Upgrading to the Big Bus

After our exploration of Vilankulos and Archipeligo National Park was complete, we had to head back south to Maputo to collect the Spark Lite for the final leg of our journey. Instead of taking to two chappas and stopping in Tofo as we did on the way up, we boarded one actual bus that would take us the whole way. Even the full size bus would include some special Mozambique-isms though.

1) There was no set time for departure. The hostel told us the bus leaves at 4:20 am. The actual bus operators claimed departures times from 4am to 5am when we grilled them. The bus actually left at 5am.

2) Two buses competed heavily for our business upon arrival. When we walked up we were swarmed by ticket waving bus crews attempting to secure as as passengers on two seemingly rival buses. The both claimed to earlier departure than the other. The crew on bus A proactively pried Bodds' baggage from him and began to pack it under the bus. This seemed to me to be too forward. Based on this move and Kulsum's attempt to obtain the unbiased information on departure times from a bystander, led us retrieve Bodd's baggage and board bus B. Both buses left at 5am.

3) We stopped frequently to drop off and pick up people and goods. While the stops were not as frequent as a chappas, the full size buses still stopped every 30 mins or so--something more of a regional transport than a express one. Futhermore, we stopped at small towns and roadside stands full of people hocking fresh food and drinks. These stops slowly filled up the aisle of the bus with anything from charcoal to coconuts.

All said and done the full size bus was much more comfortable than the chappas (Bodds does not entirely agree with this). The irrefutable benefit was the 5 or so hours that we shaved off both through faster average speed and not stopping back in Tofo.