Ilha de Moçambique to Ibo Island, Mozambique 28 - 30 Mar 08

More crumbling relics of past glory

We had sundowners on the rooftop terrace with a stunning view over the beach and sea, with storks and the odd dhow to complete the picture. The only other guests at the lodge were two English families who were old friends and were travelling together. They invited us to join them for dinner at their long table on the rooftop terrace which made for a most enjoyable evening under the stars.

29 March. We went on a morning snorkelling trip with a local dhow, which besides sails also had a 55 hp outboard. Excellent visibility and there were some corals and a lot of fish but nothing stunning. On the way back, we sailed most of the way, but fortunately we had the engine for the last bit in the channel into the port of Ibo straight into the wind. These dhows do not have much of a keel, and do not perform well to windward on a close hauled tack.
In the late afternoon we went on another walking tour with Ali, called ‘Ibo Today’. Ibo might boast only one Catholic church but it has several mosques. We visited a closed mosque, where he said they didn’t have time to come and pray, but made use of the well in its grounds as most of the houses didn’t have running water. We were supposed to meet the local witch doctor, but unfortunately he was absent. Ali told us that if a poor person wants to come into some money, the witch doctor will tell him to kill his own son or daughter and then the money will mysteriously appear in the middle of the night. I suppose if people used to sell their uncles into slavery, killing one’s own son is only going just one step further! However, Ali reassured me that he would rather die poor than sacrifice one of his children.
We had sundowners on the rooftop terrace again, but this time the mosquitoes were out with a vengeance. Even our strong repellant didn’t stop them. Our English friends had left in the morning but we had a chat with a young guy called James who hails from Zimbabwe and is renovating a dhow to operate diving cruises. He also supplies the lodge with vegetables.