What feelings does the mention of Mozambique evoke in me? Blissful state of mind as I imagine myself lazying under the palms of its stunning beaches and magical offshore islands OR growling stomach when I think about the succulent grilled prawns and fushion of African, Indian and Portuguese cuisine with a dash of peri-peri (hot pepper sauce)?
The captivating beauty of this country's coastline and culture have inspired many ardent travellers to brave the pathetic or non-existent roads/transportation. The dark civil war days are well in the past, and the country is now firmly part of the Southern Africa traveller's loop, yet enough 'off the beaten track' to be satisfyingly adventurous.
We headed off on our very own 'Off the beaten track' adventure as we drove across the South African border into the beach town of Ponta D'ouro in a 4x4 truck (loaded with 10 people) on a very narrow and precarious dirt road. But as soon as we crossed the border, I took a deep breath and felt an exhilirating sense of calm ...the place had a magicaly relaxed vibe to it. Everything around us felt so serence - the jolly happy Consulate officer at the border post who cajoled me to learn more Portuguese and the soft spoken, always smiling attendant at our hillside lodge who was amused to see how brave I was to lug a heavy backpack!
Ponto D'ouro is a sleepy beach town where offshore waters host abundant sea life, including dolphins, whale sharks etc and is very popular with divers. The wind conditions and high swells in the ocean discouraged us from exploring the underwater depth, giving us a good excuse to 'Just Chill' at the beach. Soaking the sun and chatting up with some kite-surfers for tips on where to take lessons (for Fernando), we spent a gorgeous day at the beach.
Waking up at 4:00 am to take rickety truck/mini bus full of local people and their chicken and then drive up on a bumpy dirt road for 4 hours straight is not my idea of an ideal vacation! But this is a part and parcel of any journey...brave the rough travel to get to the most quaint parts of the country. Wining and complaining, we headed out on this 'Road less traveled' from Ponto D'ouro to Maputo, expecting it to be a big 'pain in the but' but to our surprise, it turned out to be quite a pleasant drive with gorgeous country views over a lovely sunrise. We got to interact with the locals traveling with us and understand their daily lifestyle. Even spotted a Hindu temple in the middle of nowhere and chatted up some 15 Indian men (age group 25-30) who were walking barefoot 65km from Maputo (capital and the biggest city) to visit the temple!
The city of Maputo is a lively, bustling plae with an abundance of sidewalk cafes and great nightlife.
