We get up very early. Today we have a long road trip to Gorongosa. They have told us several times that from today another journey begins, deep Mozambique, with less infrastructure, fewer tourists, … We take the road that goes north, one of the few roads in the country that is more or less paved. At nine we have to be on the bridge that crosses the Save River. From this, the country is controlled in that part by Renamo, the opposition political party and that for a long time has acted with guerrilla… Although a peace agreement has recently been signed, we must go with an escort.
There is a certain tension, We don't know if it is a serious problem or if it can be solved quickly.
We arrived at the Save River bridge in time, We cross it and since we don't see a tail, We believe that an escort is no longer necessary.. However, we began to see trucks stopped on the side of the road., increasingly, large trucks loaded with logs, huge indefinite loads wrapped with black tarps… We queue; suddenly we realize that the small jeep we are driving has problems. The water pump has broken. There is a certain tension, We don't know if it is a serious problem or if it can be solved quickly. … In the end we have to leave the car and all go to the big jeep. This means restructuring luggage, leave some things for camping in the next few days, … We all take the road inside the big car, we follow the convoy that must escort us. In the end we were able to solve it faster than I thought.. We have left the other car with the driver waiting for him to repair it and catch us later.
We move along the road, It's in better condition than I thought.. We make some sandwiches halfway to eat. After a couple of hours we are at the entrance to Gorongosa National Park., the next stop. The deepest Mozambique begins. We set up camp in the park's camping area. It is actually a lodge with bungalows, but we camp. We set up the stores, We prepare the fire and we go to have a beer at the camp bar. Today for dinner we make bread with tomato and ham. We always carry some packaged sausage when we travel to places like this. The impromptu dinner was fantastic, we have toasted the bread on the embers of the bonfire, We have spread it with tomato and we have eaten it with a little ham, salami and chorizo??. Addition, We had already bought a couple of bottles of South African red wine for one of these dinners., o sea, that has come out round.
Saturday 16
We woke up early in the morning to the sound of rain.. We must run to store the suitcases and everything we had left outside the stores.. We sleep again until the light of dawn wakes us. It dawns very early, about six. it keeps raining. It's strange because we are in the dry season and in Gorongosa it doesn't rain much now.. We improvise a breakfast based on cookies, juices and some fruit.
We start a game drive, what we call a safari. They have recently banned the entry of private cars, so we have to go with a car and a park ranger. It is an open nine-seater vehicle with very good vision. Gorongosa had been one of the best parks in Africa in the years 70, but the civil war wiped out wildlife. This area was especially affected by war, Much of the land was mined and people killed all the animals to eat them.. Now there is a fauna reintroduction program and, little by little, being repopulated with native species.
Before us opens the great plain of Gorongosa
We leave the camp in search of animals. Fortunately the rain has stopped. The landscape is different from the other parks. But no savannah subtropical forest with dense vegetation. The predominant tree is the yellow acacia. The color of the bark of these trees, along with the moisture that has brought rain, the loneliness of the place, the silence and the morning light creates a mysterious atmosphere. Before us opens the great plain of Gorongosa, a vast expanse of flat land dotted with green vegetation that forms a large lagoon in the rainy season. Everywhere multitude of various antelopes, impalas, waterbucks, must, Oribi, bushbucks, redbucks, … It is the most abundant animal in the park. Reproducing Javier's words, If Eden existed, it would be the Gorongosa plain.
We continue advancing along the paths of the park. What a difference with the Kruger. There's nobody here. The Kruger is a park-show where everyone enters with their car and along the paved roads following the previously marked routes.. We turn off along a path and a group of lions appear before us.. There are two lionesses and six cubs.. They are lying on the dry grass moistened by the night rain. The puppies look like little stuffed toys playing with each other, throwing themselves on top of their mothers, looking for some attention. They offer us an unforgettable show.
We continue the safari, we keep seeing all kinds of antelopes. In the background the silhouette of an elephant is drawn. Gorongosa elephants are known for their aggressiveness. Poaching has made these animals unfriendly. sees us, pay attention to our movements, It seems as if they were rethinking whether to charge against us or not.. Finally he decides to continue eating acacia branches. It starts to rain again. We are finishing the tour. We return to the stores, while we wait for the food, We review the thousand photographs we have taken of the lions. Spectacular.
Sunday 17
We get up early like every day. Today we have one of the longest days on the road. We have to go to Tete, technical stop to get to Malawi, since the journey cannot be done in a single day. In total it is about five hours. I thought it would get heavier. The road is pretty good. We arrived in Tete at four in the afternoon. We are at the Masolosolo Lodge, on the banks of the Zambezi River. We arrived just before sunset. The lodge is an oasis in the middle of a mining town without any charm, but you are lucky to be in front of the place where local people come to wash their clothes and wash themselves.
They offer us a show worthy of a documentary. The river has three sections, that of women, that of children and that of men. They wash clothes, they soap up, … Typical African scene. The sun sets on the opposite shore, dyeing the water of one of the mythical rivers of Africa with reddish and orange tones.
Monday 18
We had breakfast on the banks of the Zambezi watching in the background how the women washed clothes in the river. Today we have another long stretch of road to Malawi. I am curious to know this country. The road is not in bad condition, It looks like it has been paved since last year.. As we move north, the landscape and climate are changing. It's getting hotter and hotter. More and more baobabs are seen in the countryside, the typical african tree, of fleshy vines and small branches at the top. There are always people around the road, It is a constant throughout Africa, wherever you are, whatever time it is, There is always someone walking along the road.
The largest bill they have is 1000, which in turn are 2 €
The land is barren. There are no crops. It is a shame that a country like this does not exploit agriculture more. People base their lives on subsistence and the government is only interested in accumulating personal wealth through the trade of gas and other natural resources.. We reach the border. Personal procedures are easy and fast, but cars are more complicated, They must clear customs and process insurance. We change a little currency. In Malawi they use kwatcha. A local currency that is not quoted anywhere. The largest bill they have is 1000, which in turn are 2 €. You can already imagine what a country is like where the largest bill has this value..
Malawi was one of the first African countries to become independent from the United Kingdom.. It is a small country, with a large population and a low life expectancy, 53 years. It is also one of the poorest places in the world. Crossing the border we go towards Liwonde. It is a natural park. We stayed at Bushman's Baobab Lodge. It's in the middle of the park. We are in a luxury tents, large tents with bed and bathroom. A luxury, surrounded by huge baobabs. The heat is pressing, but the place invites you to relax on the porch that the store has, waiting for dinner time …
Let's take a walk around the camp. We go up to an observation platform. We see the river, the reeds that sway to the rhythm of the wind and an elephant that makes its way, slow, with a firm step, eating grass and branches. We follow the river bank, Between the reeds you can see the paths that the hippos make to get closer to the water. Occasionally, some fishermen in small wooden canoes ply the calm waters of the stream. The elephant that we have seen from the platform appears before us. He crosses the field with an impassive look. He has seen us, but continue on your way.
Hidden among baobabs, the typical image of Africa appears before us
We return to the camp and have a beer at the collective bar, a honestity bar, typical of these places. Everyone takes what they want from the refrigerators and writes it down in a notebook.. It's starting to get dark. We watch the sunset from the lodge platform. The sky is acquiring very strong orange tones. Hidden among baobabs, The typical image of Africa that we immortalize through photographs appears before us.. It's dinner time. We share the food with the other guests of the lodge: rice, vegetables, potato, roast, …
It's dark night. In a corner there is a space where a bonfire is made every afternoon.. We sit on the seats surrounding the fire and contemplate the playful flames that build whimsical shapes with the air., while we drink Amarula, the typical South African liquor made from the fruits of this tree and we looked closely at the starry sky with the Milky Way and the constellations of the southern hemisphere. The lodge is an authentic camp in the purest style of African safaris. The atmosphere and the shops remind me of some scenes from the movie Mogambo. It's like they suddenly had to show up at the Clark Gable store next door., Grace Kelly o Ava Gadner.
Time passes slowly. Here we live at a different pace and at other times., from sunrise to sunset. It's nine at night and it seems like midnight. let's go to sleep. Tomorrow we rise with the sun.
