15th of June, 2018.
Hitchhiking in Mozambique: Moçimboa
A border to nowhere.
A “rain of motorbikes” comes to me once I leave the boat. I tell everybody I have no money and I would walk to the immigration. They warn me about the elephants so I get excited! But when a boy who is already going back home offer to drive for free (because he lives just beside the immigration), I accept. He is driving like crazy! Really, really fast! And it is not a tarmac road! I am with The Hulk on my back and the boy has the other one with him, in front. I am terrified! And we do not even see any elephants.
When we arrive I am glad to be alive. He is nice but I think he is also excited to be my friend. He says something about the possibility of we see each other again next day.
I approach one of the immigration officers and he tells me the immigration is already closed. I explain my story to him and ask for a place to put my tent. He and all the other officers are so nice and friendly, and they do not think twice about let me staying there and are promptly showing me where to put my tent, helping me to make it, holding the light, giving me dinner (rice and beans) and we talk for a long time. I am so happy for finally be in a place where people are nice and kind, understanding and helpful. I just feel sorry that they did not wake me up in the middle of the night to see the elephants passing.
Early in the morning, around five (because in the North, the sunrise starts at five o’clock), I get up and start to organize everything. I still need to change my Euros per Dollar or Meticais. I go to the exchange bank (surprisingly they have one) but instead of the attendant to deal with me, there is a man, a thief according to my friend police officer, who is trying to tricks me about the amount. For pure luck, there is one fellow around, who is going to Tanzania at business and need Euros so he exchange for me. What a joy! I finally could get my Visa and leave. Unfortunately, this whole process it takes me a long time so when I leave it is around nine in the morning already.
I start to walk, hoping to see some elephants but nothing happens. There is just the road, sand and road. The sun is killing me and I can not walk for too long without taking a break. No cars coming at all. A few motorbikes. When I finally find a good and big shade, I decide to sit and wait for a miracle.
I eat two of my oranges and decide to have another one. The sun is strong. Suddenly, two women and some kids join me. They cannot speak Portuguese, only Kiswahili. They are very surprised about the whole “me and the backpack”. I do not know exactly what they are saying but I am feeling a little bad with the situation. Maybe they are just curious, maybe they just want to help. Who knows? After a long time, a pick-up comes from the opposite direction. When they see me they stop. Five men inside, three come to talk with me. They are police officers (they even show me their identifications) and would be back to Palma (the next town) after arranging something at the immigration. I just had to wait.
While I am waiting for them and the local people had already left, a motorbike stops and the guy offers to drive me for free. I decide to wait for the police and also I do not want to make them worried.
They finally come back. They are all nice but one of them is nicer. They tell me something about the security being quite complicated in that area so once in Palma, they would drop me at the Traffic Police, where they could help me to get a lift at least to the next town, Moçimboa da Praia. And they insist that once in there I should ask for help at the police station, to pass the night there and not outside in the forest. I agree.
As soon I get to the Traffic Police, they put me in a small bus going to Moçimboa. It is so full, so full, that I sit in front of a young man and we alternated our legs. I thought of a nice joke but I did not tell him because I believed he would not understand. I would say – You know, in some cultures, sitting like this it means that now we are married. Laugh. At the end, he is so nice and insists on giving me five hundred Meticais. I accepted just two hundred to buy food and water.
I am very pleased about his tenderness and generosity. I could never imagine I was about to go through one of the most horrible situations of my whole travel!
10 Years Around the World 