The unknown charm of Mozambique...

ARRIVAL IN MAPUTO..

Dawn. What day is it today? Where am I? A few moments of bewilderment, then I realize: Mozambique, or rather not yet. We're stopped on the Intercape bus that picked us up last night in Nelspruit and will take us to Maputo through the Rossano Garcia border crossing, where we are right now. Around us, thousands of people waiting for the border to open at 6. Many have cars crammed with every conceivable thing, from mattresses to plastic chairs, from bicycles to sacks stuffed with clothes. We wait. Finally the bus "steward" tells us it's time to get off and points out which offices we have to go into and in what order.

No problem: even though our faces are still full of sleep and the offices are packed, we have no trouble at all and get through our bureaucratic steps without a hitch (we only pay 12 rand each), also because we had the visa arranged at the Mozambican embassy in Rome (25€ each for the visa plus 8€ for shipping passports and photos). The time has come to cross over, and we have to do it on foot; the bus will wait for us in Mozambique about a hundred meters ahead. All six of us reach the guards, who take the first passport in hand, look at it, look at us, and say with a smile: "Italia, campioni del mondo!" and we start singing "po popopo popo po," and they wave us through almost without any further checks...

though better than a visa, really! When we get to the bus, we realize that while everything went smoothly for us, it was a different story for our vehicle: a small truck carrying wood backed up nervously and drove a beam as thick as a leg through the windshield, leaving a good chunk of it stuck in the cracked glass... free air conditioning today, to the driver's delight! Finally we get back on and set off for Maputo. It's incredible: we'll have covered only a few kilometers, but the scenery is diametrically opposite—shacks of sheet metal instead of cheerful little restaurants, swamps and scrub instead of well-tended gardens, men on bicycles and above all on foot instead of workers in pick-ups... in short, AFRICA.

In a couple of hours we arrive at our destination, MAPUTO, and we realize that although we don't see townships like in South Africa, the outskirts are truly run-down, while in the center modern buildings with banks or offices alternate with decaying apartment blocks and colonial villas. We arrive at the terminus at 07:30, pick up our bags, and look around for a moment; the atmosphere is new and it electrifies us. We're immediately surrounded by people who, for a few coins, want to find us a place to stay for the night.. A little man shouts "Fatima, Fatima!"... our hotel, and we follow him to the shuttle that will finally take us to get some rest. CENTRALLY LOCATED IN MAPUTO - Mao Tse Tung Ave,1317 email: fatimas@tvcabo.co.mz Phone: +258 (0) 82 4145730 - +258 (0) 82 3070870 Fax: (+) 258 1 300 305

Our shuttle, however, is a tub of a thing, an open-backed van, so they load "arms and baggage" onto the flatbed... at least we get an unfiltered panoramic view of the city. At a traffic light a scooter pulls up beside us and asks where we're going and warns us that we have a flat tire; we tell him we're going to Fatima's... "yeah, maybe you'll make it!" And we do make it. The little trip takes 15 minutes and we've already understood that the world has changed: we laugh and we adapt. From the outside Fatima looks like a fortress with a guard at the door, barbed wire, guard dogs, a gate and a double gate; inside it looks like my grandmother's house... worn-out little sofas, ashtrays made of seashells, a porch with a mini kitchen where anyone can make themselves a cup of tea, as long as they wash the cup afterward, and in general a very bohemian atmosphere.

It's a big Peace and Love kind of place... We giggle while waiting for someone to show us the rooms; finally a Mozambican-Jamaican guy arrives (Jamaican only judging by the dreadlocks and the little herb we assume he never goes without) and lets us choose between rooms with a private bathroom with 4 beds (225 rand) or with a shared bathroom (180 rand)... we choose the one with the private bathroom, while Raffa & Andrea B., Jael & Andrea F. opt for the other. A few minutes after taking possession of the room we hear a knock... Jael and Andrea F. didn't like their room (a matching bra-and-panties set hanging on the window handle) and we decide to share the room... (honestly hoping to save a few euros by sharing too)... no problem, the room is small, the bathroom microscopic, but it's only for one night! A quick shower and then out we go, ready to discover the face of this city.

We walk the streets looking for an ATM, a phone, and a video equipment shop... who knows if we'll be lucky! We find the ATM and withdraw meticais (1€ = about 33 meticais) without any problems. We ask about a shopping mall and they point us to one about twenty minutes away on foot... great, let's march! The streets are packed with people; on every corner little kiosks sell mandarins (which we will get to know well), candy or cookies; here and there merchandise is laid out on the sidewalk, from shoes to batiks, everything from touristy stuff and beyond. One thing strikes us: we're the only whites, but here it seems nobody cares! Under the shopping mall building there's a crowd of souvenir vendors and they all call out to us, pulling us: look, look, buen precio! Just as you'd expect in any good African market from Tunis to Maputo.

Once inside the mall it's another world! Cleanliness, order, and progress—the path of one of the most battered countries trying to get out of the tunnel, amid social gaps and contradictions. We wander around, but honestly nothing appeals to us; it all feels too artificial. We go out and by now it's lunchtime. With ravenous foresight Diego spots a little restaurant on the other side of the square: "PIRATES" We'll be eating fish, hopefully! The menu is very appealing, especially for the prices, which have nothing to do with South Africa (much less with Italy) but which we'll discover are higher than Mozambican prices in general (we pay 27.6€ per couple). We eat until we're stuffed and everything is very good.

We go back into the mall to call Delito, our friend in Maputo whom we were put in touch with by friends of friends in Cape Town, where he was on vacation. In the evening Delito comes to pick us up and takes us to his home, introduces us to his family and other friends. The atmosphere is surreal; it feels like we've known each other forever, communicating partly in English, partly in a fanciful Portuguese improvised by Diego and Raffaella. We share a simple but tasty dinner together and have them explain a thing or two about this mysterious country for which no tourist guides or other tips exist, and into which we've plunged with almost no idea what we'd find. The situation in some areas really is dramatic, but on the coast where we'll be staying we shouldn't have any surprises, neither from diseases (malaria etc.) nor anything else.

Delito also gives us the numbers of some of his friends in Tofo (our first stop) and in Vilanculos (the other stop), so we'll have support if we need it, or even just tips on where to sleep. They truly are a fantastic family; they lived through the war but they have a wonderful gentleness and kindness! Ten minutes earlier we were strangers, and now we're family.. Their love will stay in our hearts forever, making us wish we could embrace them again in the future... Back at Fatima's, we make arrangements for the bus that at 5 in the morning will take us toward Tofo... The guy in charge of running the Backpackers tries to play us, charging us 225 rand per couple for the 4-bed room... a total of 450 r. So we get a bit worked up... we gave up privacy and freedom only to pay more than we would have if each of us had had our own room...

Something doesn't add up!!!! We politely point out that the price list on the wall behind him says a 4-person room = 345 rand; he says it's wrong... we don't want any trouble, we still have to spend the night there, so we suck it up and pay... but once in the room I promise him the worst internet publicity possible... Wake-up at dawn and we find an envelope slipped under the door with an apology note and 105 rand refunded to us: he apologizes and gives us the money back??? What happened?? Our hypotheses are two, or rather three... 1) the Italian girl who just moved her suitcases into the guy's room put in a good word for us... 2)Andrea B., who was the last of us to talk to him, said the magic phrase that touched his heart.. 3) one of us, seeing us in a bit of a dark mood, staged the whole thing to make us happy... We'll never know the truth...

In conclusion, my opinion on Fatima is: do your homework, and there's surely an alternative... they're not the only ones in the area.. The cleanliness is really reduced to a minimum, and in the bathroom even less....and always clarify everything, and maybe get what's agreed written down, to avoid future misunderstandings... This applies all over the world.

WE ARE IN TOFO

WEDNESDAY 16/08/2006

At 04:30 we find two taxis, 300 metical, waiting for us; they take us to what they call a station, but it's just an open-air shelter with a warehouse behind it... Once again we're approached in turn by locals... We're a bit wary and prejudiced; in the end we understand they just want to scrape together a little money or help us... They tell us the bus won't leave at 5 but at 6... In the days ahead we'll learn about Mozambican calm. At 6, using our imagination, a sort of ticket office opens..We pay 640 mt per couple with 50 mt for luggage.. The station is the OLIVERAS bus station; from a distance the bus looks nice, more than decent, but then the closer you get, the more you see it in full and ask yourself: why do you love traveling by local transport? The bus is at least 20 years old and lived-in, very lived-in..

Just before departure the station fills up with every kind of vendor, from water sellers to bread, mandarins, toothpaste, hot soups, etc.. The women in their colorful clothes are beautiful, with their babies wrapped on their backs.. Those wonderful children will surely lack many things that Western kids have, but they certainly don't lack contact and maternal love... They have the best without knowing it.. They get bounced up and down every time their mom bends or moves, and they laugh without a problem... Oliveras luckily isn't full; we have about three seats per person and we travel comfortably... The roads are often unpaved, full of potholes... they go through all the little villages. There isn't much in the areas where the bus stops, and we're literally surrounded by women with their babies on their backs and baskets on their heads full of mandarins, bananas, etc...

or by kids selling cookies, sodas, or dried fruit.. Since the trip is long, we too take advantage of this "traveling shop." Since the journeys last on average a whole day, there's a good chance you'll need the bathroom... but I don't want to dwell too much on the description. As advice, try to be constipated the whole time, and for peeing a sheltered spot is enough.. The bathroom is a dark room lit only by a small window where everyone dumps their waste, which stays where it lands because there's no water to flush... I'll leave the rest to your imagination.. But one thing I want to make clear: it's certainly not these small discomforts that stop me or make me run away from a country... You need a spirit of adaptation... a desire to dive into their world... and I would do everything I did on this trip all over again..

We arrive in INHAMBANE around 16:00, where we'll then take a chapa to Tofo. We retrieve our backpacks, which in the meantime have undergone a metamorphosis: they look like dusty, red, sticky sacks, given the sacks of potatoes and every possible thing they've come into contact with, and on top of that the bus is full of gaps, so the red dust from the roads has coated them... We're literally set upon by hordes of kids and taxi drivers who again want to escort us... the majority shout "Fatima, Fatima!!" (no thanks, I answer!) PRAIA DO TOFO, INHAMBANE - MOÇAMBIQUE Tel. +258 (0) 82 4145730 and +258 (0) 82 3070870 Fax: (+) 258 1 300305 Email: fatimas@tvcabo.co.mz We're determined to find better accommodation; we play the "friend of Delito" card, call Nimberto, and ten minutes later we meet him.. He knows the area and knows who to ask..

He takes us to Tofo in his off-road vehicle loaded with our backpacks, and four of us follow on the chapa.. At 17:30 we're at the sea! It immediately seems like a very quiet area; nobody was shocked or agitated by our arrival.. How to describe Tofo to you: imagine an upside-down T; you arrive from the main road, where at the intersection with the sand road there are shacks serving as shops; on one side there's also the market with fruit and vegetables, and a little further on there's the local handicrafts market.

Tofo consists of a very long, relaxing beach; along the beachfront there are 2-3 resorts whose names surely deliver more than the reality..and then there are individual cabins, we could even call them little villas by their standard, they're very simple, basic but ok!! Nimberto finds us accommodation in one of the little villas on the beachfront, managed by DONA MARIA and her husband. The house has a huge living room with an American kitchen, with all the dishes, fridge and freezer, two bedrooms and a bathroom.. In the little outside courtyard in front of the house there's a small porch with wicker armchairs, and behind the house a little lawn with a clothesline and a Barbecue.. We'll use everything! Since there are only two bedrooms, Andrea & Jael very generously sacrifice themselves and will sleep in the living room on a mattress on the floor the whole time..

The house is basic but clean. After a nice, refreshing hot shower (the very hot shower isn't exactly up to code—it has a heating element inside the showerhead...) we go looking for something to eat...A little further on there's CASA BARRY

A small resort with everything, and it will be our reference point when it comes to food. We have dinner on the terrace of its restaurant: excellent and abundant food, normal prices, not super cheap (eating a fair amount we pay 450 rand in total: 17.6€ per couple).

THURSDAY 17/08/2006

A day dedicated to relaxation; we need to recover energy. Since the start of the vacation we've always been up at dawn, if not earlier, to manage to do everything, though I must confess that by 22:00 on average we were all worn out and went to bed, easing sleep along with a good read, and sleep never took long to arrive. We wake up around nine and go for breakfast at Casa Barry; they have great breakfasts with a good variety of choices at European prices (10€ per couple). Then we focus on finding a Diving center, since the next few days are dedicated to diving. Inside Casa Barry there's a PADI 5-star dive center

TOFO SCUBA tel:+258 (0)232 9030 cell:+258(0)828 26014 email: tofoscuba@teledata.mz -

It makes a great impression on us; then at the very end of the street, on the other side, there's another dive center: it seems equally good, the prices are similar, but Casa Barry inspires more trust and it's really just a stone's throw from our lodging! We go back and book for tomorrow at 10:30 the snorkeling Safari to see the WHALE SHARK (250 rand each, 29€), then at 13:30 we have the first dive (cost about 40€ per dive) and we book for eight the next day the 2nd at MANTA REEF at 30m depth to see the mantas being cleaned by the cleaner fish... like a car wash. To do the 2nd dive, since we're all Open Water except Raffa, we need to take a test and pay 40 rand for the test and another 40 for the fuel surcharge, since the site is a bit farther away. For now we book, then we'll see...

The most important thing is done; now we relax, do the laundry, and organize dinner: we've decided we'll cook the fish at home, saving money and eating more. Diego manages to buy 4 kg of shrimp from the local fishermen for a total price of 300 mt, about 10€... so much for Italian prices, and we're sure they're fresh.. We buy tomatoes for the sauce, pineapple, papaya, beer, etc... and it turns into an excellent dinner, and we're already thinking about tomorrow night's... We've decided to reciprocate Nimberto's help by inviting him and his wife to dinner at our place...

FRIDAY 18/08/2006

We're excited and thrilled at the idea of adding sea creatures to all the animals we've seen so far... Breakfast at Casa Barry... they have one called PADI..made with yogurt and muesli, excellent and energizing.. At 9:30 we're at the dive center to take care of all the paperwork, fill out the forms, and find the equipment for the dive.. They're a good team and everything goes quickly. At 10:30 we leave. First of all you have to push the inflatable boat, stranded on the sand, into the sea (and when I say push I really mean push), using the receding wave to help. Everyone has to push, following the dive center's tried-and-tested technique. It's a bit funny! Once at sea, the inflatable boat is launched at full speed, or nearly..in some cases you literally fly over the water with the resulting jumps and landings..

I don't like Gardaland, I don't like amusement rides, and I'm not having fun at all... I'm the only wet blanket in the group... the others are having a blast. My stomach doesn't appreciate it either and starts making its presence known.. What does the snorkeling safari consist of? If I'd known, I wouldn't have done it.... You cruise around searching for the shark; there's also a guy on the crow's nest to help spot it, and once it's located the dive girl (in this case Tania) shouts "Now!" Everyone jumps into the water, heading frantically toward the place where it was seen... There's one little problem: the animal doesn't stay still and doesn't wait for you, so out of the twenty or so of us only a few reach it..the fastest ones and those with fewer hang-ups...

I'll admit I'm a scaredy-cat; I have my own technique for getting off the inflatable boat, I'm afraid of deep water and of nasty creatures...and as soon as I jump in the first time, I find a nice jellyfish right in front of me...the world stops in that moment! Now my goal is no longer to see the shark but to avoid the jellyfish! The whole thing is very frantic..you jump in...3-4 minutes searching for the whale shark, then you come back up; the boat moves, and it all repeats.. We jump in again, but Diego and I are too slow, and then the idea of going above a 6-7 meter shark, even if harmless, holds us back a bit.. By the third chance Diego and I have already given up; my stomach is upside down and Diego isn't so sure he wants to see it...the others are thrilled...

From the boat we see the shark at the surface, a nice big manta, and in the distance whales jumping...Raffaella jumps in but as soon as she's down she screams and comes back up...a "little jellyfish" with one-meter-long blue filaments got her on the neck and stayed on her wetsuit...not a pleasant few moments for her, mainly, and for us who are helping her. Diego pulls the filaments off her neck, getting stung on his hand in turn; then we pour water on it (the only thing we have...) Meanwhile, rocked by the waves, I have provided my breakfast to the fish,, I can't wait for it all to be over. Another lady follows my example shortly afterward...What fun!! They jump in two more times and then we head back to shore, bouncing over the water since the sea is a bit choppy, although the guy driving is actually good.

Once close to shore they tell you to hold on tight and launch the boat toward the sand at full speed..it beaches again. We come back in and it's already time to go out for the real dive; I have no desire at all: between the seasickness and the lack of experience...(I got certified in June with Diego and Jael and apart from the dives for the exam I haven't done any others) Tania understands everything and is very nice, encouraging, and reassuring.. First of all she gives me a pill for seasickness and promises to be my shadow. Ok, I have to break the ice, also for everything I paid to get my certification. At the dive center we find all the equipment ready, just needing to be checked and assembled; our names are on every piece. They're an excellent dive center.

As a first experience abroad it's really ok! We get ready, do the briefing, and Raffaella, who luckily has recovered from the jellyfish encounter, translates for me since it's all in English. And here's the same story again...Push the boat into the water, etc. Once at the site they look for the exact spot with the GPS and the dive master goes down with the line and we follow. Tania and another girl watch over the group...There's a bit of current and Tania helps me. Once under, I'm very calm and no longer have any problems; I enjoy the dive even though I still need to find the right buoyancy. The waters of Tofo are full of life...one of my dreams materializes two meters from me: from a cavity comes an enormous turtle and swims in front of me, disappearing quickly into the blue.

I'm fascinated by these animals: enormous yet so agile in the sea...I had seen some in Malaysian Borneo at Sipadan while snorkeling, but this is the first one I've seen while diving. We see lots of fish that I won't list; a beautiful dive overseen by the guys from the dive center. As we run out of air, we begin the ascent in turn: the 1st is Diego, who ascends with the other girl from the dive center, then later it's me with two others together with Tania, and the last ones with the guide guy. I still feel the seasickness while doing the safety stop and while waiting for them to come pick us up with the boat, but at least I don't throw up.

I'm happy I did it, but Diego and I decide to take things easy and skip the Manta reef to do another calm dive at 18 m..following the SSI school (first do at least 12 dives and then you can get certified for 39 m).I want to build up my experience gradually. Thanks to Tania for doing her job excellently! Once home we split up the tasks, grocery shopping since we have guests tonight...We buy a slab of barracuda to grill and some spaghetti to make with shrimp sauce. We get excited at the idea of spaghetti cooked by true pasta connoisseurs!!! Well, never buy pasta abroad unless it comes from Italy; stick only to Italian spaghetti or choose rice... The result is an attack on our guests' lives more than a dinner invitation; our spaghetti turns into an inedible glue, ruining the quality of the excellent sauce Diego made.

We salvage the dinner with the grilled fish and the shrimp sautéed in the pan. Thank goodness they like fish, since there isn't much choice around here. It turns out to be a lovely evening, communicating in Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and a little English. As soon as the guests leave, my friends start studying for tomorrow's exam in English; thank goodness we changed our minds...

SATURDAY 19/08/2006

We wake up slowly while the rest of the group leaves early for the dive at manta reef..they come back enthusiastic while we get ready for ours at 10:00. This one is beautiful too; we see gorgeous starfish with wonderful colors. We come back worn out and starving, and finish all the food we have in the house because tomorrow morning early we leave Tofo for Vilanculos...We take a stroll through the local little market, buying a few souvenirs: it's a nice market, and later we'll regret not having bought many more things.. We bargain to find a chapa that will take us to Inhambane at six. We pay for the stay to Donna Maria, who came by every day to clean the house and check that we didn't need anything. Recommended!!!We pay a total of 75€ for 4 nights per couple, less than 10€ per night per person.. To book, here's the phone number:

DONA MARIA +258 27508504 For more info on TOFO:

IN VILANCULOS

SUNDAY 20/08/2006

Passing through Inhambane we stop for breakfast at Nimberto and Grace's for a final goodbye: we're faced with a pantagruelic breakfast and we're even more ashamed of our dinner the other night... Maybe if they come to Italy one day we'll be able to reciprocate their affection... They walk us to the little harbor, where they tell us there's a boat to cross the bay and end up in Maxixe...we look but don't see any ferry...we scan the horizon but there's not a trace of one...when we reach the end of the pier...hidden there's a tub of a thing (a little boat) used by fishermen, already packed with people...Once again they perform a miracle and manage to find a spot for us and our backpacks. None of our family members can imagine where we've ended up and what we're doing...with the video camera we film everything, though discreetly; we never want to attract too much attention.

We laugh at the situation; we're in a nutshell, overloaded, and we float. Once again our spirit of adaptation comes out stronger! In Maxixe we unknowingly make a pitiful choice: we see a small station of minibuses (chapas) and, without investigating other possibilities too much, we stop at the "first stall" (never do this—maybe there's a better option just a little further on...) There's an empty chapa going to Vilanculos; we negotiate the price and have our backpacks loaded onto the roof of the minibus...we sit down comfortably, and here some of us make wrong tactical choices due to inexperience: Andrea, the tallest of us, goes to sit in the back seat so he has more legroom, then two by two in each row of seats... How nice, a chapa all to ourselves...

Here's the mistake: the chapa doesn't leave at a fixed time like the bus, but only when it's full, or rather, packed!!! A little further on is the real OLIVERAS bus station; do your research! We waited about two hours before departure, and when we dared to complain they offered to leave just for us but at double the price, and we, indignant cheapskates, refused to be taken for the usual tourists to be fleeced...better to suffer like everyone else! Maybe now many of us would even accept triple the price! To make a long story short, I'll conclude by saying that the chapa had a normal capacity of about sixteen people, while we ended up with twenty-five plus two children and two roosters...along the way they kept picking up more people; it's impossible to describe the positions some travelers took, like real contortionists...Andrea F.

ended up in the most miserable and most trapped spot of all and couldn't even move an arm....the trip lasted about five hours...As advice, if you happen to choose this means of transport: get on last or choose the seats behind the driver...there's usually more room for your feet, there's a window, and when people get on and off it's easier to occasionally gain a precious few centimeters of space!I say this from experience; on this trip that was my seat.

We paid for this trip "through hell" 1200 metical as a group...once we reached our destination we tried to pay less given the conditions of the trip, but they blackmailed us by not handing over our backpacks, and once again we accepted their terms! We're almost all exhausted, on our feet since before six, and this trip certainly didn't recharge us...As soon as we get off we're surrounded again by groups of kids (I'd describe them as smelly, no offense: they don't much like washing and deodorant...) We should be used to being surrounded by people pulling at your luggage to take you somewhere to sleep, with the sole goal of getting a few coins for bringing in customers....

I don't know if it's because of the tiredness or the environment, but this time we're even more on the defensive and we don't ask for and don't accept anyone's help....we close ranks in impala formation...Everyone in a circle with the backpacks in the center! We read which B&Bs are recommended by Lonely Planet... The kids don't give up and keep saying one name: "BAOBAB BEACH"

082 7315420/023 82417

email baobabmoz@yahoo.

A bit confused and stressed, we send Diego and Andrea B. to scout ahead...no point in six of us wandering around dragging "behind us women, children, and animals" or rather, well, dragging behind us backpacks that are not exactly light... We wait at least an hour; the sun starts to set, the kids don't loosen their grip and study our every move...they see a pen and they want it..they see a candy and they ask for it, etc...at times I think they even mocked us....after all, we're always outsiders in their world...... In the distance we see a little van appear with Andrea and Diego on top...they found the right place and came to get us with the owner of the B&B. One kid tries his luck: he tells the guy that he was the one who told us his name; we don't like lies and we contradict everything...no tip this time...and let them learn not to just shout one name but to offer a choice.

The most famous name is often never the best choice—see Fatima! We're at Josef & Tina's..a new place built by Josef, sent by the European community to experiment with new crops in agriculture. The lodge he built, perhaps to make some extra money, is good accommodation. In the house there are three bedrooms, a huge living room complete with a television and little sofas, and an equally large kitchen fully equipped for guests' use. Then there are round bungalows with thatched roofs to give a simpler atmosphere, with a shared bathroom.... There's also the restaurant bar where you can be served until late at night.

email: info@joseftina.com

tel: +258 82 9652130

we pay 750 metical per couple with breakfast.

FOR MORE INFO OR TO FIND ALTERNATIVES YOU CAN CONTACT: Vilanculos Tourist Services Tel: 082 7642140 email margi@teledata.mz

Here are also other useful addresses for possible accommodation: 082 770 3720

Casa Rex

023 82048

info@casaguci.com

00258 82 8686540

Blue Water

082 807 5750/082 7683400

MONDAY 21/08/2006

We ask Josef, who proves willing to satisfy any doubt or curiosity we have, how to go about doing the island tour...after all, we came all this way to see THE BAZARUTO ARCHIPELAGO, famous as a marine national park.... Despite the cloudy sky, we book the whole day for the DOW trip (another nutshell with a sail that, by some mysterious force of nature, manages to float and move even when packed with people). It's a wonderful sea, with stunning colors; a few photos manage to do it justice...the sea is calm and even though I'm a scaredy-cat, no, better to say cautious by nature...I even manage to enjoy the outward journey....in the little boat the only seats are wooden planks running across it, forming benches.

The crew consists of the boat's driver and the cook...we meet a crab fisherman who, alone and without a boat, swims in the sea spearing every crab he comes across....the cook buys six for one euro...(I refuse to eat it...I'm not vegetarian, but in my mind only a few animals are destined to die...the others I feel sorry for and can't eat them...my adventure companions, on the other hand, when they get theirs grilled, will throw a big party for them. We continue the journey...at eleven we take an hour's break on the first island, Benguerra; it's basically the classic postcard island: a long, untouched white-sand beach with palm trees behind. We wander around the island and make the acquaintance of two children who want to sell us their toy, a little sailboat they made themselves, which, they demonstrate, floats and even moves with the wind...the price is 10€.

The problem isn't the price but the bulk, managing to get it to Italy without breaking it... We give them two T-shirts and a pair of shorts as a gift...and we even take a souvenir photo... It's also possible to stay on this island, since they've built a resort, but logically the prices are resort prices, and to get here the price isn't even comparable with our do-it-yourself style! We set off again and at 13:30 we land on the other island: Manguerra, definitely better suited for snorkeling...we relax on the beach while the cook prepares our lunch.. The island is currently inhabited only by locals, but they're building hotels, and they're starting to disfigure this paradise...by building tourist facilities right on the beachfront without considering the context they're in...hotels, fine, but ones that are less invasive would have suited the place better....

There's a wonderful group of children waiting for the usual gifts from us tourists...and we learn afterward, they're also waiting for the leftovers of our food and to literally lick the pots clean and then wash them in the sea...and give them back spotless to the cook! The guys go snorkeling and tell us about enormous fish and an amount of life beyond imagination; it all bodes well for the dives we hope to be able to do. We eat rice with a good tomato sauce, grilled fish, the poor crabs, and an excellent pineapple...I have fun feeding a hen with her chicks, who've adapted to eating pretty much anything...even fish...sometimes I feel a bit like Saint Francis...the protector of animals... The weather is changing, dark clouds are appearing on the horizon...better head back...

I don't want to stress you out by telling you how much I didn't enjoy finding myself in a tiny nutshell at the mercy of the rough sea and wind...we have to follow the current, which, at least in my opinion, is carrying us farther and farther from shore....the waves sometimes come right into the boat, washing whoever's in reach... other times we're the only ones on the horizon, and then thoughts pass through my mind like: "if we capsize, nobody will notice we're gone." Some of us laugh, amused; I grumble, saying you shouldn't go around looking for trouble...ok, adventure, ok, spirit of adaptation..but there's a limit to everything. In hindsight it wasn't that tragic, but I hate any ride that moves...and that day the sea had decided to move. At 17:00 we're back and I can kiss the ground...we paid for the excursion 1800 mt per couple (about 28€ each)..

We go around looking for a reliable dive center to book the dives for the next day...Lonely Planet speaks very highly of AQUA NERA...we call but it's already full.. We get a bit worked up because we had decided to stay only one more night and then leave for South Africa, moving closer to our return to ward off any last-minute unforeseen events...Some say "we can split up, I want to dive and I'll stay one more day." Others say "I want to see the Blide River Canyon in South Africa and I'll leave earlier." But we're a group and in the end we all meet each other halfway and manage to satisfy everyone's wishes

TUESDAY 08/22/2006

Jael and I leave at six to look for a diving center, but we're not in a very touristy area and just as finding a place to sleep was hard, the same thing—in fact it becomes even more complicated—goes for diving centers... It turns out to be a good opportunity though to see the sunrise, take some nice photos and take a relaxing walk on the beach, we also find some beautiful shells... One of them still has the little animal inside that will cling to life with all its might and more... (its attempts to escape and my pleas to free it and give it back to its wonderful sea were useless against its tormentors whose names I will not mention (in the name of the friendship that binds us!) but its death will weigh on their consciences every time they show the shells collected in Mozambique!) I know you don't care at all...

but a diary is also full of personal memories that one wants to immortalize in time. Back to the story: We ask the locals and everyone sends us to the Baobab Beach diving center... here's our destination: we arrive as it's opening but they tell us that today they're not doing dives because the dinghy is broken... For tomorrow they have availability! We go back and after breakfast all six of us return to the center to gather more info... The center is made up of Viki, Ben and their dog Aski and a few Black guys... it doesn't seem too bad and besides we don't have much choice... we book two dives for the next day.

scubaben_uk@yahoo.co.uk 00258 82 7817130

Again a day dedicated to relaxation and some shopping... in the town center... there's an internet spot where we book the car for once we arrive in South Africa, some of us take the opportunity to call home... etc. There's a market of local products... all very characteristic... and we discover that soap exists for them too, they sell it by the piece and they have many types and with various scents... but then why don't most of them use it? We call Delito's friend and in the late afternoon we make his acquaintance... we offer him something to drink and once again we take the opportunity to broaden our knowledge of the area... We ask him for information about malaria... whether it exists or is just exaggerations... He talks about it as if he were talking about the flu... he just recovered about six months ago and on average he gets it once a year. We get a bit scared...

we who, out of six, only one did the antimalarial prophylaxis... we five are against it... before leaving we informed ourselves and came to this conclusion: there's no real vaccine against malaria, only a prophylaxis (LARIAM) that is provided by the health service and according to those who have taken it has notable side effects (they even suspect a case of suicide) especially on those who have problems with depression or similar... for six months you must absolutely avoid pregnancy... etc... it's certainly not a light thing and then even if you want to, you can still catch malaria... There's also a paid medication at 50 € a box: MALARONE (the name alone inspires a lot of confidence in me) but according to many it's more tolerable. Since nothing assures you that you won't catch it, we opt for behavioral prophylaxis.

Of course, hearing the guy tell us he catches it once a year gives us a few shivers down our spine... but we console ourselves by saying: we're at risk for 4 days, he for a lifetime... his chances of being bitten are certainly greater, we sleep in a cement house with mosquito nets over the bed... he in a hut with a straw roof. Good luck!!!!! Of course they're amazed when we explain to them that in Italy it was eradicated a long time ago... Incredible, for them it's part of life... Six months have passed since we returned home and I want to reassure you that none of us got sick!!! We buy fish again and Diego tries his hand at a nice lunch, also making use of the spices taken from Josef's garden, and the leftovers will also become our dinner. Relax...

WEDNESDAY 08/23/2006

At eight we present ourselves at ODISSEA DIVING and leave shortly after for the dive at Bazaruto island... getting on the dinghy is less "traumatic" than at Tofo... the sea is flat as a board and has wonderful colors, made even more special by the yellow of the sand that here and there emerges due to the low tide... I immediately realize that this diving center certainly has a few stars less... it's more homey, we could call it... on the dinghy there's only blonde Viki (with a bit of a snobbish air) and the guy who drives the dinghy.

I immediately ask myself "if she goes down and guides out front, who stays behind to check the end of the group?" Logical answer: no one! I immediately ask Raffaella (the group's Advance) to keep an eye on me during the descent (my big Achilles' heel) I feel safer, besides my buddy is Diego but he too like me is on his third dive and it's already a lot if he can look after himself... since he can't count on my help... at least during the descent phase.. Here we are at the crucial moment, everyone in the water: Viki jumps in and with the rope leads the way... I can't manage to go down but Raffaella helps me by literally pulling me down... after that it's ok... Viki goes on her own way not caring in the least about the group: we could have been kidnapped by a giant octopus one after another and she would have only noticed when it was her turn...

she never once turned around to count us or give us the ok sign! Don't worry honey, once back on land I'll recommend you to all the divers in the world... The sea is certainly wonderful in this area too, there's no mass tourism or commercial exploitation ruining it, at least for the moment... Diego as usual runs out of air first and signals Viki..she throws out the pedanio and continues her dive...Diego waits for a sign from her...and then understands that he has to surface alone...I'm not assigned any buddy to look after me...and moments of panic pass through my head...I can't and don't want to surface alone... I start rationing my air so as not to run out before the others...luckily Andrea F and I run out together and I entrust myself completely to his experience for the ascent and the safety stop...all ok! We take the break between one dive and the next on Bazaruto island.

I am for the umpteenth time a victim of my stomach and I lie down on the sand and don't move a step, Jael is a victim of the call of the sun and lies down to get a bit of a tan. The others go to explore the island...they trudge up to the top of the big sand dune that gives the impression of finding yourself in the desert, but at the top the spectacle of the rest of the island opens up: an unsuspected garden full of trees, palms and little ponds...breathtaking, while on the other side the colors of the sea, sky and beach draw a spectacle no less moving! But I want to get back to talking about the "very likeable" Viki and her diving center. Nobody had taken the trouble to warn us that we would spend our lunch break on a desert island...otherwise we would have brought something edible! The little blonde eats her two sandwiches, while we suffer from hunger.

With everything you made us pay for the two dives, couldn't you give each diver a packet of something to put under their teeth or two mandarins that at the local market cost nothing? We spend 630 rand each for the two dives + 60 rand for the park entrance, total about 80 € each. The second dive turns out to be a bit more disappointing from a marine point of view, we don't see much, but it's still beautiful to find yourself inside the aquarium and not above it...we're part of the marine world! We return after three in the afternoon, starving, and dive into the Baobab Beach restaurant...not bad even if they're a bit slow at serving... Some eat fish, some meat, I have a pizza that's not bad...we pay 400 mt per couple (12.5€) In the evening everyone packs their backpack for the transfer. We have the legendary OLIVERAS bus at three in the morning.

Before going to sleep we pay Josef who, on top of everything, had even offered, or rather didn't have much choice, to accompany us to the bus stop at that absurd hour of the night, for free in exchange for good publicity on the internet. Recommended B&B!! We pay for 4 nights 750 rand or 3000 metical which translated into € is 23.4 per night per room...do you perhaps want something less? go to Baobab Beach in the straw huts, perhaps more romantic but certainly more at the mercy of mosquitoes...

THURSDAY 08/24/2006

Wake up at an absurd hour and once again, having arrived thanks to Josef's ride at a ghost bus station, we start waiting. Immediately someone approaches us and tells us the bus left earlier, others that it leaves two hours later...that it's better to take the one at the other stop...we're a bit doubtful but we don't give up...we understand afterwards that they're all from the competition who want to grab as many customers as possible, we wait for Oliveras...we won't betray him as we did on the way there for some random ciapas...

Of course if you try to imagine the scene: It's just past three in the night, six young white people all in a circle with their backpacks in the center waiting, freezing and half asleep, for a bus that maybe has already left or is a couple of hours late...it's not exactly a cheerful scene...but we survived this too! Oliveras arrived around four thirty and loaded our backpacks (already ready to get dirty for the umpteenth time) with their respective owners...once again we took over all possible space. Around there it's defined as a luxury bus, in Italy we'd define it as a wreck to be scrapped, but in this case we "loved" it, it arrived and took us to our destination...not squeezing us like sardines as in the ciapas and treating us like people.

The ticket inspector waits to see us all asleep so he can wake us up under the pretext of giving us breakfast...a mandarin each...and then everyone sleeps again...here he comes back to ask us to check the tickets that he himself made for us at departure...an exquisite and very friendly person...Again the stops at the mobile "rest stops"...and the encounter with their bathrooms... We arrived at the starting point of our trip in Mozambique, that is, in Maputo at seven in the evening...a trip lasting about 14 hours to cover 400 km, between potholes, laughter, photos, mandarins, books, dried fruit, flights off the seat due to too deep a pothole and the excellent suspension of the bus... Trip paid 900 mt (32.5€ per couple). A trip that will remain inside us like the sea we saw, the landscapes and the people we met...

This is the story of our adventure in Mozambique, to get a less technical, less detailed point of view but one that narrates only the sensations and emotions felt by Jael about this wonderful country you can read it:

The next day we take the bus from Maputo to Nespruit with Intercape.....We're back in South Africa!