Booking a private transfer to the Quirimbas Archipelago turned out to be the Best. Decision. Ever.
The road to Tandanhangue is long, unsealed, rocky, dusty and full of pot holes. But this didn't phase me at all in my nice plush minibus for 5 with leg room galore. We arrived in 3 hours (which would have taken twice as long by public chapa) and our motorised private dhow was waiting for us. In we hopped, noting how much care the captain took over wrapping everyone's bags in a plastic cover and off we sped through the mangroves. Turns out the slightest wind and a motorised boat means water splash. And that's why the bags were wrapped up so. But Sean and I didn't care as we got soaked. We'd made it to Ibo. We'd made it.
We met Pip and Sandy on our journey to Ibo, who became our travelling companions for our days on the island. They both work for Médecins Sans Frontières and are stationed in Harare at the moment. Sandy is from Vancouver and Pip from England but hasn't lived there for many years now having been a key figure at Haiti and other such posts where medical assistance is urgently required.
Since we were in the splashing out kind of mood we stayed at Miti Miwiri in a lovely 4 poster bed room.
We settled in and then headed off for a stroll around Ibo town. The town is very similar to Mozambique Island, including being similarly ghostly. The mangroves are more prevalent here and their fort is smaller, but no less beautiful.
And silver is the thing that they do here and so we watched them make the intricate jewellery and were reminded of Inle Lake in Myanmar (although we noted there it was all female and here it was all male workers).
The food here is also fantastic, with no shortage of decent chefs. Our first night we dined on soup and crayfish covered in a delicious barbecue salsa, finished with a shot of some tasty liquor.
One major activity to do here is to walk through the mangrove at low tide to the neighbouring island of Quirimbas. So at 7.30am the next day off we set. It's an incredible 3 hour walk and you have to go quickly, because the last thing you want it to get stuck when the tide comes in. The first half is all through the mangroves, splashing your way through the mud and puddles, minding out for the crabs and mangrove roots. The scenery then changes as you walk through a water channel over rock pools of small fish, caught until the tide returns. And then it opens up into a vast plain of sand where you can see the far off tide, but gasp as it catches up to you so quickly as you walk. At one point we waded through a channel of incoming tide that went up to my waist - we had obviously dawdled!
I learned that the mangrove has a stick-like pod that when ready drops to the floor. If the pod sticks into the ground vertically then a new tree will grow and if not, well better luck next time.
I had a mudpack on my arm which came up silky smooth. And we bumped into some local ladies (who initially ran away screaming) but then allowed us to take their photos. The youngest had mussiro on her face, a white paste used as a sunscreen or beauty treatment, the patterns of which can denote marital status and other things. Again, reminding me of the ladies at Inle Lake.
As we approached the island of Quirimbas we gasped at its beauty. The waters were turquoise and warm, the ladies carried heavy loads of wood on their head from the mangrove, the fishermen gathered their nets and the beaches stretched forever. We spent a pleasant hour walking around the village meeting the local children, drinking fresh coconut juice, gazing at the baobab trees before returning to the beach to laze there until the tide was in and we could charter a dhow back to Ibo.
That night Sean and I dined at African Pot with Pip and Sandy, Fabian and Augustina (a couple who we met the night before at our lodge) on a starter of crab quiche, followed by the most sumptuous goat we've ever had - it was so tender and juicy, served with matapa and rice and finished with a chocolate tart.
We thought our days couldn't get any better, but they could! For the next day we got a boat to the nearby sandbank. This was just desert island dreams. There is nothing but this sandbank, surrounded by washed up shells and corals and turquoise seas. It's a shame again that the tide comes and makes this bank disappear otherwise we'd have happily stayed for hours.
We had originally intended to follow the sandbank with a trip to another island called Matemo but the winds had started to pick up and our captain said we had to head back. Flipping heck had the winds picked up! We struggled to even get back onto the boat as it swelled in the waves. A few minutes out on the sea and we were drenched from the spray and the waves. It was absolutely the most fun! The boat rocked and rolled. The waves swept over us. And I screamed with delight.
When we got back to the hotel, Laura, whom we had met on the journey from Mozambique Island to Pemba arrived at our lodge. It was great to catch up and spend our last few hours with her.
The moon that evening was full and beautiful and it shone over the buildings with an almost orange haze. It's a shame my camera was almost out of battery since the camera charger was in our stolen bags and I wasn't able to capture the moon in all its glory. I'll certainly remember it though at the end of the street, big and bright and stunning. We ate at Miti Miwiri that night on bruschetta, prawn pumpkin and coconut pie before I got beaten at chess by the headmaster of Matemo school. I hadn't played in years, and he knew all the text book moves since he practises mostly against his computer! I didn't stand a chance.
But again our time here had gone all too quickly and it was already time to leave. We finished our last morning with breakfast at Cinco Portas on homemade breads, peanut butter, bacon, fresh fruits and eggs, said goodbye to Laura and hopped back into our dhow.
These islands are amazing. If you ever get a chance to go, do it. And do it in style too, it's worth the extra few dollars.
Here are the photos:
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| BT87_Quirimbas Archipelago 14 - 16 July 2011 |
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