two young kids. I thought I was in a tight spot, the three of them had the same space plus a few bags. As we finally departed, 1 hour late, Jordana and I wondered why the smell of urine was so prevelant in Maputo? The beach couldn’t come fast enough.

We drove out of the city and every so often through a poor village. The countryside was green and since the bus was full and not many people got off we rarely stopped. We did stop at a service centre for fuel and a washroom break. It took about 15 minutes to empty the bus as everyone had to climb over the bags and everything that was loaded aboard. Eventually we were all back aboard ond off again. The sun had broke through the clouds and the temperature rose. We couldn’t figure out why people wouldn’t open the windows. They would open them just a crack but no more, certainly not enough to cool off the bus. Most certainly not nearly enough to combat scent from the lack of deodorant people wore. It was about then, just after the bus was really heating up that I felt the boy from behind me fall into me. Then I felt a bit wet just under my left shoulder and heard coughing. Oh yeah, you guessed it I was just puked on! Could this ride get any better? “You have GOT to be joking, this kid just puked on me!” I said to Jordana. Apparently the guy next to me had it all over his foot and flipflops. Jordana cleaned it off with a wet wipe, it wasn’t as much as it felt, but it felt gross in the heat. I didn’t even look behind me, I was angry at first but what could I do? Soon I just laughed it off with Jordana.

7 hours after leaving Maputo we were winding down a road with palms swaying and the blue Indian ocean in view. Tofo was a scruffy village built on a beautiful sandy beach. Just up the beach from the village was Fatimas Nest where we were staying. We checked in and someone showed us around. The place has a fantastic setting atop the dunes overlooking the beach. However I think they got a bit greedy with the rooms. Thatch grass huts were everywhere, spread about without any rhyme or reason. To be honest it looked like a shanty town. Inside our grass hut we had enough room for a bed, a hanging lightbulb and a small table. There was no floor, it was sand. We’ve stayed at a place like this before in Thailand, thing is that was about $3/night. This was $30! To say it was bad value would be an understatement.

Even though the room was a let down the beach was beautiful and the water warm. We spent the rest of the day swimming until sunset. Oh and what a beautiful sunset. The manmade wasn’t so nice here in Tofo but the natural was beautiful and that’s why we are here. That seemed to be a common theme here in Mozambique.

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Optimism Through Art

Thursday, December 4th, 2008
Day 248 Waking up in the cool air of our comfortable room and flipping on BBC world news was a nice way to wake up. We both had a great sleep, something we needed after some very early morning recently. ... [Continue reading this entry]

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Romance at the Border

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008
Day 248 As soon as we were up and showered we were out of the backpackers. What a waste of a night, especially when we were both not feeling well. Regardless we both felt better and after we showered ... [Continue reading this entry]

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Running From Kruger

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008
Day 247 We had plans of being up at 5am and out again by 5:30am. We were both up at 4:30am, problem was not to leave but for the washroom. Seems that last nights dinner had some issues with ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in South Africa | 2 Comments »

Kruger Day 3: The Real Safari Begins

Monday, December 1st, 2008
Day 246 "Its cold out there!" I said to Jordana as I walked in from loading the car. The temperature had dropped at least 10 Celsius overnight and it was overcast, an unbelievable change. Last night at 8pm ... [Continue reading this entry]

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