From Mozambique with Love

Praca de Independencia in Maputo

A travel journal from my trip to Mozambique in November 2011. Due to limited internet I wasn’t able to post sooner. Better late then never!

Day 1
Blantyre, Tete

After an all night party in Blantyre, Elena and I found ourselves speeding towards the Malawi-Mozambique border in a full mini-bus at the crack of dawn. Getting to the Zobue bordering crossing takes two hours, from there we take a taxi to enter Mozambique. The border agent meticulously checks our passports and asks for my yellow fever certificate, a first since arriving in Africa. After crossing into Mozambique we stuff ourselves into another matola going to Tete, the hottest city in Mozambique. During the four hour drive the police stops the mini-bus three times to check  passports.  The Malawians on board without proper documentation are force to pay bribes to continue on.

Elena takes a nap during our 8 hour delay at Tete airport

We arrived at Tete’s airport only to find out our LAM flight is delayed by eight hours. In the blistering heat Elena and I set up camp for the next nine hours on a patio overlooking the runway. Exhausted we use books as pillows and take turns sleeping. The airport is completely empty and during the ten hours we are there only one plane lands.  We finally arrive in Maputo at 2am and check-into Fatimas hotel.

Day 2
Maputo

We sleep in until 4pm.  Refreshed and ready to explore the city, Elena and I have dinner at Costa do Sol, a packed restaurant overlooking the crowded beach. To celebrate our long journey we feast on fresh fish and Portuguese wine, a treat after only drinking South African wine in the last six months. Cars line the long beach, parked and blaring music, while people dance and drink roadside. We walk along the beach and grab a beer at a beach bar.  There we meet some women who give us a ride back to our hotel and share some of Maputo’s best secrets.

Day 3
Maputo

In the morning we walk to downtown Maputo. Straightaway it feels like we have traveled to the other side of the world. The city of 1.7 million feels like a mixture of Portugal and Latin America, with a touch of Eastern Europe.  Its avenues are lined with Mediterranean-style buildings, flame trees and sidewalk cafés.

Walking around this waterside city I don’t feel like a foreigner. Not once is mzugu (white person) yelled at me and stares are minimal. I also don’t feel oblige to cover my knees; exposed knees are somewhat a taboo in Malawi. Women here flaunt their legs in sexy dresses. Maputo instantly becomes my favorite African city. Elena’s Portuguese is a great help.  She is quick to fire back comebacks at guys who shout obscenities at us. They are always taken back by the response.

Maputo City Hall

We visit the Praca de Independencia, the city’s main plaza.  There we visit the neoclassical Conselho Municipal, city hall. The grand building reminds me of Mexico, with its courtyards and grand chandlers.  We wander in and out of ornate meeting chambers without any security at all. Beside city hall is the towering white Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Conceicao.

Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Conceicao

Also in the square is the French Cultural Centre. Housed in a huge structure that is mostly made of wrought iron, not exactly appropriate for the tropical climate. The building was once a colonial hotel and governor’s mansion that was constructed in 1896. It includes an art gallery, theater, library, shop, café and classrooms. The atmosphere at the centre is amazing.  We haven’t visited an art gallery since arriving in Africa. It feels like we have arrived from a desert island and we try to soak up as much art and culture as possible. Something Blantyre is desperately lacking. We have a drink at the café and giggle like teenagers as we watch handsome men coming and going, something else Blantyre is lacking.

Down the street we stop for lunch at the botanical garden and eat some rye bread and cheese that we picked up from the grocery store earlier. The park is full of young people picnicking and relaxing.

After we walk to the Mercado Municipal (municipal market) to shop for Chitenjis (long piece of material women wear) and crafts. The market has long rows of vendors selling everything from fruit to fish and brooms to hair extensions.

An artist paints in an open studio

Paintings at Nucleo de Arte

To take in some more art we take a tuk-tuk to Nucleo de Art, a long-standing artist cooperative and focal point of the Mozambique’s art community.  Sculptures made from guns from the civil war and beautiful paintings fill the old rundown colonial mansion.  In the garden you can watch the artists work or chat to rastas about politics.

A chair made out of guns left over from the civil war

Elena talks with the artists

We meander through upscale neighborhoods back to our hotel and grab an ice cream on the way.  That night we eat another amazing dinner at Mundos- complete with sangrias, great conversations and pouring rain.

Day 4
Maputo

In the morning it’s still raining. But that doesn’t stop us from venturing around the beautiful city. We walk along Vladimir Lenin St and Ho Chi Min St,. The streets happen to be named after world’s dictators.  To escape the rain we go to the National Museum of Art. The gallery is full of inspiring exhibits, including those of haunting paintings depicting the civil war.

The plaza infront of Maputo's train station

We then go to Maputo’s imposing train station to check out a photo exhibit of street children in Mozambique. The pale green art novo station was picked as Newsweek’s top 10 beautiful train stations in the world.  The station is full of impressive wrought-iron lattice work, pillars and exterior verandas. Old waiting rooms have been converted into a cafe, a bar and art galleries. On the tracks there are a few old steam engines. The train station is still in use but is often deserted.

People waiting for buses outside the train Station

A walk across takes us to Fortaleza, an old fort built by the Portuguese in the mid 19^th century. Inside the fort is a small museum and gardens.

Afterwards we stop at a café for pastries and coffee. The café tradition was left behind in Maputo by the Portuguese and has become an institution of the city. Elena and I pretend we are in Europe as we eat delicious Portuguese tarts and people watch.

For more art we stop by the French Cultural Centre one more time to see a new exhibit by one of the artists from Nucleo de Art that we met the day before. For dinner we go to the Spicy Thai for some unbeatable pad thai.

Day 5
Tofo

Its an early morning wake up call at 4am to take the minibus to Tofo, a beach town seven hours north of Maputo.  The bus parks at the market for two

Bamboozi Lodge in Tofo

hours waiting to fill up, while sellers pass by the window selling everything from fish, bread, toothpaste and my favorite, wine by the glass.  The bus takes ten hours to get to Tofo, but the green landscape and quaint towns it passes through entertain me.

On the bus we meet two lovely Swedish women who are working in Zimbabwe. They had to make the 32 hour trip to Maputo to go to their embassy after their passports were stolen. The four of us decide to room together at Bamboozi Lodge, a 15 minute walk from Tofo villiage. We stay in a basic beach hut for $10 a night, pillows are not included.  For dinner we go to Bamboozi’s restaurant, which is on top of a huge sand dune with a fanatic view of the beach and ocean. We are in bed by 10pm, which is when the lodge’s generator goes off, leaving the beach in total darkness.

Day 6
Tofo 

Elena, My and eat breakfast at Bamboozis

After a long night sleep we wake up to pouring rain.  The Swedes, Elena and I have a lazy breakfast as we watch the rain over the ocean. Eventually we make our way to the dreary beach.  I spend the next hours jumping in the big waves and being clobbered.  I feel like I’m five years old again; enjoying the ocean in all its glory. The rest of the day we spend reading and chatting over coffee until dinnertime. The four of us eat a delicious barracuda at Dinos Beach Bar. Still storming, we ask the bartender for garbage bags to protect us from the rain on our walk back to the hotel. The beach becomes our catwalk as we strut our stuff in pouring rain.

A rainy day at Tofo beach

Day 7
Tofo

The sun finally comes out and the Swedes have to leave.  Elena and I spend the day reading, swimming and tanning on the beach. Later on we walk into town to go to the market and have lunch at the main square.  With the sun out we finally can enjoy the long golden beach. We walked along the empty waters and hike over sand dunes in order to take in the great views. On our walk I run into a South African friend from Cape Maclear in Malawi.  This continent is too small. We also see Steve, a Belgium who was staying at our hotel in Maputo. Steve joins us for dinner and long island ice teas at Dinos. The restaurant turns into a lively dance party, packed with drunk travellers. Elena dances the night away as Steve and I chat and watch all the commotion. At 4am we walk home along the beach with the music still pumping in the background.

Enjoying our beach walk

Day 8
Tofo

In the morning Steve, Elena and I hang out at the dive shop while waiting to go on an ocean safari.  We hit the water in a speedboat outfitted with snorkel equipment and ready to spot some whale sharks. The speedboat jets along the coast passing by huge cottages.  We search for whale sharks for two hours and don’t spot anything.  We do see dolphins playing in the waves though. In the mean time Elena gets seasick from swallowing too much salt water, and spends most of the safari with her head over the side of the boat.  In the evening the three of us walk into town for dinner at Casa de Comer.  The food is amazing. Best meal I’ve had in half a year. I almost die over the crème brule. Back on the beach we lay under the stars one last time.

Fishing boats on Tofo's beach

Day 9
Maputo

We are up by 3am to catch the bus back to Maputo. Six hours later we are at Fatimas again this time with Steve.  Losing no time, we go to the artisan and flower market. Sundays the market is full of artists, food stalls and live music.  We shop for crafts among the party atmosphere.

Maputo's Sunday art and crafts market

 The market has over fifty vendors selling wooden crafts, bags, tapestry and fashion. I shop way too much. Shopped out we have lunch and beers in the park watching families relax in the Sunday sunshine.  Steven, Elena and I take an evening stroll before dinner. I have one last scrumptious meal in Mozambique and say my goodbyes.

Tree full of bags for sale

Sellers take a break at the market

Day 10
Tete, Blantyre

My flight takes-off on time and I’m back in Tete by 10am. The plane is full of businessmen and the man next to me tells me about the booming mining industry in Tete. Located on the Zambezi River, Tete is on its way to becoming the coal capital of the world.

A taxi takes me to the main market where with a little bit of Spanish and sign language I find the right mini-bus to the border. The mini-bus is stuff full with sodas and men. I squeeze into the back seat, unfortunately next to a man who shouts for the entire trip. Once I reach the border, I refuse to get on another smelly mini-bus and instead take a motorcycle the 10km that lies between the borders.  It feels so free to travel alone in a new country. I love it!

Immediately after I cross the border I hear mzungu and marriage proposals yelled at me. Already I miss Mozambique. At the deserted Malawian border crossing Justin Bieber is playing. Somethings are the same no matter where you are in the world. The border agent asks me one question, “what religion are you?”  I pass through easily and board another mini-bus. Inside the bus I hear a familiar voice. It’s a friend from MIJ FM, where I work, reading the news. I guess I’m home in the Warm Heart of Africa.

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Tags: art, beach, border, crafts, culture, Fatimas hotel, fish, french cultural centre, LAM, Maputo, Maputo train station, Mozambique, Mozambique food, National Museum of Art, Nucleo de Art, Portuguese, Praca de Independencia, Tete, Tofo, wine, Zobue