We left Ibo with enough time to make it back South by the time our visas ran out. We wanted to climb Mount Mulanje in Malawi and after asking around we had a good game plan. The train was our original idea, but decided to stick to buses instead. So with 5 days left on our visas, we started the journey. As public transportation isn’t always the most reliable, we left a buffer day in case something went wrong.
We retraced our steps from weeks before to get back to the mainland and then carry on to Pemba. As it was too late to make it to Nampula the same day, we spent a night near the bus station. A kind woman walking down the street led us to a place that had rooms. We learned later that evening it was also the local bar, but were so exhausted it didn’t matter. The alarm went off a little after 3 am so we could gather our things and walk the 5 minutes to the main road. From previous expereinces, the term ‘bus station’ is used loosely to describe anywhere a bus stops.
Our ride back to Pemba
There was a bus waiting when we arrived and even though it wasn’t Nagi, who we’d used up until this point, we got on. It was 4 am when we took our seats and it wasn’t until after 5 that we pulled away. Happy to be moving, we closed our eyes until we were awoken by one of the bus employees telling us there was a small mechanical problem. Referring to it as small was likely an understatement considering we all unloaded and waited for them to send a new bus. Thankfully, we’d only driven an hour so we waited 2 hours and then loaded onto the new bus.
On the outskirts of Nampula, our destination for the night so we could recollect our big bags, we stopped at a police check. This was the 2nd of the day that had asked for our IDs, but this one insisted on seeing the original as well. Hesitant to give them to him, we didn’t have much choice. He reviewed our visas and told us we needed to be out the following day as he misread the visa. It encouraged us even more to make sure we got out before our 30 days were up.
We made it back to Mwaura’s and while we were glad to be back we weren’t overly excited to be reunited with our big bags again. Once we settled in and ate, we started asking about the bus to Mocuba. The response was, “it leaves at 4, or maybe 3.” While we may have to wait hours for the bus, it isn’t going to wait a minute for us. So we headed to the bus station to get a ticket and get the actual departure time.
We were told to be back at 2:30 am for a 3 am departure. As the station was close enough to the house, we didn’t have to pay an outrageous amount for a taxi and walked instead. The station was full of people sleeping on the ground as staying there was much more convenient then getting transport at that hour. Everyone stood around waiting and around 4 am they opened the bus doors. Once everyone was loaded, we drove several kilometers before stopping and waiting until 5 to continue. No reason was given, but it didn’t really matter as we were both sleeping whether the bus moved or not.
The driver drove like crazy and we were halfway to Mocuba in record time. The road got worse as we got closer to town, but we still got in before 9 am. Something we weren’t expecting. We walked to the hotel we had thought we’d stay at and found their internet wasn’t working. The decision was made to get a chapa to the border and spend the night there so we could cross in the morning. It also meant we wouldn’t have to have another alarm go off before the sun came up.
We each got a motorcycle to drive us to the chapa station. It was a balancing act with our big bags and the smaller ones we also had in tow. I wasn’t positioned correctly and we had a bit of a swerve when we hit a dip, but we all arrived safe. The chapa was almost full when we hopped in, but it took about an hour to get the last 2 passengers. Our bags got put in the back and they used twine to tie the door to the windshield wiper to keep it almost closed as it no longer shut with the size of the load.
Loading our backpacks in the minibus
The road was straightforward until 50 kms before Milange. They were doing construction on the road, which meant there were detours and dirt roads. The van was filled with a red cloud of dust for the rest of the ride. It was so dusty that Tico’s hair actually looked as if he had dyed the tips red. Once we made it to our destination, we were again on a search for internet. The driver offered to take us to a hotel, but when we arrived we found out it was fully booked.
By now, it was 3 pm and the border closed at 6. We decided if we’d made it this far we might as well go for it. So we got dropped at the border and as we unloaded our things we were offered to exchange money. At every other border crossing, we’d planned ahead to make sure we had the right amount of cash to not need to exchange money. But as we were leaving a day early, we had extra. After discussing exchange rates, we changed a little to Malawian Kwacha and asked for the rest in USD. The guy wanted to give us a $100 bill and we break it. When we declined, he said he’d come back with change. After waiting for a while, we decided to go ahead and cross the border.
Walking to cross the border into Malawi
We cleared Mozambique immigration and were sent to the police. They again looked at our passports and verified that we were leaving within the right amount of time. We walked the few hundred meters towards the Malawi border and ran into the guy that wanted to exchange our money. He wasn’t able to find change so presented us with the same offer. Suspicious, we took the $100 bill and looked at it closer. The security thread was clearly glued on and the liberty bell was too shiny to be real. We told him that it was fake and there was no deal. Without arguing, he took the bill back and went on his way.
Upon entering the Malawi offices, we were asked to present our yellow fever vaccinations to a health worker. The woman behind the immigration counter asked for our visa and I said we were buying them there. She motioned for me to come around the building and enter the office. Tico followed shortly after to find me already arguing with the immigration manager.
They didn’t have visa stickers so we would be provided with a restriction to enter the country. It would allow us 3 days to get to Blantyre to go to immigration headquarters and get the sticker. I argued for him to let us return with our restriction to the border the next day, but he said no. I even asked him to pay for our transport to/from Blantyre, which he quickly refused. Tico asked if we could sleep in the bush in no man’s land between the countries, which was laughed at. In the officer’s eyes, he was doing us a favor by letting us come in while we didn’t quite see it the same. Regardless, we didn’t have much choice as we’d left Mozambique and couldn’t return due to our single entry visas. So we took the paper and got the first minibus to Mulanje.
We were impressed with the packing of the minibus as it was only filled to capacity (16 people). Later, we learned this is because the police actually control the number of passengers at checkpoints. We could see Mulanje mountain in the distance and we passed tea plantations as we got closer. They left us in the town market and introduced us to people that could take us to a hotel. We weren’t happy with the price of a taxi and decided to go to one that was within walking distance.
Long day of moving around
We arrived to the Hapuwani Village Lodge and found ourselves in an oasis. Once we entered the gates, we were inside a complex with a pool, gym and several conference halls. It was very different from things we’d seen recently, especially compared to the village we just left. The man at reception told us there wasn’t space. Frustrated after a long day and dealing with immigration, we asked if there was anywhere else nearby to stay for the night. The woman next to him felt sorry for us and was able to find us a room. We were so glad to have a home, even if for less than 24 hours, and eat our first meal of the day.
Hapuwani Village Lodge
Mount Mulanje in the horizon
Our day was spent in search of internet and that meant we left the country a day earlier than planned. We also didn’t think it’d be possible to make it so far in one day. Now we’d have a month to wander around Malawi, a county we’d heard good praises about since arriving in Africa.
Helpful tips:
- If you can get a visa before reaching the border, do so. It is $25 more expensive, but worth the hassle.
- Transport along the main road, N1, in Mozambique is much easier than trying to move North/South closer to the Western border.
- When changing money on the street, always check the bills and make sure they don’t double count the bills.
What an amazing trip you are having. Mulanje is stunning so sure you will enjoy. Miss you from Zimbabwe . Val