Palm Beach

In the morning the streets were full of people discharged from church carrying palm leaves, or taking selfies of themselves clutching palm leaves. My friend Joaquim has a couple of Dutch pals visiting Maputo, so I joined them for a day trip to the beach.

Ponta do Ouro (literally: tip of gold) is a beach town south of Maputo, almost at the border with South Africa. A lot of people from Maputo are excited to spend weekends there and many South Africans visit for holidays. It’s a centre for diving and other activities such as dolphin spotting, but other than that, I am not sure what the fuss has been about. The beach is nice but it’s not as tranquil as those you can find closer to Maputo along more isolated stretches. This picture was when a group of guys challenged each other to a race.

Reading in the sun was relaxing, and one of Joaquim’s visitors works in a diplomatic role in Juba, so we had the chance to share experiences of the craziness of that city.

The road between Maputo and Ponta do Ouro cuts through Maputo Special Reserve, which is the closest protected area to the capital and receives a number of visitors. From the main road we saw a giraffe munching, which is the first one I’ve seen in Mozambique.