Africa
List of Stories
Mozambique
Mozambique is one of the African countries, which was part of my 2005 six-month travel itinerary in Southern Africa. Starting and ending in Johannesburg Mozambique was the last border crossed before heading home to Canada.
Some people loved North Mozambique others felt fear. Anna from the United Kingdom whom I met in Livingstonia in Malawi felt unsafe in her Mozambique travels. She recounted an instance where the bus broke down and they camped on the roadside overnight. During another bus ride the driver ran over and killed a young boy and the driver paid off the family and the bus continued on its way. Even after hearing her stories I was determined to travel to Ilha de Mozambique and then to Pemba and Ibo in north Mozambique.
 The border crossing at Chiponde (Malawi)/ Mandimba (Mozambique) took longer than I expected. Arriving in record time by noon to Mangochi, within less than 70 Kilometers of the Mozambique border I was held up for several hours as all available transport were waiting for a full load of passengers before heading out. At 3pm the buses and matolas (trucks) were bursting as passengers appeared. I selected the local bus, which is cheap and slow.
Three transport options exist in Malawi. Malawi has a national bus system which is operated by a private company (Shire) and has regularly scheduled buses, express and local buses, for a fixed and reasonable fare. They stop to pick up and disembark passenger along the way and are always jammed with people and personal belongings. The mini buses are privately owned and go when they are full. They are also jammed full. They are higher priced and one never knows how long the wait will be until they are full. They are popular as the local buses usually only have one or two runs a day where as the mini bus go all day as they fill. The third option is matolas which is the back of a truck. The truck also stops everywhere along the route to have passengers disembark or to load new passengers into the already over packed transport.
By 5pm we were in view of the border town; as the sun sets shortly after 5pm I decided to spend the night in Chiponde. Touts took me to the best rest house in town. For three dollars I had my own room, mosquito net, and bathroom with a cold bucket shower.
After settling in I explored the town to find the only food was fried chicken and maize meal, my least favorite meal in Southern Africa. In some cases it is the only meal available in most small towns. I became the entertainment of town as I sought for food and inquired about border opening hours and onward transport to the border, which was 4 kilometers from the town. After the border crossing it was another 3 kilometers to the nearest Mozambique town (Mandimba) from where one could catch onward transport.
Dinner consisted of chips and oranges, both of which are plentiful in Malawi. Chips (French fries) being a popular as rice in Asia.
Back safely to my room by 7pm and asleep shortly after; I was awakened at 3am by the mini bus drivers when they started their engines and by the music blaring from the huge speakers of the mini buses.
 At 6am the touts, also the bicycle taxi drivers, were waiting to transport me to the respective borders, a total of 7 kilometers. After negotiating the price for 2 bicycles (one for me and one for my backpack) we proceeded to be stamped out of Malawi and into Mozambique.The touts also had a money exchange business and after negotiating a respectable rate for 20USD I was on my way.
Waiting for me at Mandimba, the Mozambique border town was a mini bus and a chapa (truck) which was heading to Cuamba. My guidebook had indicated that the bus left at 5am and I was prepared to spend a night at Mandiba. .
The mini bus left at 7am as their was a chapa (truck) also patrolling for passengers; the mini bus must have decided to leave before it was full so it would be first to be able to pick up passengers along the route to Cuamba. By noon I was settled into my hotel in Cuamba. Cuamba is a small town still untouched by tourists, a town few travelers stay at other than passing through.
The train is the most comfortable transport to Nampula the transport hub to Ilha de Mozambique and north Mozambique, my next destination. After several inquires I found out the train left every second day and it had left that morning which meant a second night stay in my expensive room with a bathroom outside with a bucket cold water shower. No Internet, repetitive food except for the Portuguese bakery and beer. I read, wrote, meandered around town to the small markets. Tickets for the train were on sale at 4pm the day before and I lined up for my second-class ticket, which entitled me to share a compartment with 6, other people. After purchasing my ticket I met Wojtek a world travel from Poland with whom I ended up traveling with for the next week.After sharing the delight of the Portuguese bakery we parted for the night and ended up in the same compartment the next morning
 My alarm prompted me awake at 4am. A Portuguese bun, Malawi peanut butter and Mzuzu honey and off to walk the 4 blocks in the dark to the train station. Are the streets safe at this time of the morning? In the dark? In Africa? What to do? I had a train to catch and I had my walking stick from trekking across Mount Malanje which also doubled as protection.
I boarded the train and stored my pack high up in the compartment. The guard who showed me to the compartment was quick to point out that I was situated next to the bathroom. It was only 5am and still dark outside when I saw Wojtek was also in the same compartment and that is how we started our week journey on the same road. The train ride was one of the most fascinating I have ever had. The beauty of nature as well as the small-untouched villages all contributes to a photographer’s paradise. At each stop the villagers would sell produce as well as snacks to the travelers. This must be the main source of income as the only way to get to the village is by train. The trip by road takes about 2 days. Most of the roads are in poor repair as a result of the long civil was and the result of land mines.
We arrived in Nampula around 4pm and to our delight a chapa (truck) was waiting to take people to Ilha de Mozambique. We embarked with our bags and packed in with about 40 other people and bags of rice, baskets of dried fish and burlap sacks of person possessions. Within thirty minutes of leaving Nampula police stopped the chapa and the only people who had bags searched were the Mazungas (whites). This was to be the case on several occasions in Mozambique.The night became dark and cold before we reached Ilha at 8pm. Within a few minutes we had found a room and had a hot shower. The pension owner sent her servant to buy us a couple of beer and after four long days of hard travel from Blantyre (Malawi) we were at our destination Ilha de Mozambique.
Ilha de Mozambique is a tiny Island off the mainland coast. An Arab Slave Trading Port which has UNESCO heritage designation with numerous crumbling 16th to 19th century Portuguese colonial buildings.
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The journey continued to Pemba the gateway to Ibo Island. We entered a mini bus at 5am and transferred Namialo (intersection to Pemba) at 7am onto a crowded bus where we stood in the aisles for the first 2 hours. Pemba’s old town as seen from the bay has white, flat-roofed typical of many of Africa’s original colonial towns. Build on a hill, the town climbs steeply from the quay and the authentic Muslim part of town, Paquitequete. 
When traveling to emerging tourist destinations where there are few travelers information about onward travel is often hard to find. The hostel owner provided us sketchy information about traveling to Ibo Island. We knew the truck left at 5am and the rest of the trip was totally based on faith that all would sort itself out. We had received a recommendation to stay at the Bela Vista Lodge. Also, we learned that since few tourists were on the island we could ask the manager if we would be able to cook, as food was expensive.We were lucky to receive a ride from the owner of the hostel and caught the Chapa by 5am. Lucky for us we were able to sit in the front with the driver as opposed to the back. So our 5 hour, 75 Kilometer truck ride was comfortable.
We reached the port (Quissanga) around noon. We had been told that if the tide was out the dhows (one sailed boat) would not be able to sail. The tide was still high enough for us to negotiate a ride. We walked about 500 meters to where the boat was moored. By the time the boat was reached, the water was getting to be thigh high. Lucky for me the captain carried my pack and heaved it onto the dhow. There is no ladder or dock. The only way onto the boat with is about shoulder high is to scamper up by holding on to anything that is fixed. The boat trip took only one hour, but others have spend most of the day to arrive at the destination, depending on the wind and the tides. As Ibo is in the Quirambas Archipelago the route goes by several other islands as well as mangrove swamps.
 Ibo Island on the north of Quirimbas Archipelago is a magical Island. The fascinating history and beautiful old buildings including the Pentagonal fort which houses artisans crafting intricate silver jewelry using ancient Arab techniques. Ibo also has historical merit as this is where Vasco da Gama rested in 1502. Later Ibo became a major trading centre for ivory and slaves.
The Bela Vista Lodge was an excellent recommendation with a full breakfast overlooking the Indian Ocean and a rooftop for viewing the vibrant African sunsets. I had a second night in the lodge after I said goodbye to a new friend, Wojtek.
The next morning I doubled back to Malawi the same way I came with a few variations. The dhow, chapa, and as luck would have it the same driver let me sit in the front. An overnight in Pemba, a 5am bus the next morning to Nampula and then the train to Cuamba. I had expected to arrive in Nampula around 1pm and have time to access the Internet, but travel in Mozambique always takes longer than planned. The door fell off the bus, therefore the driver had to drive at a much slower pace after a thorough search to find the piece of the door that flew off. This delayed my arrival in Nampula to around 5pm, just in time to purchase a train ticket for the next day.
The train arrived in Cuamba around 2:30pm which was early. So I decided to transport to the Malawi border so I could be back in Blantyre by the next day around noon. I hopped into the mini bus…but there were only 2 passengers so changed to the Matola which had about 50 people and baggage on it. The route to the border at Entre Lagos should take only 3 hours so I expected to cross before the 6pm closing and spend the night in Malawi as the rest houses are much nicer in Malawi. The truck kept loading more people and baggage and left around 4pm when it was over full. I still had hopes of crossing the border as the distance was only about 70 kilometers. After the driver stopped several times for beer, I was resigned to spending one more night in Mozambique. In one village a passenger disembarked with a new bicycle. The entire village came by to cheer for him and his new transportation.
The chapa stopped many more times for beer and pee breaks for the driver. On one occasion the chapa stopped and everyone got off and pushed it to start. It was getting dark and cold. The rural areas have not electricity and dark is dark. The Milky Way is vibrant as are the stars….counting as lucky stars and shooting stars. Other stops to pick up a girl friend and visit with friends also contributed to a long journey.
We arrived at the border town around 9pm…to be ushered into the pension…the Pension Destine, a filthy run down brothel. The bar was blaring music to the all male crowd and prostitutes. A barrel of water for washing and a quick stop in the toilet and then to my room. I pushed the second bed against the door as the door had no lock, kept my money belt and clothes on, put in my ear plugs, used my sarong as protection from the dirt and fell into a restless sleep.
Early the next morning after completing my ablutions, I dashed to check out of Mozambique and into Malawi. I knew when I crossed the border into Malawi as one border guard asked if he could have my shoes and another larger female border guard asked for money as she was starving. The first transport, a transport truck was leaving around 9am which took us to the next small town where another matola was departing along with a load of goats. Within an hour the matola arrived in Liwonde where I took the first mini bus back to Blantyre. I was so delighted to have a hot shower, Internet, a sherry and a clean room in my favorite guesthouse in Malawi, Kambula Lodge. |
