Tales of the horrid road conditions in Mozambique turned out to be quite accurate. The 'main' highway from the South Africa to the capital city of Maputo had stretches of dirt and gravel and an average speed of 25 mph. Our arrival into the city was unfortunately under the cover of darkness.
To make matters worse, we had a pretty loose plan of our accommodations and mode of transport north. We were driving somewhat aimlessly around a city with few traffic regulations with only the name of a recommended hostel to guide us. Crowds of people stretched across intersections whenever a gap in traffic appeared. Taxis wove around our tiny car blinking and honking at our slow progress. After stopping at a couple fancy hotels to ask about pricing and the hostel we had heard about, we were guided across the city to what would turn out to be the ultimate find in Fatima's backpacker hostel.
First off, Fatima's, even at the late hour had vacancy. Secondly the price was an unbeatable 11 dollars a bed, a far cry from the 150 dollar cross-town hotels we had just visited. Thirdly, Fatima's offered a super cheap (although crowded, slow, and bumpy tranport north to Tofo, our main destination in Mozambique to following morning. We booked the cheap room and got the first morning transport to Tofo. The bed we a.welcome site. The Transport turned out to be a grueling 10.5 hour can ride with about 25 other people, but considering our late arrival and lack of directions, we hit the jackpot in a safe arrival to Fatima's.
The Eastern influence (heavily Chinese) on Maputo was instantly noticeable. Interestingly, Fatima's is located on Mao Ze Tung Blvd (and hilariously only a few blocks from Kim Il Sung Blvd). Beyond the street names, cars and trucks bore as much Chinese writing as English. Also, as I might have expected based on visiting the Tanzanian coast, Arab influence was also prominently on display. This was evidenced by our dinner locale, a halal and thus alcohol free pizza joint. The Arab, East Asian, and Western world were all on display in the street of Maputo.
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