Blogs from Island of Mozambique, Northern, Mozambique, Africa

September 11th to September 15th: Nick and I were up early...of course...the next morning and were on our way to Mozambique Island. It was a very long, very bumpy ride in the back of a bus which played kung fu movies at an ear piercing level. The island is actually attached to the mainland by a long bridge so we didn't need to board any overly full boats this time. Mozambique Island (or Ilha de Mocambique as the Portugese would say) looks like it hasn't changed since the Portugese occupation back in 1507 when it was used as a naval base and a trading station. It was a beautiful island with crumbling white washed buildings, some with original orange and red paint, buildings built between the 16th and 19th century, and narrow alleyways with local people ... read more

From Tofo to Maputo, there is a door to door shuttle run by an independent company to Fatima's, leaving at 4am. It loads the bus with backpackers first, jamming the backpacks under the seats and most likely charging a premium. Then is rams in as many locals as physically possible. I get a seat with leg room, not on the wheel arch for once so can actually get some sleep. The journey is estimated at 5-10hours depending on what occurs on the journey, many new arrivals to Tofo took 9 hours so I have low expectations and am shocked when we get to Maputo Fatima's at 10am, only 6 hours! I try to fly to Nampula that day but the flight is full so I book one for 8am the next morning. I wander Maputo the ... read more

I reach the chapa park at an awkward time. The chapa to Ilha is already nearly full, meaning the boon of an imminent departure, but the vehicle is one where the front row of seats and an uncomfortable backwards-facing bench share legroom that is only adequate for one or the other. It's to the disappointment of all that my long legs are added to this mix. A foreign couple comfortably settled on the back seat view me with undisguised contempt, marking them out as French. The journey to Ilha is fortunately on a decent road, meaning the battle to prevent my right foot from going numb lasts only 2.5 hours. I'm relieved when, twisting round to face the front, I see the causeway leading over to the island. There's a slalom course of red and white ... read more

Ihla de Mozambique played a huge role in the history of eastern Africa, the slave trade and the Portuguese dominance over Mozambique. Before the Portuguese took over the island was used by Arab traders. Unfortunately for them and fortunately for the Portuguese their weapons weren’t that great and the Portuguese took over in the early 1500. They were quick to build the Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Baluarte, in 1522 which is considered to be the oldest European building in the southern hemisphere. Shortly after they realize that they cannot defend the Island with a bible and build the impressive Fort of São Sebastião. Both of which are still standing. The island was up until the early 1900 the focal point of Portuguese trade (spices, slaves and gold) to and from Africa and India and later ... read more

Tonight: Nampula Tomorrow: Train to Cuampa, then Lichinga Wednesday: Metangula and Lake Malawi But in the last week or so I've been around Ihla de Mocambique and Nacala. The short story is the Ihla was the original Portoguese capital of the region. As it stands now it is a very run down town with lots of historical ruins. Walking around the streets you can easily see the Portoguese influence and architecture. The old fort is still standing, barely. The original chapel, which is believed to be the oldest European structure in the southern hemisphere is in good shape. One thing that was really strange is that many (most) of the houses were below street level. It was like you would walk down steps into these little shanty towns. Very strange. It was good to spend a ... read more