Isle of Mozambique. 11th June

11^th June. Ihle de Mocambique

Before leaving on this trip we bought some of the few books available on Mozambique to get an insight of the country. One of them was ‘Mozambique Mysteries’ by Lisa St Aubin de Teran. It was the story of how she started up a tourist hospitality college for the locals in an area on the mainland opposite Mozambique Island. The area had many derelict Portuguese buildings and she used some of these to start up the school as well as a café where the students could practice their skills. The book was also good in giving an insight into the local people, their traditions, hardships and beliefs. Her partner bought a large area of coastal land nearby that they intended building resort accommodation. The author had written many books and had lived a very interesting life but this was to be their idyllic home away from the hectic lives they had led.

It was all very inspiring and a place we thought we might be able to help out for a short while if they needed us. The road to the area was dirt but good, we turned off on to a grass-divided track that meandered past houses where children would chase and oldies would wave. There were signs to the college as well as the café. There was also a camp site shown on the Garmin where we intended staying the night. All the old buildings seemed deserted as we drove past and the camp site had now been turned into a lodge with one of the most beautiful settings you could find. In the distance the old buildings of the Ihle de Mocambique, to the left the calm waters of the Indian Ocean and to the right acres of mangroves. Straight below was a lagoon. This was where Mees, her partner, built his resort. However, on talking to the Dutch partner of the present owner, we found that the college, café, agricultural school she started were no more. She upped and left a couple of years ago leaving the whole community in the lurch. Their chance of finding employment, paying off debts etc wiped away. Her name is dirt in the area. We felt for the locals, they are so gentle people. This morning we drove back to the area and had a look at an old church as well as what remains of the college and café. The young bloke who showed us over the church explained in Portuguese the hurt they felt with her leaving. Incidentally the church, built in 1579, is reputed to be the oldest in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Ihle is connected to the mainland by a 3km single lane bridge. Two concrete stanchions stand at the start of the bridge through which all vehicles must pass. Too wide and the vehicle can’t go over the bridge. The Ihle was the old capital and a holding compound for thousands of slaves before they were shipped to the Americas. The buildings on the island are all very old with many in bad signs of deterioration. There are no camp sites; we are staying in the O Escondinho, a grand old hotel with 5 metre ceilings, thick columns and massive roofing timbers. Tomorrow we will meander around the island, hoping to dodge the map selling touts. Actually, while Joan was getting the stuff we need from the van to take up to the room, I had a good talk to the local boys. When they get over their ‘must sell’ mentality they are great to talk to and refer to me as ‘Papa’.