World Mozambique Tofo

Hakuna Matata

Tofo 06/08/2012

After picking up my missing T-shirt at the other hostel I took a minibus to Inhambane. After talking to a policeman I decided to take a taxi to Tofo. It was quite expensive. I didn’t care as I was fed up of taking chapas everywhere. The taxi dropped me of at the Bamboozy Hostel, a bit outside of town. I asked the receptionist to show me the dorms. The place was beautiful, however it was empty. So I decided to stay at Fatamia’s, a popular hostel closer to the centre.

I took my backpack and started walking the 2 km’s back to town in the midday heat! On check in I was already advised that there was a little festival somewhere in town that night. This place was definitely more alive. I set down at a table in the restaurant area with a group of people, a Danish girl, an American and Italian and a few South African Safari hunters. We passed the time and had dinner and a few beers together.

After a long time we decided to make our way to the festival. On our way out, one of the Safari hunters almost got into a fight. The American and I went in between, got him to their pick up and than apologised to the manager. After the incident we were ready to go.

The festival was surprisingly good, some live bands and than international Dj’s. We were drinking and dancing the night away. I met a death guy and had an amazing time communicating with him. At around 3am I found myself back with the others, lying in the grass, chilling out. The other one of the Safari hunters had hooked up with a girl. Suddenly some black guys standing around him claiming that she was the girl friend of one of them. After calming them down we got back on Simon’s track and he took us home.

The next day I woke up very late. It was very cold that night and I was feeling shit. I got up and made my way to the restaurant. The American and the Danish girl were already there drinking beer. I couldn’t face any yet. The told me that the Safari hunters where gonna pick us up any minute for a lobster barbeque. The Italian who was supposed to leave that day decided to stay another day and joined in as well.

After shopping for lobsters beers and bread we drove down to the lodge were the Safari hunters where staying. There we were chilling out all day, drinking beer and eating amazing lobster and prawns. Simon produced a Havana and Scott, the American got extremely excited. He smoked that torpedo almost by himself. Simon had another two weeks off and offered us to take us to the Okawanga delta in Botswana. As it was going to work out with my flight back to Europe, I was totally keen on coming along.

After a while we ran out of beer and Simon, Scott and I decided to go and get more. On our way back from the shops I was standing on the back of the truck and just before we were able to take off, a number of black mama’s with babies climbed onto the truck without even asking if we would give them a lift. I was amazed but not surprised. After dropping them off we made our way back to camp. We drank the rest of the beers and than drove over to Tofo-Tofo to watch the football. At half time I decided to go home to change and when I got back plans had changed. The Okawanga idea has died, therefore Simon was trying to get some permits for a national park in the north of Mozambique. I decided that I wasn’t going back up north and told them that I was staying in Tofo.

It was yet another really cold night and the next morning I did feel a bit sick. I said goodbye to the guys and wished them save travels before going back to bed. In the afternoon I went over to Dino’s to have some lunch and bumped into Nina, the Austrian girl who I met diving in Vilanculos and some of her friends. I set down with them and had some food. We arranged to meet that night at Tofo-Tofo for dinner and football.

That night was a night of reencounter. Not only did I meet Nina again, half of the cast of our dive tour seemed to be in Tofo. There was Maite, the German girl, Ines the Portugise and Daniel, our South African Dive Master trainee. After the game, I went with Nina, Maite, Daniel and one of his mates back to their hostel and we started Tinto, some local rum. Drunk as we were we were trying to find a bar that was still open. However being a Sunday night and off-season, Tofo was dead. Than the guys had the idea to go swimming. The all went. I decided to stay dry as I wasn’t feeling all to well. Nina started kissing with Daniel and we were making jokes that she was a “Sugar Mama”! There after we went back to the hostel and had some more drinks.

The next morning I was feeling even worse. I got paranoid that I was coming down with Malaria, but the hostel manager persuaded me that I was fine, as I wasn’t showing the right symptoms. Nina had left that morning and I had to find new friends all over. It wasn’t all to long until I met another Austrian called Tomas, a German girl called Evelyn and a Mozambiquan artist called Villar. We spent the day together relaxing on the terrace of the hostel. Villar persuaded us to go to the market. Before leaving I went back to the dorm where I met Denis, another German. He asked if he could come along. A new group had formed. We spent that they and the next together, hanging out and relaxing. I was feeling better already and Tomas and Evelyn offered me a ride to Maputo the next day. Off course I accepted.