20/06: Maputo day 1 (Mozambique)

Around 5 in the morning we left in Bela Bela. The trip was quick and already around 10h30 we arrived at the Lebombo border. At the South African side we realised that everything was a bit chaotic. But it was very quick at that side and after only a few minutes we could move on to Ressano Garcia, the border to enter Mozambique. Here a lot of guys were trying to help for a tip. But luckily I read that we had to get third party insurance and that Hollard Seguras is a good company for getting it, so we stopped at their office, and their guys kept the other ones away.

One of the insurance guys led us around to all the different stations to obtain a visa, a vehicle export permit, etc. He even wanted to bribe the officers, but we kindly declined and moved to the exit ourselves. We just drove into Mozambique without any car checks or whatsoever. Ironically nobody even checked our visas, so it is perfectly possible to drive into Mozambique without any valid visa. On the way to Maputo, we were pulled over a few times by the police, but they never checked anything. Maputo, the capital, is quite close to the border as it is only about one hour drive. Next to the roads was almost nothing, just a few shacks made out of grass and wood.

The city itself is extremely chaotic, very humid, everybody just drives somewhere, cars are parked on the most ridiculous places, the lanes are way too small, cars are crashed everywhere, etc.But thanks to our good GPS we arrived safely at our guesthouse. It’s a small guesthouse in the centre, painted in bright yellow colours, with a nice

atmosphere. Just the parking is quite small, but ok, it’s safe so we’re not complaining. Because we we’re unexpectedly early, we decided to take a walk in the centre. It feels quite safe walking around here, nobody really notices us, just some souvenirs sellers, but that’s fine as long as they offer us good prices. Of course I had to taste some of the nice beers that Mozambique has to offer: 2M (Dos M) and Laurentina blond/black. After a good walk we returned back to our guesthouse.