21st December 2008 – 12th January 2009

Our holiday was jinxed even before it began.

The adventures (or misadventures) of our first three days of travel from Lusaka to Johannesburg to Maputo should have given us a clue that, this time around, our vacation would not be all sunshine and warmth. Endless hours of waiting for extremely delayed plane flights and transfer services, gloomy skies and turbulent weather, sadistic immigration officers and hard-hearted bus drivers at the border of South Africa and Mozambique, and a near crossfire between petty thieves and the Maputo city police were just some of the roadblocks we had to hurdle as we made our way to our holiday destination.

For the most part, heavy rains and leaden skies followed me and Inge throughout our tour of Southern and Central Mozambique – from Tofo to Inhambane to Vilankulos to Beira. Imagine sleeping on flooded huts, or spending most of Christmas Day locked up (with every other guest in the lodge) in a damp restaurant with nowhere else to go, or constantly talking about going on an Ocean Safari rather than actually being in one. On top of those, every other chapa (local public transport) that we travelled in— aside from being cramped with a Guiness-World-Record-worthy number of passengers— had breakdowns due to flat tires or defective engines. Everywhere we went, there was a nuisance waiting to happen. (In fact, even on my way back to Zambia from Johannesburg, my flight got cancelled due to the sudden closure of Zambia Airways, thus rendering me “stranded” in South Africa for an extra day.)

But did those things stop us from enjoying the holidays? No way! During those rare days when the sun would show its face, we somehow managed to sneak some precious hours enjoying the beach, snorkeling in the waters of a picturesque island off Bazaruto Archipelago, and getting badly sunburned in the process.

In addition, Inge and I gorged on sumptuous seafood, limitless pastries, and other Portugese delicacies. We walked through towns steeped in history and immersed ourselves in the local art scene. We acquainted ourselves with the music scene as well and, not a few times, “accidentally” found ourselves in parties that amused us no end. We also finally got the chance to have our hair plaited— which we’ve always wanted to do in Zambia but never had the time to.:) Last but not the least, Inge and I shared stories, insights and laughter (and a few drinks) with people from all walks of life— some funny, some strange, some annoying, some inspiring— who all contributed to making our trip all the more colourful and interesting.

Maputo ~ Where everything reminded me of home

Tofo ~ Where the Sun played hide and seek with us

Inhambane ~ Where the Sun smiled upon us again

Vilankulos ~ Where we finally got to enjoy the ocean

Beira ~ Where we finally got some decent sleep…and lots of souvenirs

So yes, while my Mozambique holiday might not have had a smooth beginning or a “happy” ending (credit that to Zambia Airways), everything that happened in between made it all worth while.:)

~ pol 01/17/09