Tofo, Mozambique
The Road Chose Me Volume 2 OUT NOW!!
The Road Chose Me Volume 2: Three years and 54,000 miles around Africa
We meander North along the coast of Mozambique, thoroughly enjoying the new culture and language. People on the side of the road are delighted when we stop to buy tropical fruits – watermelon, mangoes, avocados, pineapples and more are abundant and cheap here. Even on the side of the road it’s possible to buy extremely fresh “Portuguese bread rolls” and I’m strongly reminded of Angola and West Africa. They are so fresh they’re still hot, and cost just a few cents each.
In one region we see hundreds and hundreds of bottles of piri-piri sauce for sale – the local hot sauce. The friendly lady explains one is “hot” and the other is “very hot”. We choose the “hot”, and get the shock of our lives. Even the tiniest drop in an entire stir fry or pasta sauce is unbearable. This is by far and away the hottest bottle of hot sauce I have ever seen in my life, and locals heap it on everything. We have an entire bottle which I’m pretty sure will last three decades at the rate we can eat it, and after a week of trying our best we give it away.
Seriously, the spicy tacos in Mexico had nothing on this stuff.
On the roads There are occasional Police manning radar guns, though they ignore me and we are not stopped at a single road block – of which there are only a couple.
The main beginner surf break
From the minute we roll into the town of Tofu we know we have found something special. We setup camp at Turtle Cove, rent some surfboards and immediately set about surfing every possible minute. In town there is a beginner point break which is a great place to practice and learn before stepping up to the much bigger and more aggressive point/reef break just around the corner in Tofiño. There are numerous bars and restaurants, and each seems to have a “party night” of the week with food and drink specials.
On the main beach
The owner of Turtle Cove asks as to drive his boat while he and his buddy go spear fishing, so we’re up at 5am and soon in the thick of it. Dolphins surround our boat and the water is so clear I can easily see the bottle through 60 feet. There is only a small swell, though soon Em and I are both feeling extremely green and doing our best not to spoil the clear water. In the past we have dreamed of future adventures in a sail boat, though after both feeling terrible for an entire day we’re now rethinking that idea!
All of Tofo – simply paradise
The sun beats down, the water is perfectly warm and the sand perfect white. It doesn’t hurt that the beers are huge, cheap and cold, and every day our skills on the surfboard improve.
I see no reason to move for a while.
-Dan
