All posts by Marc Hedrich

Buses, Chapas, & Ferries: How to Get from Maputo to Tofo to Vilankulo

When we arrived in Maputo, we had a vague idea that we could reach Tofo and Vilankulo “by bus,” but we did not have the details down. The process seemed fuzzy at times, and our best information came from reading the accounts – sometimes several years old – of other travelers. In the hope that it might help others plan their travel through southern Mozambique, here is how we made the journey:

Maputo to Tofo.  As we have mentioned before, we took the Fatima’s Backpackers shuttle from Maputo to Tofo. Although Fatima’s does not actually operate the shuttle, it contracts with a local minibus operator to make the journey directly (albeit not nonstop) to Tofo. The shuttle leaves from Fatima’s Backpackers in Maputo around 5:00 a.m.1 and arrives at Fatima’s Nest in Tofo sometime in the early afternoon. (After leaving Fatima’s, the shuttle goes to the Maputo bus station to pick up more passengers before departing hopefully an hour or so later, and also stops a couple of times along the way at petrol stations for refueling, toilet breaks, and the purchase of refreshments.) The journey costs 700 mets per person, which is a decent price considering that taking the Fatima’s shuttle saves you the trouble of i) getting yourself to the bus station in Maputo – which was nowhere near where were staying, ii) locating, and then getting yourself and your baggage2 onto a bus heading to or through Maxixe, iii) taking the ferry across the bay to Inhambane, and iv) catching a chapa3 from Inhambane to Tofo.

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Actually, mayonnaise is one of the only foods that I do not love. (Happily, this is a South African brand of drinkable yogurt that we purchased as a snack for the Maputo-Tofo journey.)

Continue reading Buses, Chapas, & Ferries: How to Get from Maputo to Tofo to Vilankulo

Transiting & Wandering Through Inhambane (Or, when Marc Drafts a Post)

We spent the night in Inhambane on our way up the coast to Vilankulo. Inhambane is located on the same peninsula as Tofo and Barra, and the bus to Vilankulo left from Maxixe (a larger town across the bay from Inhambane) in the morning. The most expeditious way to reach Maxixe from Inhambane is a twenty minute ferry ride. We figured that spending the night in Inhambane would make it easier to make it from the ferry to the bus on time and wanted to have some time to wander around the city, which is supposed to be one of the nicer provincial capitals in Mozambique.

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Low tide in Inhambane (the gradual slope of the surrounding area causes the tidal change to be rather dramatic)
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A random building that Katie liked

We enjoyed wandering around the central part of town, checking out some of the cool art deco buildings, the old mosque built in 1840, and the 18th century Catedral da Nossa Senhora da Conceição. Also mixed among the tidy houses were a few errant abandoned buildings, with subtropical foliage dramatically taking over the manmade structures. Overall, things were very quiet as it was Sunday evening, and the sidewalks were completely rolled up in most of the town. Continue reading Transiting & Wandering Through Inhambane (Or, when Marc Drafts a Post)