Home » Mozambique » Day 7. Sat 23rd April Ilha de Mozambique

Mark and I walk down to the beach for an early morning swim.
After breakfast we head into town with Ken. Metaxa Number 2 is waiting for us outside the door of the hotel (has he been there all night?) and follows us around all day like a dog. We have given up telling him to go away, and just ignore him.
We call in at the dive shop to book a sunset boat cruise round the island, and then do a tour of the Fort of São Sebastião. We are shown around by Said the Guide, whose English isn't brilliant, but he's a nice guy and gets the salient points across. Built in the 16th century, the fort is the oldest complete fort still standing in sub-saharan Africa.

Day 7. Sat 23rd April Ilha de Mozambique

DaveMidgley
2005-10-22 18:34:05

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Mark and I walk down to the beach for an early morning swim.

After breakfast we head into town with Ken. Metaxa Number 2 is waiting for us outside the door of the hotel (has he been there all night?) and follows us around all day like a dog. We have given up telling him to go away, and just ignore him.
We call in at the dive shop to book a sunset boat cruise round the island, and then do a tour of the Fort of São Sebastião. We are shown around by Said the Guide, whose English isn't brilliant, but he's a nice guy and gets the salient points across. Built in the 16th century, the fort is the oldest complete fort still standing in sub-saharan Africa.

Next to the fort, on the tip of the island, is the Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Baluarte, built in 1522 and considered to be the oldest European building in the southern hemisphere. Sadly just in March the chapel was vandalised and several valuable artifacts stolen.

After a cold drink Ken returns to the Hotel while the rest of us explore the southern part of the Island. The northern part is known as "Stone Town" which, like its counterpart on Zanzibar, is where all the old colonial buildings stand. In the southern part is "Reed Hut Town", which is the residential area. The people are all very friendly, although when we pick up a stray dog, which follows us around much as Metaxa Number 2 is still doing, everyone seems very perturbed. It seems to be a harmless enough mutt, but causes great consternation amongst the locals - perhaps they are afraid of rabies. I manage to pick up the usual crowd of children, who decide to sing to me. As always they love to have their photo taken and then to see the picture, and are even more delighted when I record their song and play it back to them. (Click picture to hear song).

I finally buy myself a coconut (and just manage to stop Metaxa Number 2 from pouring all the milk away).
At 3 we head back to the hotel (still followed by the indefatigable Metaxa Number 2 - in the end Mark weakens and gives him some money) and have a swim in the pool before heading to the dive centre for our sunset cruise. Ken is checking out the vehicle and doesn't think he'll make it, but he arrives at the very last moment just as we are pushing off.

We are joined by Luis, an artist from Maputo, who currently has an exhibition at the Reliquias restaurant. He is as camp as a nine bob note and sings lustily when he is not telling us all about himself. The cruise takes about 45 minutes and is very pleasant

After a shower and a beer we dine at the Reliquias Restaurant, where we run into Luis again, and get to look at the exhibition of his paintings (which are sort of monochromatic beige impressionist landscapes and boring as hell, but then what do I know about art). We get an excellent seafood meal (more lulas!) and Chris, who has been converted to vegetarianism since we were on the African Odyssey together, gets a vegetable curry, which makes a nice change from the omelettes that have formed her staple diet until now.

We had planned to hit the local disco, but we are all knackered after a busy day's sightseeing, so we bottle out and go home to bed.