Ilha de Mocambique (Mozambique Island) was a stunning little place, was it not for the mosque across the road with its speakers seemly pointed square onto our hotel room. It wouldn’t be so bad had it not been the holy month of Ramadan. The island itself is the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mozambique and a treasure trove and cultural melting pot of the former Portuguese occupants. It’s only 3km long and 500m at it’s widest and was capital of Portuguese East Africa for centuries. Its star has faded over the years and it’s turned largely into a ghost town but there are still some wonderful little treasures and a wander down stone town can be very rewarding. One of the attractions was the former Portuguese palace, where the divide between the have and have-nots is exemplified here more than any of their European counterparts.
We walked past an old dilapidated building. The sign at the front red “Hospital de Mocambique” and we had a chuckle at the thought of being hospitalized there. Karma bit us on the butt when Chloe fell ill and ended up being admitted with dehydration. The front of the building was crumbling, but the area out the back was marginally better. It looked like a temporary field hospital rather than a fully operational hospital, but the needles were clean and it made Chloe better – a little.
She was well enough to travel which was a relief because after three days you’ve seen everything there is to see in Ilha de Mocambique, twice. We headed to Nacala to get some well needed R&R. Chloe was still ill which gave me time to complete my Open Water Diver Certificate whilst she slowly recovered. I spent five days learning to dive, practice diving and finally deep water diving. The bay around Nacala was full of coral and fish and every dive was magnificent (apart from being ordered to remove and replace my mask a billion times). I passed my test with flying colours and now I’m fully qualified to dive unattended anywhere in the world, something I plan to do as soon as Malawi. Meanwhile Chloe was slowly recovering on the surface and resenting me for having all the fun, but she managed to see a few whales splash around in the bay and whales make anyone happy.
Next stop Southern Malawi, so until then “Adeus”
www.unesco.blarblar – UNESCO page on Ilha de Mocambique
www.fimdemoundo.com – Bay Diving – Nacala Mozambique
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