Long weekends are made for road trips with friends! There are few better destinations than Mozambique for just such a long weekend. Invite a couple of friends – even if it is only a week before – and you are sure to have a wonderful time.

Most days in Mozambique take a similar pattern. Enjoy a relaxed breakfast. Spend a relaxed day on the beach. Relax while enjoying one of the many activities. Have a relaxed dinner of seafood or Portuguese chicken. Relax while dancing the night away. Relax. Sleep. Repeat.

On previous Mozambique trips, we went scuba diving or snorkeling on amazing reefs, bursting with abundant sea life. We strolled around local markets, taking in the smell of fresh fish and bartering with locals for the best of their wares.

This time we settled on a quad bike booze cruise in the late afternoon. Bikes? Drinking? Nightfall? Yes, yes, yes, it sounds dangerous. And yes. It is loads of fun! A short trip to the first bar was enough time to get used to the bike and to find out you only use about 10% of the bike’s full power – safety is such a bitch. The nerves settled with a cold one and a short one – for reasons known to the person responsible – and we got back on the bikes to take on the gravel roads. An hour ago, everybody was nervous and barely knew what to do, now we are all professionals. It is magical what a short break can do. As night settled around us, the waxing crescent moon kept us company before it set in the west. The sound of the bike engines drowned out my crazy howls of joy.

We pulled up to the next bar. It was packed with people, some dancing on the table, some with each other, but everyone with a smile on their face. If it was not for the R&R in my hand I would have thought, we were in Pretoria. For you see, again my howls of joy were drowned out, but this time by Afrikaans music blaring over the speakers. All too soon it was back on the bikes and onto the next stop. Very chilled compared to the previous one, but not less fun. It might have been because of another short one, but it might also have been because of the crazy dancing we did on a pole. Don’t ask. We danced with no care in the world. Really!

There is something about Mozambique that reach my soul. I did not understand it after my first couple of visits, but I do now. There is this calmness to life. You can’t help but to smile. The cocktails in a tropical setting does help, but it is more than just a normal holiday where all your troubles are left at the border. You can’t help but to relax. You can’t help but to enjoy every moment. As life, should be.

Suddenly a long weekend is not long enough. The lazy days on the beach is coming to an end. On the road, back I reminisce about my previous trips. On one of the trips we may or may not have driven 24 hours on a trip that took less than half that on the return journey and on another, the diving in Barra was followed up by one of the best impromptu pub crawls. From great times in the pools, the best prawn braai I ever had to dancing to the strangest sound track. One thing is certain, with a calmness in my heart, I know my fourth time won’t be my last.