Bus Stop in Maputo, Mozambique

12 Jan 2010

When you're used to spending Christmas in an place where the schedule seems to revolve around shopping mall opening times, its refreshing to see the experience from a place where there aren't any malls, are hardly any shops and not much to buy anyway.

The transport situation was however not quite so refreshing. All the local buses seem to leave at about 4am in the morning, are invariably packed full and proceed along bumpy roads at a kidney-crunching pace. Despite the speed, frequent stops mean that the whole trip still invariably takes hours.

Leaving from Maputu at 4am, the capital, we eventually arrrived in Vilanculos - gateway to the Bazaruto Archipelago about 12 hours later.

Photo: View of Locals loading luggage onto one of many buses in Maputo, Mozambique. Olympus E30 + 12-60mm.