Part of the reason we decided to come to Tofo was so that it would break up the journey to Maputo. Because what turned into eight hours was somewhat better than the fourteen or so it would have taken had we gone directly to Maputo from Vilanculos. When they say it’s a direct bus, it won’t be. When they say it leaves at 3 in the morning, it really leaves around 4. When they say it’s going to be comfortable, it won’t be. But going to Maputo meant going to South Africa, and by this point, it was the only thing getting me through.
We had a lovely lunch with a Dutch couple hoping to find work in Maputo. I wish them all the luck in the world because I could not do it. Over lunch, they were telling us how difficult it was simply finding an affordable place to live in Maputo! $3,500 on average for monthly rent. They were house sitting for some embassy friends living in a place that cost $8,000 a month. Can you even imagine? Not Seoul. Not New York City. Maputo.
We were staying at the number one hostel in Maputo and assumed it would have wi-fi. Being the capital city… The number one hostel and all… Of course, we were wrong. We were given a map that was so full of “no go” zones, mostly due to theft, mostly done by way of holding a knife up to your neck until you fork over your bag or phone that I didn’t even want to deal. Just walking a few blocks for dinner I couldn’t help but notice every house had electrical wire on top of the walls surrounding the building and a guard in front of the door. No thanks.
Instead, we cheated on our trip. We whipped out our external harddrives and watched American tv and ate popcorn in bed.
