TRAVEL WRITING CHALLENGE

Magnificent Moments in Mozambique

The A to Z of my favorite travel destinations

I usually don’t have expectations for a destination as it just calls for disappointment but this time was different. While I was excited about reaching a tropical beach, I didn’t expect it to be so beautiful.

I stopped with my alphabet of travel destinations when our laptop including all hard drives got stolen in December. I had to. While I still had memories, I had no more photos to share. The backup hard drive was back home at my parent’s place.

Also, I didn’t come up with a destination with the letter “M” and soon decided it was going to be Mozambique. Even before I first placed foot into the country and before the immigration officers refused to issue me a visa and held me at the border for over 4 hours. Also before we heard about the approaching cyclone and before we experienced our first serious tropical storm.

And still, after all of this, I insist on writing about this African country as we fell in love with all of it. Well, not everything. Certainly not the road conditions.

We went snorkeling and diving. We saw turtles and swam with whale sharks. We drank cocktails on the beach and watches locals playing soccer next to the sea. We stayed and waited out a cyclone while an English guy decided to make the best of the weather and go surfing.

I could probably write a book about my stay and experience in Mozambique which is why I am going to narrow down this article to one specific resort and campsite we stayed at that also started with the letter M and remained my favorite one.

Morrungulo

When I found this campsite online, I had a feeling it was going to be amazing and had high expectations even though I usually try to avoid expecting anything from a place as it just calls for disappointment.

But I had no idea how perfect the camp was going to be.

As soon as we turned off the main road, the smile on my face came on, and didn't leave until days after we left. We were driving on a red sandy track, passing small villages and through a forest of coconut palm trees.

Just as we climbed up the hill, the resort was in front of us. And while this place had something like 50 campsites, arriving in the low season didn't just mean we spent less per night but also were the only visitors at camp.

Walking out of the reception I was left speechless when the bay opened up in front of my eyes and an endless beach could be seen down below.

Right there, down by the turquoise blue water of the Indian Ocean was going to be our camp. Beach front. Of course, what else?

No fence between us and the tropical beach. Only palm trees for shade and coconuts for hydration. Yep, we arrived in paradise.

The following two days, I spent between my hammock and the ocean. Relaxing in the shade, going for endless walks along the beach and taking a cooling dip in the sea.

I even could watch the stars at night reflecting in the sea. It wasn't just my favorite campsite in all of Mozambique, it was a place to remember. Where we made memories.

And because Mozambique has such a pretty flag, I’m going to share some information on it that was written on the back of the badge we bought for our backpacks.

The flag was adopted in 1983. The symbolism attached to it is accepted as follows.

• Green. The land and its riches.
• Black. African continent.
• Gold. Mineral wealth.
• Red triangle. Represents the fight for freedom.
• The white stripes represent peace.
• The open book is for education.
• The hoe for agriculture.
• The Ak47 for military and the fight for freedom.

This is a response to a writing prompt started by Sam Millichap and many have participated since. I’m so happy to see the community is growing. So many amazing destinations coming up. We welcome anyone to join the fun. Write your own alphabet of your favorite travel destinations.

Sam Millichap with “M is for Miyajima (宮島)”

Adrienne Beaumont with “ Mevagissey”

Robert G. Longpré with “Merida, Mexico”

Darren Weir with “My Two Favorite Places On The French Riviera”

Michael Rhodes with “ Joshua Tree National Park”

Jerry Dwyer with “ London”

Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages with “G is For Greece”

Nishan Fuard with “Anaheim: I Remember the Parking Lot from the Hotel Window”

Ronald Smit with “A is for … Ada Foah”

You can find the full series of the “A to Z of my favorite travel destinations” in the reading list here. And these are my latest ones:

J — “St. Jakob in Tyrol — Another Childhood Travel Destination”

K — “Sleeping in a Floating Cottage — Khao Sok National Park”

L - "Langbinsi — Where Donkeys Walk on Sandy Roads"

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