First Night In Vilanculos

I stayed at Baobab Beach Backpackers and I loved it. My room was huge and the view was amazing. In the evening the common area was always packed with people so it was impossible not to make friends. If I ever go back to Vilanculos I'd definitely stay there again.

This was the view from outside my room

I was starting to get bored of staying indoors in the evenings, there's so much of your own company you can take. I tried not to go out when it was dark but it was my first night and I was excited so I decided to go out for dinner. Here's a video of me acting a fool..

I went to a restaurant called Leopoldina's. It was tiny with just three plastic tables and a few chairs. I got a prawn matapa and although it looked like baby's diarrhoea, it was fucking delicious.

I sat on my own on the far left table, there was a man and a woman sitting on the middle table, and two guys and a girl sitting on the far right. None of us had ordered yet. The man in the middle, his name was Hugo, looked over to me and asked if I was on my own.

"Yeah I am."
"Come over and join us if you like."

I can't even tell you how happy that made me. I shot up as if I was waiting for him to ask. I went and sat with them, then the girl that was sitting on the table on the right said "hey, what about us?". We all laughed and Hugo told them that they could come too, so we put the two tables together to make one big table. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. In that moment I was so happy.

Nicoletta, the woman sitting with Hugo, asked "So why are you guys here? What's your story?".

Oh man.

Hugo went first. He was a diver and travelled to countries where he could be an instructor. He never stayed in a place more than a couple months, but he loved Mozambique so much that he came back and moved here permanently.

Nicoletta took a year out to travel the world. She told us all the countries she's been to, in order. I really wanted to know how much money she saved up to be able to do that but I thought it would be rude to ask. She seemed to be a strong, independent woman and I liked that about her.

Then it was my turn. I looked down and went silent for what seemed like forever. I took a sip of my drink.

"Okay so... I fell head over heels in love with this guy.."

Their expression changed, they all had this big smile on their face. I think I even heard someone say 'aww'.

"No no. It doesn't end well.."

Nicoletta stopped me. "Would you have travelled here on your own if it wasn't for your situation?"

"Umm, no".

"So it does end well then. Everything happens for a reason. This was meant to happen to you, so you could experience this."

I wanted to cry. Fuck man when did you turn into such a pansy? I downed my drink and finished my story. They stopped me at some points to ask me questions like, 'why did you book a ticket so soon after knowing him' or 'why didn't you just save yourself the bother and not come' and all I could do was answer honestly.

Because I was in love.

Beatrice's story gave me goosebumps. She was amazing. She came to Mozambique to find her dad. About 20 something years ago, Germany deported all the Mozambicans that went there for work. She was only two when he had to leave. All she had of him was a picture that was decades old, and his social security number in Germany that meant nothing in Mozambique. She started searching for him two years ago. She went from village to village, showing people the picture she had, asking them if they had seen this man. When she felt like she was getting somewhere, she ran out of time and had to fly back to Germany. A year later, she went back to Mozambique and started where she left off. She went back to the same man she spoke to last and he said "Now that you're back, I can see you're not lying. The man you're looking for is my cousin". (At this point I was really fighting back tears. I'm a soppy git, I've come to terms with it now.) She went back this year so her boyfriend could meet her dad.

The other two guys were Chris and Bas. Chris was Bea's boyfriend, and Bas was Bea's friend that was working in Maputo last year and had decided to come back for a holiday.

We all exchanged Facebook's and numbers. Hugo and Nicoletta left, and us four went to a stall that was open (all the bars were closed, it was pretty late and it was a weekday) that sold beer. I forgot I hated beer for a second and bought one. We had a nice chat and I left them about an hour later to walk back.

I went to sleep that night with a smile on my face. I made the right choice going to Vilanculos.