It was very different crossing back into Mozambique, this time from Zimbabwe. It was a bit of a shock when I arrived in Choimoi and everyone spoke Portuguese! I eventually found somewhere to stay as I waited for the bus the following day. That night I shared dinner with a couple that were staying in the hostel, it was nice to have some western company after zim.
The buses in Mozambique all leave at 4 am in the morning. I cannot understand this!! Even if it is only a 5hr bus trip they still leave at 4am! It makes no sense to me and doesn’t make
the trip enjoyable being tired and cranky!! My ultimate destination was Nampula, the jumping off point for Ilha de Mozambique. It was however a 2 stage bus trip with an overnight stay in Quilamane. On the way we had a 3hr stop over at the southern side of the swollen Zambezi River. There had been heavy rain in these parts causing some major flooding. The only way across the river is by barge and the operators had just gone on a 3hr lunch break just before we arrived! I got talking to a few of the drivers of the private vehicles, with the limited Portuguese I had learnt, and managed to snare a lift direct to nampula in a new truck. For anyone who has not hitched in a truck through Mozambique DON’T! I was expecting something like Australia, averaging 100km/hr and driving through the night, sadly however time is not money in Mozambique. I spent 17hrs in a truck averaging 50km/hr and had a 4 hr sleep in some dodgy town and even dodgier hotel. I was glad to arrive in Nampula and get off that bloody thing!!
The next morning I jumped on a chapa (read: matatu, combi or whatever you like) to Ilha de Mozambique. It is a tiny world heritage listed island rich in Portuguese history. It was used as a trading port for Mozambique and also a port for the slave
trade. It was a great place to spend a few days admiring the old, ruined buildings. The seafood was incredibly cheap, one dollar mud crabs! It was however a dirty place. There is not much money here so funds for keeping the place clean are limited. It is not pleasant swimming in the ocean noticing a local squatting on the beach!! I jumped on a dhow (wooden sailing boat) to get back to the mainland and some better beaches. I was planning to spend a few nights on Chocus, renowned for its beaches, however it was a little overrated and expensive so I jumped on a ute, after a relaxing afternoon, for a free ride to Nampula to make my way to Pemba.When I visited Mozambique a few months ago I had always wanted to go to the far north. It is much more remote than the south and has some great places especially the quirimbas archipelago. It was an interesting ride up in the bus to pemba. The roads were lined with landmine warning signs, a real reminder of the civil war that recently troubled the
country.
Pemba is a quiet town on the peninsula at the south of the archipelago. On the way to the hostel we passed 2 fisherman walking along the road with 2 massive coral trout and about 2 dozen large squid, I started drooling. There were a few other westerners at the hostel so we organized to head up to a few of the islands in the archipelago. The Quirimbas are a little different to what you would expect from a tropical island. The islands are rocky outcrops lined by mangroves and surrounded by amazing coral, which are beautiful in their own right. We caught a chapa to a town in the north called pangane, a magnificent coconut lined sandy peninsular heading out into the deep blue water.
Again when we arrived the fishermen were carrying beautiful reef fish up the beach so I quickly arranged to buy one for dinner at $2/kg!! We also arranged a dhow to take us over to Ibo island, a 6hr trip.
On the way we stopped at Rolus Island, a tiny island with a temporary fishing camp on it. I was keen to go there because I read in lonely planet that it was infested with metre long crabs that lived off coconuts. I looked like a fool when there were not even coconut trees on the island (well done lonely planet, again!). It was worth a stop atleast!
The wind died on the way over to Ibo and the captain was force to row for part of the way. I decided to help out so I went for a swim while he was rowing, effectively making the boat lighter and his job easier!! The water was so clear that you could see the bottom. I tried to dive down however I never got there after
many attempts, it would have been at least 15m deep!! Beautiful!!
Ibo is one of the bigger islands of the archipelago. It too is rich in Portuguese history with many forts and ruined buildings. The people here were very friendly and loved to have their photo taken so ofcourse I obliged. It was the beginning of the African cup soccer tournament when we were and the pub was packed with locals watching the match the matches. You could not help but get caught up in the atmosphere (the beer helped also!).
We also spent Australia day on the island so we popped into the flash hotel on the island. The only people there were some other Australians so we caused a bit of a ruckus. I shouted them a drink and we had a great night. It wasn't until later that I found out that I was buying drinks for one of Australia's richest men. I didn't feel so bad allowing him buy me drinks after that!! good times!
It was sad to leave Ibo, it was great fun. We decided to be adventurous on the way back and hire a dhow to take us back to Pemba. This was a bit of a gamble! Pemba was a fair way south and we were told if the wind was blowing we could be there in a day and if it wasn't it could take three!! Lucky for us the wind was kind, however it still took 13hrs to get there. It was a long day but it sure beat sitting in the back of a truck!!
I decided to go for a dive in Pemba as it was the location of the only dive company in northern Mozambique! The dive was quite good and the dive master was crazy. There was a great swim through tunnel, however the exit is at 50m!! She felt comfortable with me so we did it. I was glad to ascend after that my head wasn't all that clear!! The fish life wasn't as great as the dives I did in the south but I put that down to the dive site proximity to Pemba. We spent a bit of the dive removing some snagged fishing nets which was a bit of a shame!
I flew back to cape town from Pemba which was well worth the cash, it would have taken me 4 days to get there by bus! Did manage to miss my flight from jo'berg to cape town (tip: one time airlines don't call your name even if you are checked in, so don't go last minute book shopping! Mind you I then had three hours to choose a good book)
It was great to get back to cape town and catch up with Dries and friends. If you
did not realise I do have a little soft spot for this town. I spent my last few days drinking, shopping and relaxing before flying out to Ireland. It was a sad day flying out but I think it was time. I will definitely return to Africa, next time with a 4WD and plenty of time.If anyone is thinking of doing a trip there, do it. I loved it! It is such a great place and not overrun with tourists yet. I imagine it would have been like Asia 30years ago! Safety was not a problem for me and I think if you are smart enough you will not run into trouble. Also pack a tent if up get off the touristy path or plan to do a few safaris. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the African blog. Stay tuned for more stories from europe......
photo link http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=40433&l=dc0e6&id=722635930
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