Mozambique is one of the countries we only "touch" on our trip. The north remains too dangerous to travel due to armed conflict. We learn about the role played by Wahhabism's influence and Total Energie's gas extraction project from Navid Kermani's worthwhile book "In the Other Direction Now."

We cross the country with only one stopover via the so-called Tete Corridor between Malawi and Zimbabwe.

Everyone raves about the wonderful beaches in the south of the country. But with our trip, we're entering a time horizon where we have to start setting priorities and leaving things out. And so the beaches are left behind, and we've about 1,000 km less to drive :-)

The border crossing is somewhat socialist. The car is photographed. And because there's only one official camera, the passport clerk has to wait. Then every passport page is photographed, even the blank ones. The accommodation booking is checked. Two payment slips for the visa have been filled out. And all of this is happening at an extraordinary slow pace. Meanwhile, we have to wait outside the door and can only occasionally peek into the office.

What we see of Mozambique shows a country full of contrasts between rich and poor. Those in the mining business have a lot of money. So do those in the energy business. Everyone else is poor. The selection of goods in the supermarket is good, if you can pay for it. And you can pay for everything, everywhere, with a credit card, even the delicious little nata at the bakery...