I attended a wedding in Mozambique end of February, and would like to share how amazing this country is for me. I've been to Mozambique a couple of times before, but just across the border from South Africa, so it doesn't really count. This time around, since the wedding was at Barra Point on the beach, we flew in to Inhambane, which is just half an hour from Barra Point.
Inhambane is a wreck. All the structures which were built by the Portuguese till the seventies, is in terrible condition. The whole place is basically falling apart. The streets are virtually inaccessible without a 4x4. Here and there we had to completely go off the road because a hole in the road occupies the entire road. Shopkeepers still close their doors between 1 - 2 for a Siesta!
Mosquitoes carry you away at night (I'm still keeping a close eye on myself for any flu symptoms, since you only start showing symptoms from Malaria about a month after that notorious female paid you a visit). According to the locals, about 130 people died of Malaria on that stretch of beach (Barra Point) in the last year.
Okay, now for the good bit. It's 'extremely' cheap to go there, 3 Meticai is 1 Rand, and the Rand is currently at about 7.8 to the $, let alone the Euro or the Pound :) There are these craft markets all over the show where they sell the most amazing wooden sculptures, artefacts, paintings, woven grass baskets, hats etc. for ridiculous prizes. I paid 700 Meticai for a huge, beautiful painting, and if I could carry more stuff on the plane, I would have cleaned the place out.
The people are extremely friendly. We felt very safe there, in contradiction to SA where you are always extremely vigilant. We didn't even lock our doors at night. All the locals speak English and Portuguese.
Mozambique is a great place to disappear for a while, don't activate you roaming when you go there. Their coastline is longer than the South African coastline, and it's a diving mecca. Among the most beautiful and unspoilt coral reefs in the world. There is this island called Pantsy Island, during high tide it's completely under water, but during low a bit sticks out above water, and then you can snorkel or walk around and pick up Pantsies, they are scattered all over the show, it's incredible.
The sea water is hot, so swimming is great, and the beaches are very wide. We talked to people from Sweden who were lounging by the pool, and they said to us that for them to come here from a money point of view, is almost laughable, cause it's so cheap for them.
The poverty of the people is sad, but we chatted to them and they are genuinely happy, they live off the land and materialism doesn't exist for them. The next meal is their biggest concern.
A highly recommended place to go if you want to forget about the world we live in for a while. Primitive, backwards and stunningly beautiful! Most amazing sunsets I have ever seen, especially at Flamingo Bay!
Inhambane is a wreck. All the structures which were built by the Portuguese till the seventies, is in terrible condition. The whole place is basically falling apart. The streets are virtually inaccessible without a 4x4. Here and there we had to completely go off the road because a hole in the road occupies the entire road. Shopkeepers still close their doors between 1 - 2 for a Siesta!
Mosquitoes carry you away at night (I'm still keeping a close eye on myself for any flu symptoms, since you only start showing symptoms from Malaria about a month after that notorious female paid you a visit). According to the locals, about 130 people died of Malaria on that stretch of beach (Barra Point) in the last year.
Okay, now for the good bit. It's 'extremely' cheap to go there, 3 Meticai is 1 Rand, and the Rand is currently at about 7.8 to the $, let alone the Euro or the Pound :) There are these craft markets all over the show where they sell the most amazing wooden sculptures, artefacts, paintings, woven grass baskets, hats etc. for ridiculous prizes. I paid 700 Meticai for a huge, beautiful painting, and if I could carry more stuff on the plane, I would have cleaned the place out.
The people are extremely friendly. We felt very safe there, in contradiction to SA where you are always extremely vigilant. We didn't even lock our doors at night. All the locals speak English and Portuguese.
Mozambique is a great place to disappear for a while, don't activate you roaming when you go there. Their coastline is longer than the South African coastline, and it's a diving mecca. Among the most beautiful and unspoilt coral reefs in the world. There is this island called Pantsy Island, during high tide it's completely under water, but during low a bit sticks out above water, and then you can snorkel or walk around and pick up Pantsies, they are scattered all over the show, it's incredible.
The sea water is hot, so swimming is great, and the beaches are very wide. We talked to people from Sweden who were lounging by the pool, and they said to us that for them to come here from a money point of view, is almost laughable, cause it's so cheap for them.
The poverty of the people is sad, but we chatted to them and they are genuinely happy, they live off the land and materialism doesn't exist for them. The next meal is their biggest concern.
A highly recommended place to go if you want to forget about the world we live in for a while. Primitive, backwards and stunningly beautiful! Most amazing sunsets I have ever seen, especially at Flamingo Bay!
