Day 69 – Mozambique, Vilanculo, - 260kms - Sunday 5th of August
Despite what we were told by the staff at the hotel, the road was actually not too bad. Some sections were damaged and turned into a dirt track, but it was easy to maintain speed.
We arrived at our destination sooner than expected, early afternoon. The first place we had in mind, the Baobab Beach Camp, was full.

We then rode to the Beach Village Backpackers Camp, few hundreds meters down the same lane. It was empty. Not a single guest. That is never a good sign. However, the place looked very nice, so we took a hut with en-suite bathroom, as rustic as you can expect, although the price tag was not, at 45$. But then, it is a popular town with holidaymakers, with prices to match.
The hut was missing bed sheets, towels and even toilet paper. The floor was dirty and covered with dirt and dead flies.
I asked the guy at reception to remedy this and a woman came who could really not be bothered! The dead flies remained but at least we had bed sheets and towels as they were supposed to be provided! I washed some of my clothes in the sink while Alistair went into town to find a shop, as we needed drinking water at least. The tap water in Mozambique was not drinkable.
We were not sure if the place would provide dinner or any sort of food. The two women who apparently worked there, were busy sunbathing by the pool, giving me dirty looks because I had dared to disturbed them and asked for towels and bed linen! The guy in charge of the bar and reception was sleeping near the bar. Some places are so welcoming!
We walked along the beach at 4:30pm to get some sort of dinner at the nearby Baobab beach camp. The place was full, lively, with smiling staff serving drinks and dinner in the well-kept gardens, a receptionist arranging excursions and WiFi working! It was such a contrast with our camp!
The lady managing the Baobab camp came to talk to us while we ate our dinner, and gave us the WiFi password, although it is supposed to be for paying guests only. She was very welcoming. She knew our accommodation, next door, and felt sorry for us and encouraged us to use the Baobab’s facilities.

We walked back to our camp before nightfall as we were warned at the Baobab that it was not safe to walk around after dark.