I
have been fortunate enough to have visited Africa several times in the past
fourteen years, with both my immediate and my extended family, on safari around
Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana, and every trip has left me hungry for more
visits. This time I opted for a water
based travel adventure, which took me to Mozambique. I flew direct to Nairobi where I paid $10 to
have my passport stamped for my visa, then connected onto Pemba via Maputo,
where visas were an entirely different affair.
I was photographed, and fingerprint samples were taken, before being
told to hand over $70 to the officials and waited about ten minutes for a
print-out of my visa with a miniature portrait of myself attached. After that I was ready for phase three of the
journey, a four hour drive that led us straight to a beach in the middle of
nowhere – including a challenging walk along the beach with a wheelie suitcase
and local children following us (I went with a party of five, a family from
South Africa) – and straight onto a dhow, which is their version of a sailing boat. The dhow took us to
Mogundula Island, and we sailed the sea as the sun was setting on one end of
the horizon, and the moon rose on the other side. It was a beautiful sight to behold.
My
first night on Mogundula Island was a restless affair in a tent that almost
toppled over with the force of the rain and wind at 4am. Fortunately, by 6am, the weather had cleared
and we were all able to go snorkeling in the aqualine waters, returning for an
evening meal of locally sourced, grilled kingfish and crayfish served by the
campfire. This was only supposed to be a
two night stay, but the strong gale force winds and persistent nightly showers
meant the sea was too rough to leave the island, so we got stuck on the island
an extra night. I could not help feeling
like time had come to a standstill on the island, with the bad weather chasing
us into our sleep, and also throughout the day at intervals.
Ibo
Island on the Quirimbas Archipelago was the next, much anticipated stop – with a population of only four thousand
people and made up of twenty three islands.
It had been a major trading centre in previous centuries, when Africa’s
east coast had been controlled by Arabs, and then later became a Portuguese
colony. Admittedly, not quite what I had
envisioned as it was incredibly rundown and in need of repair, but the lodge itself
was housed in a magnificent and beautiful historic mansion that had been
renovated with teak furniture and boasted huge rooms and high ceilings. Staying in Ibo Lodge was like stepping back
in time, with electricity being supplied by their own generator and available
only for about eight hours a day, no television (fantastic for getting those
creative juices flowing), and water filtered and supplied by nature’s rain.
After
a night of restful sleep on Ibo Island, we set off at 9am on a dhow for a
snorkeling trip that exposed us to a wonderful underwater world full of
beautiful red starfish, clownfish, lion fish with what looked like wings on
either side of their bodies, puffa fish (always an amusing sight), giant sea
urchins, and also sea cucumber, which around the islands are apparently a
valuable commodity – mighty ugly beast of a creature too! Kayaking was next on the agenda in the late
afternoon. The views were breathtaking,
I was so upset I didn’t have my camera on me.
We saw some beautiful black and white birds swimming close to the
surface of water, in the direction of the setting sun. It would’ve been such an amazing picture to
capture on camera. Even the flying fish
put on a show for us.
The
morning I was due to go back home, I wasn’t even sure I’d leave the island due
to adverse weather conditions, but I got lucky and only the afternoon flights
were cancelled. I got to ride up-front
next to the pilot on a 5-seater plane to Pemba airport, mesmerized by the view. As we were flying in the air, I remembered
how as a child I used to look out of the plane window and believe I could
really touch the clouds and stand on them, that they’d be all fluffy and I’d
float on them – all very magical.
Obviously this was long before I discovered that clouds are formed by condensation
when the water vapour in the air is cooled, and had I tried to walk on clouds
in reality, I would have simply fallen right through them and to a nasty death!
I
arrived early at Pemba airport, and turned out to be the only white girl there,
but for once I wasn’t hassled by any of the locals, much to my relief. I sat down and waited for my connecting
flight, replaying the moments that made my trip, and recalling that the purpose
of it had been to go in search of solo time, to just breathe and escape a
confusing relationship I had got myself caught up in. I fulfilled my purpose, I gained more clarity
while away, and ended the relationship, feeling much happier as a result.
© Copyright Vanessa
Sicre
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