August 9th-10th, 2012
Every trip has to have a really suck moment; Mozambique was
ours. We wanted to go for two
nights in Maputo, which is right across the border from Swaziland, but
everything went wrong so we ended up spending one night and then coming home. Public transport in Mozambique is a
nightmare and it took us 4 hours to cross the border and actually arrive in
Maputo, when it should have only taken 1.5 hours. Imagine a 15-passenger junky van filled with 20 people plus
luggage for two hours on a hot day – miserable. We got there to find that our reservation for the guest
house we booked had been canceled, it was near dark and we had to walk to a way
more expensive hotel that thankfully had an open room and exceptional
staff. Hotel Monte Carlo, you may
be only three stars and over priced but your customer service was phenomenal –
kudos to you!
The next day Maputo earned back some points. We had a private guided walking tour to
all the top historical points in Maputo.
The weather was great and we learned a lot about the city. We had lunch at the old train station –
within the 22 hours we were in Maputo I managed to eat nothing but seafood – it
was great! Then we hired a taxi to
take us straight to the border, we were not even going to attempt public
transport again it was so awful.
Mom got to see the Indian Ocean at least and while it was a short and
chaotic trip it made for a good story.
I was never happier to be back in my hut in Swaziland!
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