Ok, so maybe it wasn’t THAT bad. But it fell into the category of “Seriously, Mozambique?” and was just one of those days where we had to grit our teeth and try to focus on how beautiful the beach was… or how happy we are (despite days like this) to be on this trip. I had to dig deep, because Mozambique is hard. It’s unlike any other country we’ve traveled through. Burma is easier than Mozambique. and cheaper. Yes, you heard me, BURMA. It’s not just third world difficult, it’s third world difficult on top of being ridiculously expensive on top of getting so little for the ridiculous amount of money you’re losing. And then it’s always having your guard up as to not get scammed or lose your bag to someone sneaky and quicker than you are. It simply takes so much energy out of you. Sometimes it felt like the equivalent of a bad day in India, only it was on three hours of sleep, so technically it might have been worse.
It all started with my day old “Ray Bans” breaking and the sunglasses vendors trying to scam me even further into new pair. It just went downhill from there. I told the vendors that I was going to post their pictures and inform the internet that they were full of lies. It was the meanest thing I could think of doing.
It’s just… Mozambique.
I came because I had heard from a friend of a friend how wonderful it was a couple of years ago. How cheap it was. And it being in between Tanzania and South Africa helped. This must have been before minerals were discovered and outside companies started investing in the land. It has driven prices up tenfold and it’s incredibly unfair to this beautiful country and it’s people. Outsiders and their money has completely ruined so much of what could be a wonderful (and not as expensive) experience!
It’s not for backpackers or anyone on any type of budget. It’s for those with a lot of money, or at least those with their own car and cooler full of food for a week. Because there are no grocery stores here that sell food other than the condiments you left in your South African home. And it’s definitely not for those who don’t like to wake up between two and three in the morning to catch a bus. Which is what we learned we’d have to do that night instead of sleeping until six and then catching a ride to Maputo.