Big City Trip

11^th October – Day 375 – Inhambane, Mozambique

Less than an hour's minibus ride from Tofo is the Portuguese colonial town of Inhambane, maybe one of the most attractive towns that we've seen on the whole trip! History leaks out of its buildings, and the upkeep of the town is mixed with a laissez-faire African attitude that sees paint stripping from the walls and results in a very charming little place. In the centre are the market and bus stop, the centres of activity in Inhambane. Surrounding them are the old streets, a real pleasure to walk around.

Old street.

Another old street (pic. Inna)

Another old street... (pic. Inna)

Inhambane isn't the kind of town you'd spend several weeks in, mainly due to its small size, but it's a great place to spend a day or two. I know how small it is as I walked around it several times waiting for the girls to finish their interminable haggling sessions at the market for various souvenirs and also a huge pile of textiles, some of which were destined to become shirts and some of which were doubtless destined to sit in a pile for ages while the owner wonders what to do with them. Some of the most tourist-orientated vendors spoke English to cater to the majority tourist market of South Africans but with others we ended up speaking Spanish while we were replied to in Portuguese. It wasn't always easy but everyone eventually ended up understanding and with smiles and repeated utterances of "Tá bom" (which I suppose roughly means "that's good" but stand corrected by anyone who knows better...), business was concluded. Over dinner at a small place by the seafront, we thought it might be a nice idea to spend some more time here and we reserved a set of dorm beds in the attached hostel. We'd be back tomorrow, we said, although our hospice syndrome may well lead us to just staying in Tofo instead.

Tic-tic restaurant

Dogs have the right of way...?

After a final wander through the Art-Deco streets of Inhambane we headed back on a minibus to Tofo, ready to come back tomorrow or, failing that, in a few days to have a dhow trip to the neighbouring islands. Life is hard indeed.

Generic sunset picture #8742387234 (subset:Inhambane)