Two Days on Ilha de Moçambique

Ilha de Moçambique/Mozambique Island/The Island of Mozambique is the most touristy spot I’ve visited in Mozambique so far. However, that’s not really saying all that much considering I’m in Northern Mozambique. It is considerably less developed here than it is down south (where it is closer to South Africa), but I’ve also found the people much more friendly than in Maputo so…

Mozambique Island used to be the capital of Mozambique, and from what I was told, the first place the Portuguese settled. Mozambique has since become independant, and as such all that seems to be of the Portuguese are the old crumbling buildings and the use of Portugueuse as the main language. The island is a UNESCO world heritage site, and walking around the island you can see people painting or repairing dilapidated buildings. 

I spent my first day aimlessly wandering around. I had no plan for the day, except to find cash. I had found on ATM on the island but it wasn’t working. Worried and concerned because I didn’t have enough meticais on me to last two days I considered several options, try and exchange some of my USD or rand? Go to a bank and somehow get them to give me cash?? In the end I found an ATM and there was plenty of mets in it, so my problem was solved in about an hour.

My curry that looked like raw fish but was actually cabbage ...

After that I set about finding food. I had spent the morning walking around in the heat, my water bottle was just about empty and I wasn’t sure exactly where my accommodation was anymore (Ruby Backpackers isn’t on google maps!). I ventured into an airconditioned café where I ate some vegetable curry and rice (although when I first got the dish I thought the cabbage was raw fish or something and freaked out), and sat for a while. I haven’t been able to find WiFi anywhere in Northern Mozambique, so buying a sim card with data was a very good investment in Maputo. It was there that I bought my return ticket back to Johannesburg from Blantyre, Malawi. I know have an official end date to my summer of travel (20^th of Feb).

I also visited the museum on the island where I was given a tour for 100met (less than $2aud). The Governor's lived here and had rooms built for the kings of Portugal who never came. It was quite interesting looking around, but I wasn't allowed to take any photos.

I walked around for a bit more of the afternoon, being greeted by kids and sitting down to watch the world go by. There isn’t much to do on the island otherwise. The Stone Town here is much less chaotic and touristy than the one in Zanzibar. In Zanzibar you’re inundated with people trying to sell you things and do things, on Ilha no one really bothers.

Organised that afternoon to go snorkelling the next day, and spent the evening on the terrace of Ruby Backpackers where I watched a magnificent sunset.  That night there were terribly loud thunderstorms, perhaps it was because the room I’m in (an empty dorm room) and so it was echoing, but the power had gone out so I spent most of the evening under my mosquito net and avoiding moving (to avoid sweating ... the fan obviously wasn't working).

Woke up to power in the morning and got ready to go snorkelling the next day (ie. applying copious amounts of sunscreen). I got picked up by my guide at 8:30am, and we walked tot he dock where we hopped on a dhow. For 2000meticais he would take me to a lagoon where I could spend the morning snorkelling and spying on fishies, lunch, and then to go see a Swahili village. The dhow ride was smooth sailing, and it was about 30minutes before we were on the mainland. From there we walked about 15 minutes to the lagoon, which is out the front of a fancy lodge. There was no one else there, so I got the whole space to myself.

Spent the next few hours snorkelling. While it was a little cloudy (probably due to the rain from the night before), there were lots of fish to be seen, as well as a few crabs. Apparently some of the locals come here to catch fish to eat, which is a shame. I had a very enjoyable morning and once I was done snorkelling, went for a quick wander to the nearby beach. This was another stunning Mozambique beach, with turquoise blue waters and white sand.

I had had to add an extra 500 meticais to the price of my tour for lunch ($9, expensive for Mozambique), so was a bit miffed to just be given a plate of tomato rice. I was hoping for some matapa at least. The guide and the two guys sailing the boat enjoyed some calamari however ... It was good though, and I was very hungry after all the swimming.

The plan was to go to a Swahili fishing village, but the clouds overhead were ominous and it was decided to go back. As soon as we started walking rain started to splatter and we had to duck under some rocks before it was clear enough to set out for the boat. I had my phone and my camera on me so I was a bit worried, but my backpack proved pretty water resistant. When the rain stopped for a bit we went and hopped on the dhow, and from there we had a dry trip back to Ilha. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent indoors because of the rain and the thunder. The power also went out twice so I was left sitting in the dark. Tomorrow I go to Nampula, via car this time however. The guide I was with has to go to Nampula with someone else, and said I could come for 1500 mets ($28). Considering the chapa ride to Nampula and the taxi ride to my accomodation would come at $10 anyways, it seemed wise to avoid the pain of the cramped chapa, and from having to catch it at 3am (3am is no exaggeration. That's apparently when they all leave, does no one sleep here??). It's ironic that all the buses and chapas in Mozambique leave so early in the morning, when no shops are properly opened until at least 10am.

Once I arrive in Nampula I'll but a train ticket to head to Cuamba for the following day, and then brave the 12 hour train journey. I read somewhere it is one of the most difficult train journeys in Africa, by I only have a little while longer on this trip so I'm sure I can brave it.