Traveling Through Mozambique
Traveling through Mozambique is an experience I’ll never forget. We left Durban, South Africa in early January 2011 on an adventure that would take us over some of the most hectic roads we’d ever encountered, expose us to tastes, smells and sounds like no other, and bring us face to face with an angry malaria-ridden local!
The easiest way to get to Mozambique from South Africa is through Swaziland. We arrived at the Lavumisa (Golela) border gate early in the morning. We drove straight across Swaziland and into Mozambique through the Boane border gate. We never stopped along the way in Swaziland as our mission was Mozambique and we still had a very long drive ahead of us.
APalhota Restaurant
Once on the other side of the Swaziland border we traveled for a few long hours before reaching our first stop just outside of Maputo. We were starving by them and stopped at one of the first restaurants we saw. Mozambican chicken was the best option on the menu and so we all tucked into a very delicious meal. We spent the night in a small place called APalhota. The rooms were small and basic but all we needed was a bed so it was just fine.
Early the next morning we set out on the final leg of our journey. The roads were scary and under construction a lot of the time, but the sights along the way made up for it all.
Roadside Entrepreneurs
The roadside business is on another level in Mozam. Everything you could ever need can be found at the makeshift pop up roadside stalls and shops.
The sight and feeling the streets of Mozambique imparted on me was something new and exciting. The sense of adventure is tangible and the experience unforgettable.
We drove past many derelict buildings that were still in a state of ruin from the war. In spite of this the people of Mozambique have got on with it and go about their daily living not paying a single ounce of attention to the crumbling structures and lack of modern technology.
Mozambican Roasted Cashew Nuts
We got a bag of fire-roasted cashew nuts from a local vendor in Maputo before heading onto a beach road and getting stuck in traffic for a few hours, but even that was fun. We hung out of the windows and watched as people stood on their van roofs and danced to the sounds of local music. Just a few days after news years eve, it was holiday time, no doubt about that.
There is something very special about the fire-roasted cashews in Mozambique. The locals road the cashew pods on the fire and they are then hand peeled. They have this delicious smokey flavor. I have never found those particular cashews anywhere else. They are uniquely Mozambican.
Where It All Began
Once out of Maputo we headed towards Barra. A few lovely views along the way and a stop at the local petrol station (Galp) left us all hungry and ready for another Mozambican meal. We stopped at a restaurant just outside of Barra where we had prego roll and chips. This was the place where I first tasted the sauce that inspired me to start my own hot sauce company.
Mozambique Piri Piri
We ate many meals in Mozambique that consisted of prawns (bought from the side of the road) cooked in Mozambique Piri Piri sauce. They called the really hot one diesel juice. There were so many people selling hot sauce on the side of the road. The bottles of this amazingly tasty hot sauce came in so many different shapes, sizes and flavors. My favorite was the hot sauce in 500ml coke bottles. They really do make use of the resources they have available.
Zawahake Lodge in Barra
We stayed at Zawahake Lodge in Barra, Mozambique for the duration of our stay. This is where we met the crackpot crazy malaria-ridden local. He successfully ripped us off and charged us nearly more than our accommodation to park our car for ten days. Speak to anyone that came on that Mozambican trip with us and it is still a sore topic.
We spent out holiday exploring Mozambique, from snorkeling to catching a Dhow that flooded as we crossed the river. The guy had a bucket and emptied the water as we went.
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Thanks for reading and I look forward to sharing more travel adventures with you.
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