When I
walked into the apartment for the first time, I soon realized that my Peace Corps
experience would not be even close to the fantasies of thatched huts and
hauling water that I had been imagining since I started the application process
so long ago. During training, Mafe and I had no shortage of stories of people
who had been to Angoche. Everyone gushed how beautiful, safe, and nice it was
that we had little doubt we were going to a great place.
Angoche
is a town of about 80,000 people on the coast in Nampula province. It is a
strange town because it has many beautiful buildings that were built in the
last 50 years, only to stand empty today. There is a huge tree lined boulevard
that is used by a few bicycles, motorcycles, and the random car. There are
marble storefronts leading to windowless, abandoned buildings. The center of
town is all made of cement, and there are usually few people walking around
town. Then, walking further from the center reveals neighborhoods with tons of
people, spending time between houses that can be made of anything from brick to
sticks.The people of Angoche speak Koti, a language only spoken in this city
and the surrounding areas.
The
city is located on a bay with mangrove trees lining the water. A 20 minute walk
and short canoe taxi ride gets you to the beautiful beach peninsula of Thamole.
Seven kilometers from town is the gorgeous and mostly deserted beach of Praia
Nova. It’s been rare to see anyone but fishermen pulling in their nets on these
two beaches and the white sand stretches for miles.
Although
Angoche is a fairly large town by Mozambique standards, it is pretty isolated.
It takes anywhere from 3.5 to 5 hours to travel to here from Nampula city. The
road is mostly dirt and sand, with so many potholes the drivers go from one
side of the road to the other to try to find the smoothest path. Normally,
there aren’t any cars going in the opposite direction so that works pretty
well. Every once in a while there is a stretch of smooth pavement that usually
lasts for a mile or two then suddenly disappears into another long stretch of
dirt. Then, after thinking you are in the middle of nowhere, you reach a city
full of street lights, multi-story buildings, park benches, stores and a bank.
The road ends at an outlook on the water so you can’t go any further. That’s
how you know you’ve arrived in Angoche.
Our
apartment is in the center of the cement part of town. We sit atop a hill on
the second floor, so we can see the ocean from every window of the house. We
have tons of space and the previous volunteers left us plenty of furniture,
kitchen utensils, and everyday necessities. Mafe and I got comfortable here
very quickly.
