Merry Christmas to Mozambiquan traffic officers.

The internet is free tonight due to a malfunction in the wifi server woohoo!, However the beer is not and they will hit you up around R20 for a beer aargh. On the way here down the coast road, we were pulled over, by the ~~military~~ traffic police and asked for a “Boas Festes Gorjeta” or “Merry Christmas Tip” or a 500 Mtn ($15) fine. 100 Mtn ($4) seemed to be sufficient. I was instructed to hand it to him discreetly, then we were on our way.

–Update, we were pulled over a further 3 times last night, so it seems to be a weekend event (Petrol money for thier motor-cruisers), but the trick seems to be to speak to them in English. I was letting others do the talking for me in Portuguese. I am not sure if they are hesitant to “tax” tourists or over eager to extort from the ex-colonialists, but I think there is something to it.

See more of Sarah’s great pictures here.