this is where i spent the first two nights of my trip. about 5k outside st. lucia proper. it was right by a village with some young residents that i would join for drinks until i passed out from exhaustion.
this is a “pod” of hippos. the same group on land would be a “herd”. st. lucia's wetland reserve is full of them. in fact, st. lucia is full of them. they like the grass that grows on the residents' lawns.
a sign in cape vidal reads: ”WARNING! monkeys are a problem“
some of the hiking trails of st. lucia. lots of birds and monkeys to be seen.
hippo port of entry
at the beach in st. lucia with ntlaka and miriam
i went to the beach with a non-couple i met on the estuary tour. ntlaka is from pmb and miriam, from hamburg, works across the robot from me in pmb.
one of the beaches of cape vidal. good for tidepooling.
no snorkeling here.
the area is known for fishing. and to me for seafood.
untitled
german beer and mussel soup.
the blond is a south african bird i met when she asked me where to grab a drink. i told her i was looking for the same thing. i was on my way home with a belly full of oysters to pick up diane on the right.
diane is teaching dance in cape town. she and her family, on holiday from switzerland, are touring in the reverse direction of my trip.
african version of a school bus. northern swaziland.
on my way to shewula. lonely planet describes my destination as not quite worth the long drive.
perhaps the most spectacular view i've seen in africa.
this is the view from my chalet
yellow + black = bumblebee. by the way, that bug is over an inch in size and the yellow flowering bush was COVERED in this insect.
the view from my shower in shewula lodge
shear cliff.
two lost israelis staggered into camp in the morning. the were looking for sondzela 80k away. they must have made every wrong turn availalbe in swaziland.
the view from my hotel in maputo
the next day i learned that one should not walk here DAY OR NIGHT
the maputo train station was designed by an associate of gustav eiffel
i was eventually escorted out by an armed guard.
why do locals take such shitty pictures? maybe he didn't see the statue.
the mercado here sold EVERYTHING. most notably fish and seafood... trash cans full of crab just sitting there.
after negotiating a neighborhood that literally had armed roadblocks at all points of entry (went between two trees and jumped a fence), i found myself here. a semi completed garden of sorts. the official botanical gardens, across town, is totally run down.
this rome was built in a (we'll finish it) someday
this scene grabbed me by the heart.
purity test
i was the only person at the site for the wedding at 17:00 the time stated on the invitation. it started two hours late.
that's virgilio
afterwards, pictures took over an hour.
the 'greenhouse' for the maputo durban botanical gardens are locked up. i had to jump through a broken window to get in here. later i realized that if anybody wanted to stab me, this would be a pretty secluded place to conduct business.
this church looks like a spaniard army helmet. it's across the street from the presidents residence. no photos allowed.
this is the 'nucleo de arts'. it's attached to a bar/cafe/area where the actual artists hang out and paint/sculpt/drink.
my favorite part of the museo was the fact that some of the most amazing art is on the ground in the corner.
this guy is basically mocambique's version of keith nicol
can you see the type of luggage people travel with here? some of the buses will have numerous goats and chickens on the roof.
my campsite for 10 days or so in tofo
the view from fatima's
we woke up to catch the sunrise over the indian ocean.
this is mara. she and her mother, alison, were my neighbors for the first several days in tofo. they're from botswana and were my surrogate family. mara is rolling the three of us a joint.
inhambane
johanna thought she might have malaria so i took her to the hospital. 40 meticals was the payment if you didn't have insurance (US$2). turns out she just had a runny tummy.
at the market in inhambane. the girls thought to get falafal balls made out of the cashew nuts and peanuts that grow so abundantly here.
breakfast was a semi-communal thing like any backpackers. the mercado nearby sold fruit and some meat and eggs. everything had to be local and nothing except for beer and soda was refrigerated. after mara and her mother left, i spent my time with johanna (pictured right) and her sister julana. they were on holiday from germany. also pictured is nataline from holland.
the campsite at fatimas
the dining area if you cook your own meals
those huts were in demand seeing as you could burn in the shade.
the boats used to catch our dinner every night
more tidepools south of tofo on the way to tofinho
this picture doesn't capture the size of the waves pulsing in. a cyclone off madagascar was responsible for the huge surge.
french birds. the artist wishes that you note the butt dimples on the middle girl
johanna hit a pothole and blew out my front left tire. after managing to put the spare on i drove us a tense 70k to the nearest tyre changing station. they supplement their income by selling warm, unsealed bottles of coke that they leave out in the sun...
not your kragen auto parts.
we made it to maputo in one piece after that.
this is the view from 'base backpackers'. i found a rusty sword in the back and had juliana take this before we fucked off home at 6am friday morning.
the girls were overjoyed to be back in a civilized city. real beds. bathrooms with doors. hot water. laundry machines.
