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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thatch enclosed in our mozy nets. I lay awake for what seemed like hours watching the distant thunderstorms on three sides of us and can vouch for the effectiveness of this thatched roof as the rain eventually caught up with us.

Friday 19-Jul-02 Pande to Vilanculos 110km

We set out on the wet road excitedly as today our mission was to reach the coast again at the tourist town, Valanculos. By the time the stragglers of us (Toby and myself) reached the sea we were in another violent storm. The fork lightening prompted the inevitable discussion on how much insulation a pair of wet mountain bike tyres would provide against lightening strike. Our pace increased and we told our selves we must nearly be there. The rain was torrential now and I thought of Mozambique's recent reputation for flooding as we saw stretches of water opening out in the shallows. I wandered whether our insurance company would pay for a helicopter rescue. The town was not what we expected. It looked very run down and the rain soaked dirt/sand roads and spread out nature of the 'town planning' made the search for suitable accommodation difficult and wet. We found a couple of very reasonable straw and thatched huts on the beach. The attached establishment looked after us well with copious amounts of food and drink.

Saturday 20-Jul-02 Rest Day, Vilanculos

We had looked forward to a rest day here for sometime, whilst enduring some of the more despairingly tedious roads the previous week but our plans of boat trips and snorkelling where now rained off. Apparently the fish do not like the rain, which I can't quite understand but they would not be so visible. The day was spent walking around the town eating and drinking in my case. I decided I had been quite harsh in my judgement of Mozambique's dereliction. Talking to people in the town I learnt that there was just no money available to rebuild the country after the recent civil ...