I went to Mozambique in late 2018 and traveled around the country and it was as wild as it could possibly get. I went clubbing with an ex gangster and hanged out with him for 3 out of 7 days!

My trip to Mozambique started as crazy as possible, when I met my local friend Henry in the city center of Maputo. I had walked around the city all day, and then Henry called me to pick me up at the beach side. Henry is a business owner with a big solar power company in Maputo, Mozambique. We had some Mozambican dinner and the best local Mozambican beer ever, and then we went straight to a night out in Maputo. Henry introduced me to his newest employee and friend in his transport company, an ex gangster and ex car hijacker, who now tried to change his life after a long time in prison, and was trying to get out on the right side. Pretty crazy to go out with a guy with that history, but I believe in the best in human, and if someone is nice to me, I’ll be nice to them! Period!

Crazy Time With Henry And His Friend

I had a crazy and good time with Henry and his gangster friend, but I must admit I wasn’t feeling totally relaxed at all times, because of the saying once a criminal, always a criminal! I let the guy take pictures with my phone and even hold some of my belongings and I was honestly a nerve wreck most of the time!

Stopped By Corrupt Police A Lot In Maputo

I was stopped 5 times by the corrupt police in Maputo on my solo walk around the city on my 1st day, and because I didn’t want to pay for anything, I wasted some time where they had to look in my bag and do some checks ups on me etc. Really annoying to be looked at like a money object from the police, when you just want to chill and hangout with the nice population here! It was crazy to see how my gangster friend handled these situation with the police. All the time he just gave them a little something, and then he was allowed to go. I found out it wasn’t only me who had to deal with situations like that with the police here in Mozambique, especially when the police fined my gangster friend, because they claimed he didn’t come when they ask him to come, even though I was there and saw it wasn’t true AT ALL what the police said! Henry told me the police make around $200 a month in salary, but a lot more with this hustling mentality!

Leaving Maputo To Explore Mozambique

Henry and I left Maputo and we left his gangster friend, and even though I liked him, it was a kind of a relieve to just be with Henry and to escape the corrupt police a bit in Maputo. We enjoyed the beach a lot and I especially loved to chill out in Macaneta and see some extremely beautiful beaches up on the coast!

Mozambique has a coastline stretching roughly 1,535 miles along the Indian Ocean and some very beautiful beaches! It was great to see another side of this country!

Would I Hang Out With A Gangster Again?

I learned a lot from hanging out for 3 days with a gangster in Mozambique. First of all I learned to not be too judgemental about other people with a certain past, because he was actually a nice guy, who had just made a lot of wrong decisions is his ‘previous life.’ I always have a certain skepticism about new people in new places until I get to know them, and I think it’s a good thing to have a bit of skepticism, because then you can only get a positive surprise. I surely had a really positive experience in Mozambique with Henry, with this ex-gangster and with the local population, and I learned that crime won’t benefit you in the long run and I hope this ex-gangster has learned the same thing. All the good people will want to do good, rather than do bad in the end. That’s the moral of the story and I have no problem with hanging out with people who have taken their punishment and who is now willing to change their life for the better.

What a Week In Mozambique

What a life lesson it was for me to come to Mozambique to meet the people I met here. I surely learned a lot and I hope to come back to Mozambique one day.

Gustav

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