Beira
Getting There
The Express bus leaves at 06:00 from Maputo and arrives in Beira at about 21:30 the same day. The normal bus leaves when it fills up and arrives sometime the following day. I opted for the express. However, upon arrival at the bus station (a polluted, muddy, open dirt lot choked with beaten busses, vendors, and passengers) at 05:00, I discovered that my huge bike box wouldn't fit into the luggage bay of the express bus. They offered to send it separately with the normal bus for my retrieval the following day, but I decided to stay with the box for security purposes, and climbed aboard for the 36-hour experience.
The bus maximized passenger capacity by squeezing five seats per row instead of the standard four, and doing away with such options as reclination and arm rests. I was fortunate in being early enough to choose a window seat, and having a thin woman and her very well-behaved, adorable little daughter as neighbors.
The sun shone through my window all day and made for fitful sleep, but I had only slept 1 1/2 hours the night before, so throughout the day's journey I drifted in and out of cramped, sweat-soaked consciousness, occasionally jarred to life by class-v road rapids or awoken by vendors with fruit, cashews, water, and Fanta at the many stops. Around midnight, we stopped at what could be likened to a truck stop for the night. There was a small, family-run restaurant and bar selling dinner and drinks, complete with a toilet area out in the back; for #1 (menor in Portuguese), they featured a partially-walled grassy area, and for #2 (maior), a hole in the ground surrounded by a woven wall of reeds with a dirty blue tarp for a door. Some people slept on reed mats in front of the bar, while I napped inside the sultry bus.
A few hours later, while still dark, we left the truck stop. For several hours we passed wild forest and wetlands, then the suburbs of round adobe huts with grass roofs, until arriving in the city shortly after midday.
Past and Present
I read that Beira was a beach vacation hotspot during the colonial times, but one would never guess nowadays. The colonialists fled the country in the mid 70's, and whatever holiday charm this city once possessed has since vanished. Some "luxury" hotels remain, but are now like ransacked memories of wealth, dilapidated and inhabited by squatters. We visited a friend in her 11th floor apartment of a building with an elevator that has long been dead (in pic, with central electronics market). The climb up the smelly, dank and sometimes unlit staircase took us past vandalized walls, wires exposed from stolen elevator buttons, miscellaneous rubbish, puddles of water and pee, cockroaches, and a rodent (no biggie - I share my hotel room with a mouse). Our friend, a Hungarian expat, told us it's one of the nicer apartment buildings in the city.
The Express bus leaves at 06:00 from Maputo and arrives in Beira at about 21:30 the same day. The normal bus leaves when it fills up and arrives sometime the following day. I opted for the express. However, upon arrival at the bus station (a polluted, muddy, open dirt lot choked with beaten busses, vendors, and passengers) at 05:00, I discovered that my huge bike box wouldn't fit into the luggage bay of the express bus. They offered to send it separately with the normal bus for my retrieval the following day, but I decided to stay with the box for security purposes, and climbed aboard for the 36-hour experience.
The bus maximized passenger capacity by squeezing five seats per row instead of the standard four, and doing away with such options as reclination and arm rests. I was fortunate in being early enough to choose a window seat, and having a thin woman and her very well-behaved, adorable little daughter as neighbors.
The sun shone through my window all day and made for fitful sleep, but I had only slept 1 1/2 hours the night before, so throughout the day's journey I drifted in and out of cramped, sweat-soaked consciousness, occasionally jarred to life by class-v road rapids or awoken by vendors with fruit, cashews, water, and Fanta at the many stops. Around midnight, we stopped at what could be likened to a truck stop for the night. There was a small, family-run restaurant and bar selling dinner and drinks, complete with a toilet area out in the back; for #1 (menor in Portuguese), they featured a partially-walled grassy area, and for #2 (maior), a hole in the ground surrounded by a woven wall of reeds with a dirty blue tarp for a door. Some people slept on reed mats in front of the bar, while I napped inside the sultry bus.
A few hours later, while still dark, we left the truck stop. For several hours we passed wild forest and wetlands, then the suburbs of round adobe huts with grass roofs, until arriving in the city shortly after midday.
Past and Present
I read that Beira was a beach vacation hotspot during the colonial times, but one would never guess nowadays. The colonialists fled the country in the mid 70's, and whatever holiday charm this city once possessed has since vanished. Some "luxury" hotels remain, but are now like ransacked memories of wealth, dilapidated and inhabited by squatters. We visited a friend in her 11th floor apartment of a building with an elevator that has long been dead (in pic, with central electronics market). The climb up the smelly, dank and sometimes unlit staircase took us past vandalized walls, wires exposed from stolen elevator buttons, miscellaneous rubbish, puddles of water and pee, cockroaches, and a rodent (no biggie - I share my hotel room with a mouse). Our friend, a Hungarian expat, told us it's one of the nicer apartment buildings in the city.
Although visually ugly, Beira isn't all bad. There are several lively outdoor markets that sell just about anything one would want to buy, full of friendly people and smiling faces. In one extensive market we've been to frequently, I've bought a bicycle bell, blanket, mosquito net, loose screws, bread, and fresh prawns, which we had prepared in a nearby restaurant.
Nightlife is decent, with several small bars/discos sprinkled throughout the city featuring the same one or two playlists, cheap beer, and good times. Police are the bad side of the nightlife, and have stopped us three times to hassle us for ID and find an excuse for a bribe. The worst, outrageously drunk with an open bottle of cheap 43% gin in hand, hassled us for 20 minutes and showered us with threats. Like a flip of a coin, he suddenly became our best friend when Mario invited him to some beer. He spoke glowingly of Germany (due to his drunkenness, he failed to realize I came from another country, despite having been shown my passport), gave us gin, repeatedly hugged us, and invited us for dinner in his house. Luckily, the nearest bar was closed, so we managed to shake him without the beer bribe.
Overall, my 10 days here have been enjoyable. Beira has been my first real introduction to African culture and has prepared me for the next leg. Like any place, it has its pros and cons, but if I focus primarily on the pros, I'll have a good time anywhere I stay. Tomorrow we cycle toward Malawi and will be about eight days in the bush. Later!
posted by Derek @ 07:03
1 Comments:
Looks like a great start to your trip! A little old meets new.
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