Vilankulos, local girls posing for the camera, Picture by Jason Risley
Vasco da Gama called this peninsula the “Land of the good people”. So it’s just natural that Mozambique’s Declaration of Independence was signed here, in the tiny fishing village of Tofo, and that tourists came to love this place. Tofo is certainly not a fishing village anymore, but dominated by lodges, guesthouses, hotels, restaurants, dive centers and bars, call it tourism. The beaches are endless.
Tofo’s exotic flair was gradually announced when I travelled down south from Vilankulo. Palm trees were taking over, and the occasional sugar cane field lurked from the distance. Small villages with shops featuring colourful goods lined the road, selling everything from furniture, plastic buckets, clothes, food and whatever it needs to repair bikes and farming machinery.
What could top this but a pleasant ferry trip across the bay to Inhambane? The oldest settlement on the east coast of Mozambique has seen it all. Already in the 11th century, Muslim and Persian traders sailed their dhows around its waters. More recent and thus highly visible is the influence of the Portuguese ruling over Mozambique until 1975. The charming colonial buildings make Inhambane a pleasant place to stroll around and a nice excursion from Tofo, only 20 kilometers away. What should be a short trip in a chapa isn’t. The excessively crowded minibuses stop every other minute to squash more passengers inside or unload them and their heavy bags full of maize or coconuts.
After travelling for five weeks, this is where I stayed the longest and if I was to go there again, I would check out Barra and Tofinho, more quiet places up and down the never ending coastline of white, white sand.
Picture by Jason Risley.
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