As I mentioned in my previous post, I have just got back from Mozambique. I can only describe Mozambique as the epitome of rural Africa. The beaches are untouched: white sands, crystal blue waters, perfect waves, with the backdrop of thick green tropical forestry and blue skies. We went to the beach every day. It was here where we sunbathed, drank, swam, played boule, paddle skiied and surfed. As a huge fan of the film Blue Crush, I tried my hand at being that cool surfer girl that Kate Bosworth so effortlessly played in that film. I managed to surf about two waves (whilst kneeling on the board), but after getting pulled and pushed by the strong current and dunked by a few waves I decided I preferred not to have salt water flying in every crevice of my face.
The thing that shocked me most about Mozam is the roads. The roads are sand tracks- nothing more. Only 4x4 cars are allowed into Mozambique from the South African boarder (or any boarder I presume). There is no such thing asa tar road. As a result car journeys are very slow and extremely bumpy.
Although we took all of our food with us to Mozambique, we did have to visit the shops a few times to to stock up on fresh produce or pow (bread). Shops are wood and tin huts filled with suspicious home-made chillie sauce, onions, tomatoes, and the odd coconut (the one in the picture above was one of the more substantial ones). Everything is very basic. Bread is bread- you can forget your wholemeal, or your rye if you are coming to Mozam. Food here was more pricey than Tesco's. After asking a local what they paid for their bag of tomatoes, they assured me that they pay the same price. Luckily we didn't have to buy much from these little huts.
Sunsets in Mozam are a beautiful daily occurrence.
The bars are funded by South African students on their Summer breaks. The particular drinking shack we went to had their customer's cards nailed to the bar. The popular drink served in Mozambique is the Rum and Raspberry 'cocktail'. I can't say I was a fan of this drink. It tasted like a raspberry cough syrup- sickly sweet and dangerously alcoholic My holiday companions took to this cough syrup. This only resulted in many an embarrassing story, dancing on the wooden tabels and making friends with the Africaaners on their Summer camping trip.
My trip to Mozambique was one of the best holidays I've ever had. It was the perfect place to let loose, relax to the max and get to know a group of my boyfriends friends, who all know how to have a good time.
Would I go back? Yes. But Mozambique is not for those who are seeking luxury. It is basic. But going back to basics is refreshing. Whilst you are there, material things are trivial. I'm sure the majority of people living in Mozambique would think the stock market is a place where you sell food, the 'Internet' is a large spider web or the word 'fashion' is another way of saying clothes. The way of life is slow, but slow is healthy. How many times have you heard how the western fast pace of life is eating into our well being? So thank you Mozam- it was a pleasure.
