We had spent three full days in Vilankulos, longer than we had stayed anywhere since Moshi, so it was perhaps understandable that the preparations for leaving the comforts of our beachside campsite took slightly longer than usual. By the time we had wheeled our bikes through the sand and begrudgingly saddled up (for some this was less comfortable than others - Rick's saddle rails had finally snapped clean through, so left him with a floppy saddle attached by an old inner tube) it was 7 o'clock.
As one might have expected no miracles had been performed and as soon as we were back on the road, we found ourselves back in the throws of our old enemy, the mighty headwind. Distances and plans for the two day stint to the next beachsite resort of Tofo were conflicting, we knew it was between 250 - 300km, however with Gunnar feeling the effects of an upset stomach the 50 km made a big difference. Nevertheless, with a ferry crossing the next day, we resolved to make as much ground as possible on this first day.
I have to confess that these two days cycling have come as a late turning point for me, a turning point which i think for Rick happened a few days previously, out of Tete. I really felt that 6 hours cycling per day has now become habitual and our bodies had adapted. Wheras previously I would be patiently waiting for lunch to arrive and have the chance to rest, or to reach the end of the day so that I could rest my weary legs, these two days felt comfortable. At lunch we felt chirpy and even fairly well rested. And all this just in time for us to finish our challenge. For Gunnar the challenge was different, feeling the effects of his loss of appetite and stomach pains, he showed the depths of his resolve to battle out the 140k we completed on the first day.
Although the headwind stayed with us for the entire two days (bar a final 10 km into Tofo) the scenery began to gradually change from the treed scrubland, to enormous glades of coconut trees as far as the eye could see. The ceaseless flat landscaped also became punctated by gradual hills which took a few minutes to scale but took some of the boredom from the journey (yes, thats right, we have come to look forward to the hills...).
The general rule seemed that the further south we cycled the more developed and commercial towns became, with well-stocked shops and bars and restaurants. The one exception was finding a lunch spot out on the first ride out of Vilankulos, spotting a suitable place on the map, we arrived to find a smaller-than-the-font-suggested village. Unsurprisingly for Mozambique there was no restaurant, so we planned to buy some veg and cook our own. However no luck, despite a handful of shops nowhere sold any fresh fruit or veg. In fact, the only lunchable food was a tin of sardines. That's not to say the shops were bare, in fact they were well stocked, with fizzy drinks, alcohol, biscuits and cigarettes. When we asked the locals what they ate, it varied from "cold drinks and biscuits", to "gin and cigarettes".
With continued strong efforts from Gunnar, we made Maxixe, our launchpoint to the beach headland of Inhambane, by lunch the following day. From here we took a dubious ride on what can only be described as a large motorised dingy, with our bikes strapped to the roof, across the choppy inlet to Inhambane town. For the whole 20 min journey we were half expecting to see a large splash as our bikes slid from the roof. When we arrived in Inhambane we were pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful ex-colonial town which would barely be out of place on the Mediterranean coast. Furthermore we were well furnished with a tasty burger and chips.
Our final 15km doubled back on ourselves up the coast, and so reaped the rewards of our work into the headwind, as we clipped along the coast toward the northern coastal resort of Tofo. We found ourselves well rewarded by a huge arcing beach, with crashing waves and almost entirely deserted. Here we have rested ourselves, eaten some of biggest prawns i have ever seen and spent our time surfing to varying degrees of "radness", of note it was Gunnar's first efforts on a surfboard. The good news for our final leg is that Gunnars stomach has settled and the Norwegian powerhouse is back. So, when we make our final 3 1/2 day journey to Maputo on Sunday, it will be with a fully fit complement. The one element we cannot control is the roadworthyness of our bikes, both Rick and I are suffering from increasingly loose front bearings and a worsening wobbly cranks. However, with a bit of luck, they should last the last few hundred kilometres.
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| Fishermen come in at sunrise in Vilankulos |
I have to confess that these two days cycling have come as a late turning point for me, a turning point which i think for Rick happened a few days previously, out of Tete. I really felt that 6 hours cycling per day has now become habitual and our bodies had adapted. Wheras previously I would be patiently waiting for lunch to arrive and have the chance to rest, or to reach the end of the day so that I could rest my weary legs, these two days felt comfortable. At lunch we felt chirpy and even fairly well rested. And all this just in time for us to finish our challenge. For Gunnar the challenge was different, feeling the effects of his loss of appetite and stomach pains, he showed the depths of his resolve to battle out the 140k we completed on the first day.
 |
| Gunnar sleeps through lunch |
Although the headwind stayed with us for the entire two days (bar a final 10 km into Tofo) the scenery began to gradually change from the treed scrubland, to enormous glades of coconut trees as far as the eye could see. The ceaseless flat landscaped also became punctated by gradual hills which took a few minutes to scale but took some of the boredom from the journey (yes, thats right, we have come to look forward to the hills...).
The general rule seemed that the further south we cycled the more developed and commercial towns became, with well-stocked shops and bars and restaurants. The one exception was finding a lunch spot out on the first ride out of Vilankulos, spotting a suitable place on the map, we arrived to find a smaller-than-the-font-suggested village. Unsurprisingly for Mozambique there was no restaurant, so we planned to buy some veg and cook our own. However no luck, despite a handful of shops nowhere sold any fresh fruit or veg. In fact, the only lunchable food was a tin of sardines. That's not to say the shops were bare, in fact they were well stocked, with fizzy drinks, alcohol, biscuits and cigarettes. When we asked the locals what they ate, it varied from "cold drinks and biscuits", to "gin and cigarettes".
With continued strong efforts from Gunnar, we made Maxixe, our launchpoint to the beach headland of Inhambane, by lunch the following day. From here we took a dubious ride on what can only be described as a large motorised dingy, with our bikes strapped to the roof, across the choppy inlet to Inhambane town. For the whole 20 min journey we were half expecting to see a large splash as our bikes slid from the roof. When we arrived in Inhambane we were pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful ex-colonial town which would barely be out of place on the Mediterranean coast. Furthermore we were well furnished with a tasty burger and chips.
 |
| Rick drops in on a "bomb" |
Our final 15km doubled back on ourselves up the coast, and so reaped the rewards of our work into the headwind, as we clipped along the coast toward the northern coastal resort of Tofo. We found ourselves well rewarded by a huge arcing beach, with crashing waves and almost entirely deserted. Here we have rested ourselves, eaten some of biggest prawns i have ever seen and spent our time surfing to varying degrees of "radness", of note it was Gunnar's first efforts on a surfboard. The good news for our final leg is that Gunnars stomach has settled and the Norwegian powerhouse is back. So, when we make our final 3 1/2 day journey to Maputo on Sunday, it will be with a fully fit complement. The one element we cannot control is the roadworthyness of our bikes, both Rick and I are suffering from increasingly loose front bearings and a worsening wobbly cranks. However, with a bit of luck, they should last the last few hundred kilometres.
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