There’s lots to take pictures of on the road up from the border to Tofo. We made the day-long trip into a photographic journey.
Before Maputo the scenery is pretty bland but it gets progressively more interesting after Maputo. The road that skirts the city is bustling with colour and activity – roadside fruit and food stands, brightly painted signs and shops. In a small village after Maputo an artist had spread out his clay statues in a garden. There were footballers, men in suits, horseriders and cows and masks dangling from the trees.
About 100 km up the road is a stretch of cashew nut sellers. They set up on the side of the road with branches adorned with torn plastic bags and bulging packets of cashews. Past cashew city there’s piri piri town – about 10 km of stands with glass bottles of Mozambique’s ubiquitous piri piri sauce, pickled chillies and what looks like mango atchar.
Just past Xai-Xai is a 90 km stretch of terrible road – a thin potholed tar strip flanked by sandy tracks. The driving is slow and frustrating so we entertained ourselves by taking photos and videos. Taking a break from the road from hell, we chose a picturesque spot for a picnic lunch, next to a beautiful old derelict church. Two curious women from the nearby village decided they wanted to model for us when they saw our cameras.
