Mozambique

On October 10^th I went to Mozambique for a “weekend” trip. By weekend I mean we left on Wednesday afternoon. We were going to take a combi to Joburg, but we missed it, so we bought a bus ticket, but the bus was late, so we rented a combi along with some others and almost missed the bus form Joburg to Mozambique. There were some stressful moments as we arrived at the bus station, which were resolved by me running ahead of the group at full tilt through the bus terminal to stop the bus. Thankfully we made it, and took the bus overnight. Traveling by bus is different than plane in several ways. You get to see more of the countryside and interact with more of the local people on the bus, but you also have to cross more borders. It feels strange at first crossing 2 borders just for a weekend trip, compared to Canada where there aren't very many borders to cross. My visa collection is rapidly growing.

Streets of Maputo

We stayed in the capital city of Maputo, which is a (relatively) nice city. There are a lot of trees within the city, and it is situated right on the coast of the Indian ocean. The exchange rate is about $1 to 25 Metical, so I certainly felt rich, but also felt like things were expansive when being approached by the many VERY persistent street vendors. But because of the economy, the souvenirs and art were cheaper then other places so I did all (and then some...) of my souvenir shopping in Maputo. Because we were situated on the ocean, there is a popular (and of course smelly) fish market where you can buy fresh seafood and have someone cook it for you.

Fish Market

I was originally supposed to go up to Tofo with my friends but ended up having to stay in Maputo because I was leaving early due to school. After accidently riding a ferry to the wrong place, I spent the day touring the city, including a huge central market with hundreds of street vendors (at very tempting prices...too bad I was backpacking). There is also a lot of unique architecture that I got to see, including a train station, and a Steel House designed by Gustav Eiffel.

On my last day, I went out to Inhaca Island (pronounced inyaca), which is about 2 hours out at sea. I thouroughly enjoyed being out on the ocean, it was definitely the farthest I've travelled over the ocean. At the island, I spent some time on the beach and did some snorkeling, although the tide was out which made it more difficult and I did not see as much.

on Inhaca island, with the tide out

I returned to Gaborone late Sunday evening, one small adventure completed, and back to the familiar school environment. It always feels weird getting back to my residence, because it never really feels like home, just like some temporary place where I'm staying. I suppose because its true. My home away from home, until my next bloggable adventure...

Maputo from Catembe