March 4, 2011

I am sitting on a sand dune overlooking the Indian Ocean as I write. What spectacular scenery to overlook. White coral beaches, a pristine clear blue sea,  lush, rolling green vegetation, and the sparkling reflection of the sun off the sea.

I can say in all honesty that I have never visited a country as beautiful as Mozambique, impoverished and problematic though it may be.

We began our journey from Gaborone, arriving in Johannesburg after dark, and making it safely to the bus station. Right after crossing the border into South Africa, my friend and I saw our first elephant, and took this as a good omen. Having not spent much time in South Africa, we were in awe of the breathtaking and diverse scenery, watching what was perhaps one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen. Gigantic clouds hung over the rolling hills of the countryside accompanied by brilliant rays of range, gold, and purple to paint a magnificent portrait of South Africa. The other passengers on the bus were confused as to why we were so enthusiastic about the sunset, asking us if we had before never seen a sunset. It's amazing how accustomed we become to the beauty around us if we see it every day.

Much of the scenery were also miles of shantis, however. The level of poverty in South Africa seems to be much greater and harsher than that of Botswana.   What also hit me was how racially segregated parts of it still seem to be.

From Johannesburg, we took a night bus to Maputo,  the capital and mostly heavily populated city in Mozambique.  Upon leaving the city around 10pm, we were quite surprised to see how empty the city seems at night. People told us that no one goes out after dark in what is stigmatized to be the most dangerous city of the world, and they seemed to be right from what we saw.


We arrived at Mozambique border at sunrise, getting out of the bus and walking up a hill for several kilometers to have our passports stamped. I was immediately hit here as well by the poverty that seems to plague the country. Seemingly anything was being offered to us, even dirty plastic containers. There are many children who sell things as well.

We got through the border without much trouble, with the exception of getting ripped off in an intentionally confusing currency transaction, a good lesson for us to keep our wits about us.

Many of the buildings in Maputo have been obviously influenced  or constructed by the Portuguese. Settled along the Indian Ocean and dotted with palm trees, mosaics, paintings, and other art, the city has a very unique and intriguing character of its own.

We went for a swim in the bay which was a public beach area, and took a ferry to a nearby island. The water and beach itself were dirty, but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless. We all felt much more consciouses about being white tourists here. The level of poverty around us made us feel incredibly uncomfortable with our privileged positions in society.

All the people we encountered were even more friendly  and curious than those in Botswana.

We were solicited by an endless number of beggars and people trying to sell us things. We befriended one university student who begged us to send him a lap top once we returned to the states. Though the city didn't appear to be nearly as segregated as parts of South Africa, all of the wealthy people we saw were obviously Portuguese. .

Though few people spoke much English, we were able to get by with some basic Portuguese we learned before our trip, as well as using some of our Spanish. We also realized how cheap things in Mozambique were in comparison to Botswana. The currency exchange rate is around 28 meticals to every US dollar. Even getting overcharged as obvious tourists,  we still paid next to nothing for a variety of goods that we purchased from street vendors.

That evening we met up with some Brazilians whom we contacted through couch surfing who let us stay with them for the night. They generously fed us and took us to a Carnival costume party at an abandoned train station nearby. We didn't' return until the sun rose the next day. We were stopped by the police twice upon return, and though showing them proper documentation, they wouldn't let us pass without giving them money. The Brazilians told us they are unfairly stepped all the time because it is known that they are wealthy. they talked about corruption within all levels of government and within the law enforcement community as being a big problem.

After catching up on some sleep, the Brazilians took us out for breakfast and dropped us off  at the beach for the day. We swam and played frisbee with the local children, and talked to many interesting people. At one point we formed a music circle, singing and playing guitar and harmonica. They taught us several songs in Portuguese, and we taught them some English songs. What a fantastic day.

I talked to many of the locals about problems in Mozambique. They all reiterated what the Brazilians told us about political corruption being an enormous problem hindering the development of the country.They also cited unemployment and a lack of educational and health resources as major problems facing the people.

 All the children tried to persuade us to give them any and every belonging that was with us, including our clothes after playing with us. They seemed disappointed and left soon after realizing we weren't going to give them our passports or belongings.

That evening we booked a bus to take us north to Tofo and stayed at a backpackers hostel in the city. We departed at 5am the next day for what was the longest minibus ride we had been on.

We were again amazed by the scenery. We passed through miles of palm tree forests. Street vendors everywhere sold the best and cheapest bananas, mangoes, and avocados I've ever had. The farther north we traveled, the less developed the roads and infrastructure were.

We arrived in Tofo in the evening shortly before sunset and set up camp. We immediately fell in love with the beach. The ocean was crystal clear and completely empty. We fell asleep on the beach that night watching the stars above, awaking to a rainstorm and retreating back to our tent, which incidentally also became soaked.

We awoke the next morning to find that all of our clothes and supplies were soaking wet, and the rain was continuing and letting no signs of letting up. We decided to walk several kilometers north to where we heard there was a dormitory to get out of the rain.

We walked through a forest of palm trees for a while along a red dirt road filled with pot holes unnavigable by car unless in a 4 wheel drive.  and passed through a village of curious onlookers. None of them could speak any English, and their Portuguese was nearly impossible for us to understand.

After walking for an hour or so through the pouring rain, we were picked up by a south African in the company of two Germans. who offered to take us to our destination. We were unable to find it, so he offered to let us stay at his resort free of charge, an offer we eagerly accepted.

We rode in the back of his truck for several hours, the rain never letting up. We continued to be amazed by the scenery and stark contrast between Mozambique and Botswana, and even each place within Mozambique.

Once arriving, the South African, Rudy, let us take hot showers and prepared us a delicious meal. He then drove us down to a spectacular beach where we quickly swam.

That evening, Rudy told us about his business in Mozambique, and how he grew up in South Africa but left because of the crime rate. The Germans he was  with were visiting the country for a few days like us and staying with him before  heading home.

We all slept in complete peace in huts made of dried palm leaves and trees that night, falling asleep to the sound of rolling ocean waves.