Permanent Vacation My first travel blog. Starting 2011.

First you go at the old office; which is closed. They give you a phone number to call for reservations. The language selection is “-Do you speak English? -Espera -(other voice) Yes”. The lady confirms you that “they have space”. Then, she gives you a bank account number to pay around 40 US$. You go among the locals to deposit the money (this will take around one hour in Vilancoulos). After this, you need to find a post office to send the receipt by fax. They “don’t have line“, so you find another fax. It’s at Gapo (don’t ask my what’s this, but they send you a fax for less than 1 US$). You’re almost done. Call back the lady and pray that she’ll give you a confirmation number for your e-ticket . Until now, we don’t have it, and 4 hours past already.

But the place is worth:

In Vilancoulos, the see doesn’t look the same for 2 days in a row. You can wake up having the water near your window or with a 2 km long beach just in front of you. Even more spectacular are the colors of the sea, which seem to change every day. Yesterday, I traveled to Bazaruto Archipelago, declared National Park, and area’s main touristic attraction. It was an old dhow with a small engine (I think that in Europe I wouldn’t need a license to drive it) who sailed between the sand slides created by the low-tide. The boat trip takes around 90 minutes to get not more than 11 km , but it’s interesting due landscape’s natural beauty (fishermen looking for mussels, some flamingos resting on a small sand island or simply the ocean’s colorful appearance…). You can walk around Margaruque Island in around 2 hours. The western shore forms a natural swimming pool, bordered by the coral reef and the white sand beach. The other side of the island faces directly Indian Ocean, so the waves are bigger. There is the home of some big crab family.

When we talk about Bazaruto, please forget anything I ever said regarding accommodations, transports etc in Mozambique. Bazaruto is a natural paradise and one of the most beautiful places on earth that I’ve ever seen. On the small island of Margaruque there is only a small village and some luxury homes (isn’t this huge contrast funny? But… This Is Africa…) . All the island is like a pristine perfect white sand beach that disappears when is high-tide. Knowing that “a photo is worth more than one thousand words”, I won’t use too many words to describe the beauty of the island, but I highly recommend you to pay it a visit.

Small photo gallery:

I would lie if I’d say that I liked Maputo after the first day. Being tired after a 14 hour trip, or the cloudy sky, or maybe just the simple fact that it was Monday, all this together reminded me of the famous “Why we came to visit them?”. I think it’s all about expectations and, to be honest, based on other travellers stories, I imagined Maputo to be more glamorous. On the second day, I catched better the city’s vibe. The Mozambican capital doesn’t culturally shock you at the very first glance; as most of the african towns do. Beside the tones of garbage and the abandoned houses, Maputo looks like it had some glory days: large boulevards, sky-scratchers, beautiful gardens, a nice esplanade…

I started my day with a promenade on Avenida Julius Nyerere, the main commercial boulevard. It goes almost parallel with the seashore and it hosts banks, cafes, restaurants, shops and offices. Fun fact: this is were scandinavian embassies lie in 2 buildings, within the respect of their geographical position: Denmark and Norway are sharing a big villa, Sweden and Finland are sharing the other one. So similar to Eurovivion . When the big avenue became boring, we turned right on a street that completely changed our opinion about Maputo. That area seems to be the premium location on town, hosting some gorgous sea-view proprietes.

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