Mozambique - Day Three

The beaches of Mozambique are alot like what the beaches along the Yucatan coast were like in the 1970's. Mostly clean, white sands, warm water, and NOBODY there! of course, its the off season right now - come December the coast will be 3 deep in white South Africans in 4x4's! 

The drive from Vilanculo got interesting fast. We picked up a couple from the UK that were spending a year traveling around the world - Good Luck, guys!! The roads went immediately to crap and the rain started!

This is what the main road (the ONLY road!) from North to South Mozambique looked like as we left Vilanculo.

And this is what it looked like after about 1 hour's drive! It was like this the rest of the way to Inhambane - our destination for today. This was wild - there could be a half-meter drop off on either side of the pavement, and the oncoming traffic just flat did NOT move over an inch!! There wasn't much traffic - mostly giant trucks!!

Stopped for lunch at the local ferry stop (great roadside vendors like the one above) and had a fantastic lunch of giant prawns and portuguese chicken! 

Mozambiquan furniture store!

 
Mozambiquan Home Depot!

So, on a recommendation, we stayed at a campsite at the base of the Barra Light House in Inhambane. Inhambane is an old Portuguese town that has become a tourist base for some great diving with whale sharks and there's a ray cleaning station where the manta rays get cleaned by those clingy fish - i can't remember the name. Its become a little rough - too many tourists means too many touts who want to find any possible way to get money out of you. Stopped in a very nice market though, and picked up the sweetest pineapple we've ever tasted. Then on to the Lighthouse! That's me, and the other couple, in the market. The only white folks in town today!

What a great spot! Big, clean, empty beach. Every morning, the bread lady delivers fresh Portuguese bread, the fisherman delivers giant prawns the size of your forearm, and the camp cook cleans and marinates them for dinner while you go for a morning swim. 

The view from our tent. Life is tough, eh?

 The local kids use the sand dunes as a giant slide - they're sliding down on palm leaves!

In fact, this place being so nice, and it being election day tomorrow, we decided to stay a second night and spend an entire day lounging, swimming and eating prawns. Met a lovely South African couple - he's in the off-shore oil business and travels back and forth to Norway, she's a horse trainer and riding instructor - and had a great party evening with them. Definitely recommend this place!!