On Wednesday morning I left for Cape Town airport in the Boogie Bus, a private mini bus for international students that's painted crazy colors and decorated all over, with my friends Will and Stephen. Seven hours and one Joburg layover later, we were in Maputo, the capitol city of Mozambique. This place was unlike any city I'd ever seen before. It was completely run down, without any apparent traffic laws, and DIRTY. Dirt and trash were everywhere, it was pretty gross. We stayed at Fatima's Backpackers for the night. Will had been to Maputo once before, so he suggested we go to this fish market for dinner. This fish market was wild. Immediately when we got out of the cab, there were dozens of people heckling us, trying to get us to buy whatever they were selling or to let them take us around the fish market. One guy got our attention, and he led us through the chaos. We walked into this large tented area where dozens of vendors were selling their various kinds of fish. I'd never seen anything like it. Tables laden with dozens of fish, buckets full of clams, crab, and prawns. We picked out our choices (clams, calamari, barracuda, and crab) and went around the side of the market. There were a bunch or restaurants all surrounding a middle seating area, and they all cook the fish you buy in the market. The guy who led us around and helped us pick out the fish worked at one of the restaurants so we chose to ate there. We negotiated a price for the cooking, and sat back and cracked open a few beers. The guy didn't know very good english, so we pretty much just smiled and nodded when he spoke to us. First we had the clams and some garlic bread. They were delicious. I don't think I'd ever had clams before. Next came the salads, barracuda steaks, crab and calamari and they were so good. None of us had ever had barracuda before, and I was surprised how tasty and rich it was. My favorite was the crab, even though it was a total mission to get the meat out. Once we were done with dinner we headed back to the hostel and relaxed with a bottle of wine and a game of scrabble. We went to sleep early since we had a 6:00AM bus ride to Tofo in the morning.
Maputo fish market
Barracuda in the background, calamari steaks in the front
We awoke at 5:30 the following morning and headed outside to catch the shuttle that would take us from Maputo to Tofo, where we'd be spending the rest of our time. I thought the shuttle was just for Fatima's lodgers and that it would be a nice, comfy bus. Oh, how wrong I was. This bus was a nightmare. We were dropped off by cabs along with three other young travelers we'd met the night before at this bus station in Maputo. There were about a billion buses there and ours looked just the same as all the others. Like a typical African bus, our was packed. Luckily, there was only one butt to a seat (sometimes this is not the case), but it was still shoulder to shoulder. And these people were so stinky! Like they hadn't ever showered in their lives. It was kind of like torture to ride a stanky bus for eight hours. We only got off twice-once to pee on the side of the road and another to buy snacks at a gas station. Along the way we would pull over to buy from street vendors who would run up to the car and bang on your window to try to get you to buy stuff. We got some rolls and muffins, so we survived the trip. It didn't really feel like we were riding for eight hours, for some reason. I was thankful that it didn't seem as long as it could have. The ride could have been a lot worse. I was lucky enough to sit between Will and a window, so I was removed from the stench.
After a long, uncomfortable journey we arrived at Fatima's Nest, our backpackers in Tofo. Tofo is this tiny town that consists of a few hostels, a hotel, a dive shop, a couple restaurants and a market, all right on the beach. Fatima's was like the tree house from Blue Lagoon, and was totally a beach lovers dream. There was a thatched-roof restaurant and bar that was open to the air, a completely open air hangout area, and steps leading right down to the beach. Right when we walked up to the checkin counter (which also served as the bar and the ordering counter for the restaurant) our friends Lara and Cay ran up to us. It turned out they were staying at Fatima's too! They were supposed to leave the following day for Vilanculos, a beach spot farther North, but in true Tofo manner (which I'll explain later), they stayed there for their entire trip. We threw our stuff into our room and hit the beach. This beach was out of this world. It stretched as far as you could see, had the softest squeakiest sand, and the water was unbelievably warm. After swimming for a while we walked to the dive shop where we signed up for snorkling and scuba diving for the next day. Afterwards we headed over to a restaurant called Dino's for some pizza.
Fatima's Nest
View from Fatima's
We ended up staying at Dino's for a few hours, drinking more than we ate and becoming quite tipsy. Once the bill was paid we headed back to Fatima's where we met up with some of the other lodgers. A few of us hung out on the beach till pretty late before turning in. The tide was really low, and for some reason I was totally paranoid that there would be a tsunami. Luckily, there wasn't. I got over this fear the next night (well, actually the following morning, when I woke up dry and alive) because the tide always gets that low.
Early the next morning, after a breakfast of fruit and yogurt, we strolled over to the dive shop to go snorkeling. We went on what was called an 'Ocean Safari' and we were supposed to see whale sharks and rays and all sorts of cool stuff. Apart from a couple dolphins we saw on our two hour boat ride, we didn't see much of anything. After not finding anything cool for a while, they dumped us on a reef where there were some pretty fish. I've never been a talented snorkeler, and always end up breathing in copious amounts of water. This was no exception. I was disappointed by the snorkeling, especially since I had just learned to dive and was used to that kind of water activity. I kind of suck and swimming and at holding my breath, so I don't think snorkeling is really my thing. I got a better hang of it by the end and could get down kind of far to see things up close, but it wasn't all that exciting. This general lameness was compounded by my horrible seasickness. Something about the swells of the ocean made me totally nauseous. I thought I was going to chunder. Thankfully I was able to hold it together and didn't have to sit in the boat for very long before we got moving. Riding in the boat was SO MUCH FUN. I didn't feel seasick when the boat was moving, which was surprising since it was like being on a roller coaster. Come to think of it, roller coasters don't make me sick. So there you have it. The waves were pretty big, so we went airborne a good amount of times.
Immediately after snorkeling my friend Lara and I had to set out for our afternoon dive. I almost didn't go because I was still queasy, but I rallied and am very happy I did. Lara and I along with four other divers rode out to a dive site called "The Chamber of Secrets," which I thought was totally awesome. There was another dive site called "Hogwarts" and the divemasters claimed there was no connection. Riiight. To get into the water we sat facing each other and simply tipped backwards into the water, then swam right down to the bottom. I'd never dived anywhere besides the frigid, murky waters of Cape Town so the waters of the Indian Ocean off of Tofo beach were beyond my imagination. There were schools of brightly colored fish, I saw rays, Nemo, Dory, and a few puffer fish. The puffer fish were my favorite. I was surprised how much bigger the tropical fish are in the wild are compared to in captivity. Some were the size of dinner plates. After about fifty minutes we headed back up to the surface and cruised back to shore. Since there aren't any piers or docks, the boats have to run ashore. It's really fun and exciting, since the driver goes super fast and slams on the brakes right at the end and you have to jump off really fast.
In the afternoon we went to town. Town consisted of booths set up by locals who sell foods, alcohol, goods, and clothing. There were tons of pants made of boldly patterned fabrics. Lara and Cay had discovered these delicious peanut better bon bons which were to become my greatest vice for the week. We bought some fruit and Tipo Tinto rum before going to a hotel for dinner. The Tofo Hotel was being renovated, but the restaurant was still open. We ordered some drinks and some calamari. Though the place is mere yards from the ocean, they were out of fish for the day. We headed back to Dino's after dinner, which at night turns into a dance club. Since it was Friday night, the place was happening. I think everyone in Tofo was there. We hung out and danced with a few people we'd met at Fatima's, one of them being a bartender from Holland who was leading a tour of the area the next day. We'd signed up for the tour, little did we know what was in store for us.
The pants
We awoke the next morning to a beautiful day, had some breakfast and hit the beach. We played in the water for a good amount of time. Around one we left for the Tipo Tinto Tour of Tofo. As I mentioned before, Tipo Tinto is a rum but not just any old rum. It's cheap, delicious, and fierce. You can be drinking it and BAM! all of a sudden you're waking up the next morning with a pounding headache when just a second before you were out dancing with your friends. It's blackout juice. So this tour was all about drinking Tipo Tinto and driving around Tofo. There were about nine of us going on the tour and three leaders. We piled into the back of a pickup truck along with the bottles of Tipo Tinto and the cans of pop. The best way to drink Tipo is to drink a little pop, fill up the can with Tipo, and repeat. So we cruised around Tofo in the back of a pickup truck, sipping Tipo Tinto and enjoying the randomness of our situation. We stopped at a lighthouse to do some exploring and there was a wedding being setup on the beach below. It looked like it was going to be really beautiful. After the lighthouse we headed to the house of our driver. He was squatting in this house with a few other people that used to be owned by a General. It was huge and right on the ocean. There we met the other people in the house who were cooking us dinner. We had a huge fresh fish braai with some kind of huge fish, calamari, and prawns. It was fun, we ate with our hands all from one dish while standing around the table. It was such a surreal experience. Somehow our travels had landed us in an abandoned house, drinking cheap rum, eating good fish, all right on the ocean in Mozambique. It felt like a dream. After having a bit of a party we headed back. It was pitch black and we were all piled into the back of this pickup truck, but somehow we made it home safely. It was only 7pm, but it felt like midnight. I lasted till 7:30 and had to go take a nap. I woke up at 11:15 and Will and I set out to find our friends. We checked all over the place before checking Lara and Cay's room, where we found the two girls and Stephen totally passed out. Will went out to Dino's and I went back to bed at midnight and slept till nine.
I almost got sick when I looked at this the following morning
Yummy
The abandoned house
View from the house
The next morning we all felt pretty terrible, and the most we did was take a walk to town. We all had to go to the ATM to get more Mozambique money since no place took credit cards. The ATM was at a gas station a ways out of town, so we paid a bus driver to take us there. After struggling with the ATM and buying a ton of chips between the group of us, we hitchhiked back to town. We got lunch at the dive shop and there was a bee cooked into Lara's burger, which was both gross and hilarious. Will, Lara and I went on an afternoon dive to a site called Salon. The waves were enormous, the biggest I'd ever seen and apparently they were as big as they get off of Tofo. We got into the water as fast as possible to avoid seasickness. For some reason I had about twice as much air left as everyone else when they started running out of air, so I was able to stay underwater with the divemaster and another diver for a really long time after everyone else had to go up. In all I think we were underwater for about an hour and five minutes. I'd never been so deep, about 16m. I felt pretty cool getting to stay down with the other divers who were both very experienced and knew what was going on. I was just kind of floating around getting distracted by the colorful fish. There was a really strong surge that day, which is a current underwater that pulls you to and fro. I didn't really fight it at all and just got pushed along by the water. I think that's why I had so much air left, I didn't put forth much effort against the surge. I really liked staying with the other two divers, it was like being let into the club, since they were so experienced. I'm really glad I went ahead and got certified. It adds a whole new dimension to traveling since now whenever I go someplace with water there's the potential to dive. You can see so much cool stuff, the people are generally fun and enthusiastic, and it's a lot of fun. It's a really good thing I stayed down as long as possible, since the waves were so enormous. Everyone on the boat was extremely seasick when we got out of the water. The ride back was wild, since the waves were so big. There was a complete rainbow in the sky that was the brightest I'd ever seen.
That night we were all really tired. I wasn't feeling too good, possibly from the dive, possibly from the Tipo. Regardless, I wasn't feeling a late night. It was a good thing, though, since our bus for Maputo left at 4am the following morning. We got in the bus at four and took off. It was sad to leave Tofo. It's the kind of place where, if you're not careful, you'll end up staying for weeks. Lara and Cay, instead of leaving for Vilanculos like they had planned on, kept putting it off until they had to leave for Cape Town and it was too late. You quickly lose track of how long you've been there. Whenever someone would ask us how long we'd been in Tofo, we really had to think about it before remembering. The days and nights blend together. You meet cool people that stay there too long just like you do, and you just never leave. If we didn't have finals to get back to, I think we might still be there. It's like the Bermuda Triangle of beach vacations.
After a torturous bus ride back to dirty, stinky, sweaty Maputo we had a couple hours to kill so we go out for pasta of all things. It was good, but pasta on a hot day, when you're tired, sick, and in the middle of traveling, is dumb. I felt so gross. At the airport we each had to check a bag since the boys wanted to bring back bottles of Tipo Tinto. Of course, it all ended up in my bag and all my clothes were split between theirs. Unfortunately, Will's camera and cell phone were stolen between Maputo and Joburg. Getting stuff stolen from a checked bag is not an unusual occurrence in Southern Africa, which sucks. What sucks more is this was not Will's first time getting stuff stolen from his bags. We were all tired and cranky and had a two hour layover before leaving for Cape Town. While Will filed a report with the airlines, Stephen and I sat at Mug and Bean and had milk and cookies. They were so delicious. I fell asleep before everyone had even finished boarding the plane. The best thing about flying in Southern Africa is that you never fly more that a couple hours, so as soon as you start feeling like you want to get off the plane, the flight is over.
Once home I took the longest, best-feeling shower of my entire life and slept for hours and hours. I didn't move from my bed till noon, and that was only to get food. I've pretty much been a slug since getting back, and it's been great. School is finally wrapping up. Tomorrow at 5pm I have my last final and then it's goodbye junior year. Summer vacation here I come!
-Sarah
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