The Log from the Sea of Cortez

No. I have not spent 6 weeks in Baha documenting sea-life. But this blog does still document an adventure. Perhaps not quite as epic as Steinbeck’s, but pretty epic nonetheless.

This is the Log from the Adventures in Nampula with my dear friend Annie. Annie had been working in South Africa for a couple months, and so decided to tag a trip to Mozambique onto the end of the itinerary. In my opinion, a most excellent decision. However in classic Mozambique fashion, her connection from Maputo to Nampula magically decided to leave an hour early, also known as 15 minutes before her arrival to Maputo. But she arrived, and we spent a couple days in Nametil to give her an idea of how I live on a daily basis. But my life on a daily basis does not warrant more than a couple days before one understands that it is relatively repetitive. And so we adventured. To Ilha de Mocambique (google it, google earth it, google photo it). Ilha (pronounced il-ya) has a rich history; since my education of ilha’s history has been in Portuguese, I might have some facts wrong. Feel free to search out a more informed source. But it started as an Islamic trading port (the first mosque in the southern hemisphere is on Ilha), and when the Portuguese arrived, they fought and gained power over the island. They built a fort and did that imperialism thing. But as Portuguese influenced relaxed in Mozambique, Ilha has moved back towards its form before Europeans arrived.

Annie and I stayed in a lovely hostel, which really became quite an extraordinary melting pot. We immediately met a peace corps volunteer who had just finished her service in Namibia and was traveling southern Africa. With the American camaraderie and my limited knowledge of the island, we set out exploring for dinner that evening. The next day involved swimming, and lunching after earning a well-deserved sunburn (I might or might not have forgotten to apply sunscreen). We ended up eating with a group of six other people- 3 spanish girls working in Pemba, two Portuguese kids working in Quelimane, and their Mozambican neighbor that spoke perfect English.  All of us decided that we should explore the fort after lunch, which was simply incredible. That night we had a bonfire/drum circle/barbecue on the beach with a couple Mozambicans from the island, our group and a few more staying at the hostel (nations represented included additionally Canada, Sweden, and Malawi).

Friday (our second full day) was a relaxed day. We breakfasted late in the morning, went for a short swim (sunscreen applied this time), and took some pictures. That evening we organized ourselves a boat trip to a beach on the mainland. The Spaniards and Portuguese had finished their holidays, and so we were down to 7 people. But a couple decided to join us, he from Brazil and she from Norway. With everything arranged, we continued our relaxation.

The morning of the boat trip, we gained one more American, rounding out our number to ten. The sailing took relatively little time, though we walked the vast majority of the lagoon. We crossed an isthmus (such a great word), and were welcomed by a simply stunning white sand beach. There was a resort where we ate like kings and queens (at a price of course). But the beach was too inviting, so most of the day was spent on the sand or in the water. It was spectacular. We returned to the boat as the sun was setting (a little later than was originally planned) and made our way back to the island under the stars.

But all adventures must end at some point. The time for this one arrived at 4 the following morning, when we boarded a chapa to get back to Nampula in time for Annie’s flight. But the thing about every adventure ending is that it provides an opportunity for a new adventure to begin. When will the next adventure come? I suppose that depends on when you hop a flight to Mozambique.