mozambique

so i'm not signing off quite yet it seems. while still calling the transkei home i took some leave and headed for mozambique. i stopped in durban for some sailing and the drakensburg for some hiking but excessively warm weather, water and beaches was always the main objective. malaria tablets and sunscreen packed it was time to hit the border. by the time you arrive in nelspruit the heat is oppressive. it makes the air heavy, like a blanket, like a frikkin feather duvet, if you do not have a car with air conditioning you are in trouble. border crossings are also a pain. mozambique has some ridiculous traffic laws including: a sticker on the front of you car if you have a trailer (a blue square with a yellow triangle on top. look out for these on fancy cars) and you have to have a reflective vest around your driver's seat at all times. but hey, its all worth it. get some money changed at one of the garages before the border (check the exchange rate first) there is an official forex place but when we were there on sunday morning it was closed. fortunately this is africa and there are a few mamas hanging around who will give you as many metacais as you need

once you get through the masses of traffic in maputo head north as fast as you can. it doesn't get tropical until you pass xai xai. xai xai is a nice place to stop for some prego rolls and ice cold coke. xai xai beach has an awesome abandoned hotel which was extensively shelled during the war. the fishing is fantastic as well but it doesn't quite pass muster as a tropical beach... not enough coconut palms.

from xai xai we headed north to barra peninsula. as you head further north the country becomes endless coconut palms and mango trees. locals sell cashew nuts and periperi sauce on the side of the road and grow cash crops between the trees. for miles on end you will see nothing more than palm frond houses and a single strip of tarmac. when you finally glimpse the ocean it looks exactly like a picture in a travel magazine, white sand and turquoise water with palm trees down to the water's edge. we reached barra in the evening and i fell into an uneasy mosquito infested sleep.

you awake to find the locals walking around the campsites selling breakfast. you can get pow (spelling?) aka freshly baked portuguese bread, coconut bread, mangoes, pineapples, and any other kind of fruit they can find. screw having cereal. slightly later in the morning the fishermen come around. they will sell you tiger prawns and crayfish. the crayfish happen to be bright blue and as large as cats. be prepared to haggle, the first price they give you is quite often ridiculous.

by now the heat is getting hard to ignore, so its time to head to the beach. take slip-slops, the sand gets hot enough to actually burn your feet. the water is amazing. it is the ideal temperature, warm but cooler then the on land and you can stay in it all day, ideally with snorkel and some flippers... and an underwater camera. the fish are very pretty. as the sun goes down, head back to your camp, have a shower, wince in pain from your sunburn, douse yourself in insect repellent and get a braai going. smother your crayfish in garlic butter and enjoy. i know i did