Home » Malawi Mozambique » Cycle to the Summit Part 18 - Lilongwe to Maputo

Rather than take the popular Tete Corridor the team made their way on worsening roads to the Southern tip of Malawi. Mozambique proved much more undeveloped and remote than expected, often in the early days only passing through one small town a day with very limited supplies. But help and hospitality was at hand, from a much appreciated and unexpected source. The Indian Ocean was reached again after many testing days cycling and with it civilization 'as we know it' was slowly restored.

Cycle to the Summit Part 18 - Lilongwe to Maputo

Toby Hammond
2006-06-25 20:20:17

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dust and thoroughly fed up with our slow progress on the bad roads.
We had been given Francesca's name by some one at one of the road camps as someone who speaks English and who would be able to help us with accommodation. I think she worked training health workers about AIDs, but of more interest to us owned a tiny bar with her husband, one of a few in a row by the first major road junction we had seen for about a week. The bar had a sturdy but bodged together table football machine. Facilities for the traveller were minimal, as we had become accustomed, but Francesca rustled up some lovely fish from somewhere and let us camp in the back compound.

Tuesday 16-Jul-02 Inchope to Goonda 96km

We woke early thanks to the early morning call of a cockerel that sounded like it was right out side the tent. This period was not very eventful, not much happening as there was pretty much just ourselves and the straight flat road with puny struggling trees to each side. Fortunately we reached a small town by the evening and we set up camp on a very green and comfy piece of grass at the side of the hospital. Toby and I went in search of two of my most relished commodities, beer and onions, and succeeded on both fronts but the onions were small and expensive. Well, I don't remember anything more exciting happening.

Wednesday 17-Jul-02 Goonda to Zove 75km

In the morning I went to collect water from the river. It was very misty so I followed the locals carrying big empty containers. On reaching the river there were women scantily clad washing on the rocks. A little embarrassed I thought it would be better to collect water upstream, so I carried on up the path past the some bushes to find the area where the men washed and collected water. I hopped across the rocks squeezing past several wet bodies to fill my bottles from fresh looking flowing water. Struggling to carry the heavy bottles back because they had no handles, ...