We have just returned from 16 days in Mozambiuque, which along with Angola (which I will also get to visit while on sabbatical) has long held an important spot in my imagination. Dreams of climbing Mt. Gorongosa to go find a Greenheaded Oriole go way back for me. Unfortunately the long civil war prevented any such trips. Fighting ended in 1992 (the year I left South Africa) and the country has since opened up to significant tourism efforts, and the coast has endless miles of gorgeous beaches and warm blue waters. Unfortunately this trip did not take us as far north as Gorongosa, but we were able to explore the southern coast from Ponta d'Ouro to Vilankulo. Along the way we swam with dolphins (multiple times), saw hundreds upon hundreds of Humpback whales headed south to Antarctica, enjoyed some very beautiful beaches, ate incredible seafood, and I got to make photos. Cool research trip for sure. I am especially drawn to photographing "monuments" at the moment. Must be a David Taylor influence. The Portuguese colonial architecture adds a flare to the country that is different to any other place I have visited in Africa. I expect I will find something similar in Angola.
Many South Africans have moved to Mozambique to open beach lodges, and apparently during SA school holidays the influx of South African tourists is truly daunting. Fortunately we did not have to experience that, and in terms of tourists, we saw only a few. We really enjoyed the country a great deal. People were super friendly and we even got to use a little of the Portuguese we have been learning. It also felt very safe and unlike South Africa there is apparently almost zero violent crime. I hope to return again, hopefully to make it to Mt. Gorongosa. Unfortunately, in the middle of our visit, new reports of fighting in the north was in the news. I truly hope this is not the case as the evidence of how much the country has already suffered is very apparent, even 20 years on.
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