14th June, Ihle de Mozambique
We extended our stay somewhat. It’s just a pleasant island, good food and the people are open & friendly. Having a bit of history increases the appeal. We visited the fort yesterday, had James as a guide. We normally just wander on our own but he was part of the ticket price. He gave us enough facts to get a good picture of the place without overloading us with statistics. The island is a World Heritage listed UNESCO site and they have done a fair bit of restoration at the fort. I was intrigued how the original inhabitants set up a catchment area to save any rain that fell. Any horizontal walkway, roof of battlement has channels running off them to catch the water that was held in three underground cisterns. This water was used by the islanders up until a few years ago.
Did more wandering today taking in the hospital. Now mainly uninhabited and derelict it still has a couple of clinics out the back with people sitting around all over the place waiting to be seen. The people of this country are very patient.In its heyday it must have been an amazing building.
Tomorrow we head back to Nampula where we will stay or maybe carry on towards the Malawi border. See how we feel.
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