Scratching the Surface

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		a		Prawns, beaches and atmospheric colonial ruins was the promise of Mozambique. Plus rats, beautiful mountains and interesting people was what we got. We drove the length of the country, from south to north, in 29 days - like Chile it's a thin country and we stuck mostly to the coast. The south was more developed in Mozambican terms, although still very low-key for us Europeans. Lots of South Africans drinking beer and enjoying the exchange rate. The centre was remote and unused to tourism of any kind whilst the north has a range of exclusive resorts, mostly on the Quirimbas Archipelago - highly recommended if you fancy a pricey holiday but not really cut out for budget travelling in a car! Despite the warnings of bad roads and crime-riddled towns we found Mozambique a really good introduction to our trip. The people were friendly and accommodating and we met no real hustlers - the few who tried to quote us tourist prices or con us laughed and gave the game away before they got anywhere! They also all put up with Chris's Portuguese and Jackie's driving with a smile.... So what did we do? Well, Mozambique has very little set up as 'tourist activities' so we mainly drove, ate, drank good coffee and enjoyed the scenery. In a couple of the more developed places we did some diving and snorkelling and took a boat trip to a perfect desert island. Our trip into the highlands for some walking gave us a beautiful drive but no walking to be found. Then there were the historic sites. Mocambicans have a strange way of leaving all the old colonial buidings to rot and using traditional mud and wattle huts instead. We never quite worked out why this was; someone suggested tax was higher on buildings with stone floors, another that they simply preferred 'traditional' buildings, whilst we thought it may be a hangover from the anti-colonial propoganda of the revolution - an affirmation of the fact that they were fighting against rather than trying to become. Whatever, it meant that most of the country looks (as it is) very rural, but there are some towns where they have to use the houses that have a very atmospheric, crumbling air to them and this is particularly true of the islands. The first island we went to was Ilha do Mozambique. As the name suggests, this used to be the capital and the major port of the country but is now very sleepy. Unfortunately, it seems to have gained a reputation amongst travellers as being a place where the locals shit on the beach, although this is in fact true of most Mozambican beaches which are near a village...We arrived on a Sunday and the next day was a public holiday so we spent much of our stay convinced that the decrepit buildings were deserted, only to drive out on Tuesday past doors flung open with businesses at full pelt inside. The next place we visited was Ibo island, in the north of the country and very much one of those places that backpackers like to say they have got to because it is difficult. We drove a very bad road, left our car in someones back yard and got on a Dhow (traditional sail-boat) with a load of piss-taking locals. The accommodation was a home-stay and the only restaurant was also the only place with a generator and so was surrounded by locals of all ages from darkness (about 5:30) onwards staring through the fence at Africa MTV or just bathing in the light and presumably enjoying the banging dance music, which unfortunately didn't relate to the MTV pics. And so we chose, typically, to be anti-backpacker and go to the local 5* hotel to pay for an island tour and spend the rest of the day using their swimming pool and gardens. Great! Photos The beach opposite Ilha Ibo Lodge Jackie
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