I’ve just completed a 2 week trip up to Northern Mozambique. Below is my route and some of the interesting things I noted along the way.
VILANCULOS
Vilanculos is a popular tourist site in Inhambane Province, and also the site of the annual Peace Corps Beer Olympics. Up until my North trip, Vil was the furthest north I’d ever been in Mozambique. This year, I rented a beach chalet for me and my friend Helen because last year we ended up having to sleep on the same tiny mattress in the backpacker dorms…on the top bunk. The Northern volunteers, who usually have a hard time getting all the way to Vil, rented a private chapa this year! So I hopped in with them on their way home.
Vilanculos is a popular tourist site in Inhambane Province, and also the site of the annual Peace Corps Beer Olympics. Up until my North trip, Vil was the furthest north I’d ever been in Mozambique. This year, I rented a beach chalet for me and my friend Helen because last year we ended up having to sleep on the same tiny mattress in the backpacker dorms…on the top bunk. The Northern volunteers, who usually have a hard time getting all the way to Vil, rented a private chapa this year! So I hopped in with them on their way home.
THE ROADS
Traveling in the North SUCKS!! It takes forever to get anywhere, not necessarily because everything is further away (okay, well that too) but also because the roads are terrible. You’re lucky to find paved road, even if it is full of giant potholes and cracks that make the chapa go THWOMP! BOOM! BAM! as you are rudely knocked awake from your nap when your head hits the window. There’s a lot of waking up at 3am to get on buses that leave at 4, and full days spent in vehicles buying fruit, crackers, sodas, hard boiled eggs, and bread from crowds of vendors jostling each other at your window. At one stop, Inchope, the vendors came running with plastic bags of chicken and French fries, what PCV’s call “Happy Meals.”
Traveling in the North SUCKS!! It takes forever to get anywhere, not necessarily because everything is further away (okay, well that too) but also because the roads are terrible. You’re lucky to find paved road, even if it is full of giant potholes and cracks that make the chapa go THWOMP! BOOM! BAM! as you are rudely knocked awake from your nap when your head hits the window. There’s a lot of waking up at 3am to get on buses that leave at 4, and full days spent in vehicles buying fruit, crackers, sodas, hard boiled eggs, and bread from crowds of vendors jostling each other at your window. At one stop, Inchope, the vendors came running with plastic bags of chicken and French fries, what PCV’s call “Happy Meals.”
The EN1 (National Highway) is okay, but unlike the South where you’re constantly passing fields and villages , in the North you can drive for hours and hours with nothing but tall brush on either side. I got very good at peeing in the bush.
In some places, the paved road is blocked off and you have to take a detour on a dirt road that runs parallel to the paved one. Our driver explained that in these areas, the road is unfinished but that the workers have stopped showing up because they haven’t been paid in months. I guess I wouldn’t go to work if I weren’t getting paid, either.
Luckily, I had the foresight to have booked a flight for my return to Southern Mozambique. This flight from Quelimane to Maputo cost me about 5000 MZN (about $150 USD) and spared me another exhausting, multi-day trip overland.
ANGOCHE
Angoche is a lovely, if slightly isolated, beach city in Nampula province. In the days of Portuguese rule, Angoche used to be a bustling trading hub. Now it’s pretty quiet (“Eerily quiet,” Meagan said, but that’s because she’s used to the crowded streets of Quelimane). There’s quite a big Muslim population, which is not something I’m used to because where I live I’d say about 90% are Christian.
Angoche is a lovely, if slightly isolated, beach city in Nampula province. In the days of Portuguese rule, Angoche used to be a bustling trading hub. Now it’s pretty quiet (“Eerily quiet,” Meagan said, but that’s because she’s used to the crowded streets of Quelimane). There’s quite a big Muslim population, which is not something I’m used to because where I live I’d say about 90% are Christian.
The local language is Koti, the only place in the world where it’s spoken. Koti doesn’t have the same harsh vowels that Changana (Gaza’s local language) does. In fact, it kind of sounds like everyone is drunk and slurring their words together (my initial reaction to their Portuguese).
THE BEACH
The beach in Angoche was amazing. We walked out about 15 minutes on a raised dirt road with swampy trees and marshland all around us; this area floods when the tide comes in. Then we took a 10 minute wooden boat ride across the peninsula to the beach side. The water was warm and the sand was white, and the best part- no one even passed by in the several hours we were out there!
The beach in Angoche was amazing. We walked out about 15 minutes on a raised dirt road with swampy trees and marshland all around us; this area floods when the tide comes in. Then we took a 10 minute wooden boat ride across the peninsula to the beach side. The water was warm and the sand was white, and the best part- no one even passed by in the several hours we were out there!
APAS
Apas (Angoche style) are tortillas with a fried egg in between, drizzled with ketchup and mayo. FYI skeptics, they’re delicious. And for only 15 mts each (roughly 50 cents) they are the best lunch deal around! We brought them back to Jordan’s house and added hot sauce and spices. I ate about 12 in the 4 days I was there, and am now kicking myself for not just kidnapping the apa guy and making him live in Chicumbane with me.
Apas (Angoche style) are tortillas with a fried egg in between, drizzled with ketchup and mayo. FYI skeptics, they’re delicious. And for only 15 mts each (roughly 50 cents) they are the best lunch deal around! We brought them back to Jordan’s house and added hot sauce and spices. I ate about 12 in the 4 days I was there, and am now kicking myself for not just kidnapping the apa guy and making him live in Chicumbane with me.
BOLEIAS
Hmm… I wasn’t a huge fan of hitchhiking in the North. It seemed that most cars picked us up with the expectation of money. (Maybe because the distances are longer?) Meagan and I hopped on one chapa, two semi trucks, one private car, and the back of one pickup truck in order to make it from Angoche to Quelimane (Green and red route on map). We started at 1am and arrived at 5pm. Talk about a long day!
Hmm… I wasn’t a huge fan of hitchhiking in the North. It seemed that most cars picked us up with the expectation of money. (Maybe because the distances are longer?) Meagan and I hopped on one chapa, two semi trucks, one private car, and the back of one pickup truck in order to make it from Angoche to Quelimane (Green and red route on map). We started at 1am and arrived at 5pm. Talk about a long day!
CAPULANAS
As everyone knows, I love love love capulanas- the bolts of colorful fabric that Mozambican women tie around their waists. In the North, they have some awesome colorful tie-dye capulanas that you can’t get in the South. So… I bought 7 of them.
As everyone knows, I love love love capulanas- the bolts of colorful fabric that Mozambican women tie around their waists. In the North, they have some awesome colorful tie-dye capulanas that you can’t get in the South. So… I bought 7 of them.
QUELIMANE
Quelimane is a big city, maybe even bigger than Xai Xai. It was kind of crazy, having to constantly watch for oncoming cars and bikes. Meagan has a number of expat friends who have sweet American-style apartments, so we hung out with them quite a bit. One night we went out to a Chinese restaurant, where I impressed the owners with my Mandarin and ordered us a good meal. I also ordered myself a glass of white wine, which apparently they don’t sell. Instead, I was brought a full, freshly-opened bottle of wine that I had no choice but to finish on my own. Tough life, being on vacation.
Quelimane is a big city, maybe even bigger than Xai Xai. It was kind of crazy, having to constantly watch for oncoming cars and bikes. Meagan has a number of expat friends who have sweet American-style apartments, so we hung out with them quite a bit. One night we went out to a Chinese restaurant, where I impressed the owners with my Mandarin and ordered us a good meal. I also ordered myself a glass of white wine, which apparently they don’t sell. Instead, I was brought a full, freshly-opened bottle of wine that I had no choice but to finish on my own. Tough life, being on vacation.
BIKE TAXIS
In Quelimane, bike taxis are everywhere. You get on the back of a bike and pay 5 mts to get peddled around to anywhere in the city. Pretty sweet deal. I only took one during my stay but I found it kind of nerve-wracking. I was very tense during the entire ride because of all the other bike taxis and cars on the road, and because I lacked any control. Also, I had no idea where to put my hands so I just held on to the part of the seat that didn’t have the guy’s butt on it. Other PCV’s reassured me that “you get used to it” and eventually it’s even relaxing.
In Quelimane, bike taxis are everywhere. You get on the back of a bike and pay 5 mts to get peddled around to anywhere in the city. Pretty sweet deal. I only took one during my stay but I found it kind of nerve-wracking. I was very tense during the entire ride because of all the other bike taxis and cars on the road, and because I lacked any control. Also, I had no idea where to put my hands so I just held on to the part of the seat that didn’t have the guy’s butt on it. Other PCV’s reassured me that “you get used to it” and eventually it’s even relaxing.
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