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24 June, 2015
Ponta Do Ouro - Maputo - near Manhica
Today we were up & on the road by 7am, accompanied by Shandy. Well, what an adventure. As expected the spider web of sand roads spread out in all directions. The distance we need to travel to get to the ferry at Catembe was 86km, traveling @14km/hr it took 4 1/2hrs of bumpy, rock and roll. Deeply rutted parts of the road did smooth out and as R gathered speed wham down into a pothole. Thank goodness for the Landcruiser. The roadscape was fascinating - we drove past clinics/ schools/ hospitals/ houses all in various stages of disrepair. One village we drove through Shandy says quick lets go !!!!! This is Renamo territory & we support Frelimo. ( Google Civil war). Our 'guide' organized a toilet stop at a small village: Samanga ( one of his many acquaintances) which was most welcome. After leaving this village we came across km after km of rice paddy fields, apparently grown by the locals. Also learnt that many South Africans have moved to Mozambique, especially near Matola, so many that an Afrikaans school has been set up.
He had told us once you got to the tar it was faster!!!! However, the tar is gone (land mines and time ) and now it's just juddering ruts.
There was a few km's of
relief where we came across the start of the double lane highway - being built by the Chinese .... But since it's in its early stages it was short lived!! In the distance we could see building cranes & as we got closer we got a view of the new HUGE cement ?? works festooned with Chinese signs, flags & people so we concluded that it was being built by the Chinese.
Had our first police stop which included car papers, import papers, SA rego papers, passports, visas, drivers license then visual inspection of red safety triangles, hi vis vests, fire extinguisher & finally our jerry cans. Not sure if our friend Shandy was a help or a hinderance but were eventually on our way - with no bribe being requested or given!!. This process was polite but protracted.
Anyway, arrived at the ferry set off point, and joined the queue ( Shandy went off to inquire & the big ferry is broken so the little ferry is working & that takes 8 cars at a time & we are about 26 cars back in queue.) He decided to love & leave us & catch the people ferry so off went our security blanket.
Patience prevailed & we read, bought cashews from the local vendors & put a hold on the water. ** side note - nobody gave us a second glance whilst waiting, normal approach of holding up & offering apples/water/chips but a head shake was taken as no by the vendor and they moved on. *** Eventually, we had to find a loo so we tootled off to use the market loos. With what is available they were acceptable & I appreciated my Mums
' hovering' lessons.
Eventually 2.5 hrs later we were squeezed on to the ferry with barely a hair between us and off we went.
Amazingly, there is order in chaos and it all worked & great patience was apparent as the 'whitey' reversed down a really narrow jetty with milling people on both sides plus people carrying sofas on their heads. Well done R:)
Programmed the GPS but it was trial and error, so off we went. The skyline is amazing, with building cranes at every turn. As you drive along you see old faded Portuguese buildings, rack & ruined buildings with bullet holes, brand new very modern official buildings & apartments & hotels being built. The new builds are grand grand 5/6 star hotels aimed at the Chinese market & being built by Chinese companies.
Stopped off in a Game ( like The Warehouse) car park to turn the hubs, have a mandarin & try and plot a course. On leaving were approached by vendors selling live tortoises. So sad. Destination unknown but it's 3pm and we want to be out of town. As we set off we realize the problem is all the new amazing planned roads are under construction, sometimes you drive in the left sometimes on the right. The taxis are polite & drive well but are carrying at least 18 people so stop on the highway all the time to drop passengers off.
There is confusion for 360 degrees around one. To add to the mix are street vendors (selling amongst many other things chickens & puppies), informal taxi ranks, goats & people milling around. Eventually off we go on the correct road heading for the first location on the map. As we trying to figure out how to go north when the road went south we were stopped again by an officious policeman who went through the same rigmarole as earlier in the day but with a lot less grace. He had practically flung himself across 3 lanes of traffic to apprehend a foreign 4x4 with gear on the roof & seemed determined to find something! Eventually, we started the car after telling him we had everything in order & he reluctantly stepped aside. We suspect palms were waiting to be greased.
I'm struck as we drive along by the endless km's of small grey concrete one storey buildings ranging from single rooms to houses then further on 2 storey half finished constructions with crumbling aging concrete bristling with protruding rusting & bent antenna of reinforced concrete. Managed to find the correct bit of road to go north so back on the road again. R has spent hours researching possible accommodation & collating many recommendations over the last months, but at the end of the day the condition of the road is king and you can only go as far as you can go. We were trying to find the Blue Anchor Inn (www.blueanchorinn.com).
After a while we spotted the sign along the road & think hmmm..... pointing into the bush to the middle of nowhere ... hmmmm ...but it's getting so late so off we turn to suss it out. Bump bump for about a kilometer, then appears a thatched house surrounded by rondavels. The entrance gate is bristling with cameras, we are buzzed in and as we approach large solid doors we are buzzed in to a charming colonial style hotel. My jaw did drop, 10 mins later we have a room, a menu, wifi, cup of tea and discover that our host was born in Kenya & knew some of the Ulyate family.
R entertained & took pics for our host with the quadcopter and surprise, surprise the other 10 guests came out to watch. We were shouted free drinks in the bar as a result, chatted to our lovely fellow guests, got heaps of good local advice AND chatted to Kingsley Holgate (author & African adventurer whose book we have), and after a great steak fell into bed. Goodnight Kiwi !!
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