Vilanculos to Maputo, via Tofo
Trip Start
Apr 03, 2008
1
21
27
Trip End
Jun 25, 2008
Maputo,
Mozambique
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Enter Tofo. Tofo is this small sleepy little fishing village about 5 hours south of Vilanculos. Not easy to get to, it took me two minibuses, followed up by a crappy old rowboat with motor and 30 people crossing a bay to city of Inhumbane. From there, I waited a good 1.5 hours as the local minibus drivers refused to charge me the local bus rate to Tofo, opting rather to charge me the 600% more than locals pay. I must admit, after my episode where i got gouged earlier in the trip, I am steadfast in my refusals to be taken advantage of again. Hence, the long wait
Central Maputo
. As my minibus finally took off, with 27 people in this tiny little clown car, full once again with fish and live chickens, buckets of mussels, fishing poles, etc, we headed off for what would become my vacation getaway for the next four days.Parking myself at this small backpacker place FATIMAS on the beach, with incredibly gorgeous views of the surf rolling in, I became at ease with my decision to spend more time in Mozambique than initially planned. Over coming days, I sat on the beach, reading and just chatting with fellow Israeli, British, Kiwi and other European travellers. The highlight of Tofo, which brought me there in the first place, was experienced on day 4. Tofo is famous for home of the enormous whale sharks, vegetarian plankton eaters that can grow upwards of 15 meters (45 feet) in length. A boat dropped us off the coast after spotting one of these awesome sharks, and swimming with or along it for well over an hour is something that one cannot or will not forget in his or her lifetime. Must do for those who come to Mozambique, but as well a visit to Tofo is warranted!
Leaving Tofo, I figured I should head down quickly to the capital of Maputo, so as to spend a couple days before flying up to meet my cousin Greg in Ilya de Mozambique. Checking in at a local backpacker lodge, and walking the city for several hours, I came to the conclusion that this place was the dirtiest and most foul city I had encountered in 6 weeks travel. The architecture within the city itself is pleasant, with Portugese influence everywhere, but the infrastructure from roads to sidewalks to buildings themselves is abysmal. The city reeks of garbage and human waste, bringing me back to journeys thru India or more likely even Kosovo in initial days after the war. This is a true shame, and I vowed not to remain any longer than necessary here. Possibly I am not giving the town enough of a chance, but with my limited time I opted to get out of Dodge and fly to Nampula ASAP. Cau Maputo...
