Maputo

An early morning on Sunday saw us on a bus to Maputo - the capitol of Mozambique.  This bus ride was fun because we got to go through Swaziland.  You had to walk through the check points so I can now say that I have been in Swaziland too!  The time went by fast.  Our plan had been as follows:

Arrive at bus station in Maputo

Exchange money

Buy bus ticket for the following morning to Inhambane (the province name and the capitol city of the province where Tofo is)

Find a bar to watch the Euro Final in and get dinner

Stay night in bus station waiting until morning bus out of town

This plan went out the window very quickly when we arrived.  The bus station was not a station, but the office of the bus line.  They did not have a bus to Inhambane, that bus was leaving from the main bus center which ended up just being an area of dirt where buses congregated in no particular order - TIA I suppose.  Also, it was Sunday so there were no banks open.  Whoops.  We found a taxi driver who took us to an ATM and then dropped us at the main hostel in the city.   

A note on Maputo: Maputo is not like a capitol city.  It looks kind of run-down and abandoned.  Some apartment buildings are tall, but not much else.  It has the feeling of a town, but with a lot more shambles going on.  That being said, Fatima's was nice.  We were able to walk down the street to a local eatery where we first tried Matapa and drank some Mozambique beer.  We watched the Euro finals on the small tv that had a clothes hanger attached to its antenna, yet still couldn’t decide if it wanted to broadcast in color or black and white.  It was a great experience and can I say CAMPEONES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I was so excited when Spain won!  I shouldn't say won, I should say KILLED ITALY!!!!!!  GREAT GREAT GREAT game.  Sorry.  So happy for the boys - and for Torres!!!!  Golden boot.  Good work my boy.

Quick explanations:

Matapa: a pesto-like sauce made from matapa, (cassava leaves) peanuts, and coconut milk.  Served with rice and seafood usually it seems.

Beer: Mozambique has delicious beers.  The local brands are soooo good.  We enjoyed Laurentina and Manica best, but the national brand is 2M (doshem).  South Africa has really really shitty beers when compared to this nice surprise.

Well, the night in Maputo passed quickly and before you know it we were up early again on a bus to Inhambane that, thankfully, left from right outside our hostel before going to the "station".