hello from paradise!
hey y'all,
i am writing from a small town in mozambique that i had to take a chicken bus to get to. needless to say, i will NOT be accessing my email until i get back to the capitol sometime wednesday night.
this is what lonely planet has to say about moz:
"here's the good news. mozambique is on the up. after more than 10 years of peace, the spectres of the past are finally being laid to rest and the mood among the country's gentle, welcoming citizens is one of unbridled optimism. best of all, most of the world's tourists haven't arrived yet. traveling around mozambique is still quite a challenge, especially once you're across the zambezi. most of the journeys still involve rickety busses filled with mangy chickens and leaky babies. but hey - they lead to dazzling white beaches, magical old towns and prawns the size of crayfish."
and that, my friends, is spot on. of course i don't care about the prawns, but the beaches, the towns... wow.
let me start with the journey to tofo. you've all seen pictures - crappy old mini busses STUFFED with people, livestock, and (uggh) children. not to mention the road conditions north of xai-xai are, well, non existant. the trip from maputo to tofo took well over 8 hours. but once in tofo, it was worth it. tofo = paradise. the beaches are clean and virtually untouched. the diving is said to be magnificent (ask me about that after tomorrow). the town is tiny, chill, and laid back. there is no running water (septic tanks) and no telephone/internet. right now i am in inhambane, the town about 45 mins away, checking email and getting to an ATM. once i leave inhambane, i am heading back to tofo for te rest of my stay here. that means no more internet for a few days.
but y'all should SEE where i am staying! i have a private bungalo on the indian ocean for $20 usd a night. and that is a splurge! i go to sleep at night to the crashing of waves. i wake up in the morning with the clear, blue indian ocean just steps from my door. i have my own mosquito net (thank tha lord for that), and a ceiling fan. air conditioning? HA! yesterday i spent much of the day playing on the ocean. i also hit up tofo's small market (i am going to hit the larger market in inhambane as long as i'm already here). last night, i had a few drinks with some germans and canadians at dino's, this bar owned by a south african.
compared to mozambique, south africa is a developed nation. amenities are easy to come by. traveling in moz means ROUGHING IT. and i have never roughed it this much. but the rewards are massive. traveling in moz is not for anyone who believes that schedules need to be stuck to. traveling in moz isn't for anyone who has a weak stomach and can not handle being stuck on a minibus for hours on end. i am a lot more adaptable than i've given myself credit for, and i am pleased that i have held up so well. i've never, in all of my travels, been to anywhere quite this remote, quite this undeveloped. but i am LOVING it. i am loving the chance to kick back and just enjoy being in africa...
and i am IN africa. the ride to tofo as everything i expected africa to look like - jungle huts, lush greenery, women in traditional garb carrying their goods on their head, people and livestock on the "highway" (if you can call it a highway), coconut palms everywhere. it's pretty amazing. it's a very different life from the one that i live at home, and the sociologist in me is intrigued beyond belief. english is non existant here, most people use tribal language or portugese. but i am enjoying working my way around. also, single female travelers are very very very odd here. most foreginers either come in groups or couples. so i am getting quite a bit of attention (none of it unwanted or threatening, just pure curiosity). and people have gone out of their way to help me. the people of moz are some of the warmest, friendliest, most inviting that i have ever met.
i am glad i am here now. for the time being, very few people (mainly backpackers) know about tofo. give it 3-4 years, and i am sure there will be mega resorts, golf courses, ritzy tour buses, and yes, running water. i am glad i discovered this paradise before it changes. because trust me, it will. you should SEE the beach.
my first order of business when i get back in the us will be to take a nice, long, hot, proper shower. in fact, since i left for kruger, the quality of shower here (even in jo'burg) has been questionable. and once i get back to south africa, my first order of business is to find me an outlet to charge my ipod. i am SO glad i have the foresight to buy a battery powered ipod charger. i have not seen an outlet since i left south africa, and the chicken bus journey would have sucked without music.
anyway, i am gonna send this one off, explore town, and head back to tofo (45 mins away via chicken bus). i will write again once i get back to maputo (moz's capitol).
i am writing from a small town in mozambique that i had to take a chicken bus to get to. needless to say, i will NOT be accessing my email until i get back to the capitol sometime wednesday night.
this is what lonely planet has to say about moz:
"here's the good news. mozambique is on the up. after more than 10 years of peace, the spectres of the past are finally being laid to rest and the mood among the country's gentle, welcoming citizens is one of unbridled optimism. best of all, most of the world's tourists haven't arrived yet. traveling around mozambique is still quite a challenge, especially once you're across the zambezi. most of the journeys still involve rickety busses filled with mangy chickens and leaky babies. but hey - they lead to dazzling white beaches, magical old towns and prawns the size of crayfish."
and that, my friends, is spot on. of course i don't care about the prawns, but the beaches, the towns... wow.
let me start with the journey to tofo. you've all seen pictures - crappy old mini busses STUFFED with people, livestock, and (uggh) children. not to mention the road conditions north of xai-xai are, well, non existant. the trip from maputo to tofo took well over 8 hours. but once in tofo, it was worth it. tofo = paradise. the beaches are clean and virtually untouched. the diving is said to be magnificent (ask me about that after tomorrow). the town is tiny, chill, and laid back. there is no running water (septic tanks) and no telephone/internet. right now i am in inhambane, the town about 45 mins away, checking email and getting to an ATM. once i leave inhambane, i am heading back to tofo for te rest of my stay here. that means no more internet for a few days.
but y'all should SEE where i am staying! i have a private bungalo on the indian ocean for $20 usd a night. and that is a splurge! i go to sleep at night to the crashing of waves. i wake up in the morning with the clear, blue indian ocean just steps from my door. i have my own mosquito net (thank tha lord for that), and a ceiling fan. air conditioning? HA! yesterday i spent much of the day playing on the ocean. i also hit up tofo's small market (i am going to hit the larger market in inhambane as long as i'm already here). last night, i had a few drinks with some germans and canadians at dino's, this bar owned by a south african.
compared to mozambique, south africa is a developed nation. amenities are easy to come by. traveling in moz means ROUGHING IT. and i have never roughed it this much. but the rewards are massive. traveling in moz is not for anyone who believes that schedules need to be stuck to. traveling in moz isn't for anyone who has a weak stomach and can not handle being stuck on a minibus for hours on end. i am a lot more adaptable than i've given myself credit for, and i am pleased that i have held up so well. i've never, in all of my travels, been to anywhere quite this remote, quite this undeveloped. but i am LOVING it. i am loving the chance to kick back and just enjoy being in africa...
and i am IN africa. the ride to tofo as everything i expected africa to look like - jungle huts, lush greenery, women in traditional garb carrying their goods on their head, people and livestock on the "highway" (if you can call it a highway), coconut palms everywhere. it's pretty amazing. it's a very different life from the one that i live at home, and the sociologist in me is intrigued beyond belief. english is non existant here, most people use tribal language or portugese. but i am enjoying working my way around. also, single female travelers are very very very odd here. most foreginers either come in groups or couples. so i am getting quite a bit of attention (none of it unwanted or threatening, just pure curiosity). and people have gone out of their way to help me. the people of moz are some of the warmest, friendliest, most inviting that i have ever met.
i am glad i am here now. for the time being, very few people (mainly backpackers) know about tofo. give it 3-4 years, and i am sure there will be mega resorts, golf courses, ritzy tour buses, and yes, running water. i am glad i discovered this paradise before it changes. because trust me, it will. you should SEE the beach.
my first order of business when i get back in the us will be to take a nice, long, hot, proper shower. in fact, since i left for kruger, the quality of shower here (even in jo'burg) has been questionable. and once i get back to south africa, my first order of business is to find me an outlet to charge my ipod. i am SO glad i have the foresight to buy a battery powered ipod charger. i have not seen an outlet since i left south africa, and the chicken bus journey would have sucked without music.
anyway, i am gonna send this one off, explore town, and head back to tofo (45 mins away via chicken bus). i will write again once i get back to maputo (moz's capitol).