An Island...

Like Portugal´s national poet, Luis de Camoes, once wrote about the Ilha de Mocambique, it is like ‘an unique woman, lying sensously in a state of abandon...’ My impression of the former capital of the Portuguese East Africa Colony is ... faded grandeur. Old stone buildings sitting in disrepair and empty in the sun surrounded by the turquoise sea. Scrape the surface and can see the glimmer this place once had. Mosiac tiles below overgrown grass, children playing under arches that haven´t been painted for thirty years, or families living in ornate stone buildings with no roofs. The old town feels like a ‘museum and ghost town’ with old buildings and the large fort perched on the north end. While on the other side is ‘reed town’, alive and full of locals. The island´s population mushroomed from 1200 to 12000 during the civil war in the 1980´s and 1990´s, as they sought refuge here. Reed town is where the majority of the population lives and it is very much Adrican. The island is quite small, only 3 kilometers long and 500 meters wide so wandering around is easy. The locals are friendly and the kids love their pictures being taken. Without T.V.s or video games, the kids just invent games to play with a few loose marbles and bottle caps, a tire and stick, wrapped up plastic bags as a soccer ball or shells and stones. Despite the beach being dirty (as the locals use the sea as both a sewage and garbage dump), the whole island has atmosphere and I recommend staying there for a few days to ease into the island life.

I have enjoyed Mozambique, whether it´s going through the countryside in a bus or behind in truck, watching goats being herded, people carrying sacks, wood and T.V.s on their heads or farmers plowing the land, or going along the coast with the beautiful beaches full of palm trees and warm waters in Tofo and Vilankulo. Or just sipping some fine coffee in the cities.

I´ve also enjoyed the food, a delicate blend of Portuguese, Indian and African. I probably had my best meal in Africa so far in Maputo (although the octopus curry last night came close). Just thinking about it makes me salivate. The crab the size of my face with meat so thick I thought I was eating chicken. The curry, creme based with enough spice to make it flavorful without overwhelming it. The rice, chewy and slightly oily, and baked to perfection to absorb the curry. Spiced with hunger, this dish went down quickly.

One big downside to Mozambique is the fast and vicious mosquitos here. Sometimes I don´t even know the sneaky bastard have bitten me. I am so glad I brought a mosquito net and Larium pills. Can you believe more people in Africa die from the mosquitos than from anything else. The next most dangerous thing (after man) is the Hippo. About two to three times the number of people die in Africa from malaria than they do from AIDS, which is high enough (2.2 million in 2003). Just in Mozambque alone the infancy / child mortality rate is a staggering 25 percent. A lot of that due to malaria. A combination of poverty, lack of education and poor medical availibilty doesn´t help.

I am back in the industrial city of Napula after spending three days at Ilha de Mocambique and will taking the train to Malawi tomorrow morning. Good night all.