EPIC Africa Vacay pt.4 Monapo, Chocas, Ilha

MONAPO, CHOCAS, ILHA
Our flight from DAR to Nampula had a stop in Pemba. We thought we wouldn’t go through immigration until Nampula, but they made everyone go through in Pemba. It was a bit of a madhouse, but we actually made it through with 2 things going our way: (1) they were asking to see passengers’ yellow fever cards, which Misol had left at home, but she just very confidently said that she lived in Mozambique, and they let her through; (2) when Mommy and I first got to Maputo, I tried to buy a multiple entry visa, but the woman wouldn’t let me, so I thought they might make me buy another visa (which would cost another $66), but I guess the guy didn’t look at my visa very closely because he just let me through. This trip has definitely taught me to be more appreciative about the small pleasures and triumphs in life.
The flight from Pemba to Nampula was about 15 mins., so we were on the ground in no time. It’s so nice to be back on Misol’s home turf – she just feels a bit more relaxed and comfortable, and it’s great for me because I don’t have to be in charge of anything. Haha. (PSH I thought I wouldn’t have to do much once we got to tanz cuz they speak english there, but miray still made me do just about everything… call for this, ask for that)
We checked into our hotel, which is the nicest hotel in Nampula. It’s pretty luxurious by local standards – there’s air conditioning, and everything’s really clean. We’re just staying here for one night because our flight got in too late to drive to Monapo.
We had a great Indian dinner at the hotel restaurant, which I think is run by an actual Indian family. The food could probably rival some of the Indian food I’ve had in LA.
Tomorrow, we’re going to do some shopping for supplies in the morning, and then we’ll make the drive to Monapo, where we’ll spend a couple of hours. I’ll get a chance to see where Misol lives, Misol will get to unpack/repack, and we’ll pick up Vonnie and then head to Chocas for 2 nights. After that, Vonnie’s heading back home, while Misol and I head to Ilha for another 2 nights.
After breakfast, our driver for the day picked us up and we went to a few different markets to buy food and wine for our trip. We almost had an issue when we stopped for gas – Misol didn’t have as much money as she thought she did, so she didn’t have enough local currency to pay for the gas. Luckily, I had USD $40 in cash, which just barely covered the bill. Then it was off on the 1.5 hour drive to Monapo. (it wasn’t that I didn’t have enough money, usually you pay at the end of the trip and all my money was in monapo, but this guy wanted me to pay for his gas so I didn’t have enough money to cover that!)
It was really cool to see Misol’s town and especially her house. Her house is so much smaller and grungy than I thought it would be. I really can’t believe that she’s lived there for 2 years. I honestly don’t think I would’ve lasted one day there. But it’s also amazing to see how much they’ve done to make their home more comfortable and how much they’ve been able to achieve with so little space.
We also walked around the town and over to her school. I even got to meet a class of her 9th graders, who were all so nice and welcoming. (my rowdiest class…) I also met her school director – I can tell why Misol has so many issues with him. Even in the few minutes that I spoke with him, I could tell that he just isn’t a very nice person.
We ate a quick lunch and then got on the road to Chocas. The ride itself wasn’t too bad, but when we were only 3 km away from our destination, our driver flipped out b/c he said that he had only agreed to take us to Chocas, not all the way to our resort. After some yelling and a phone call to the person who had arranged the ride, he finally calmed down enough to drive us the last 3 kms.
But soon thereafter, the paved road ended and we switched to a sand path. After a few minutes of REALLY rough driving (worse than our safari game drives), the car got stuck! Luckily, we were able to flag down a local man walking by. It was a nervewracking 90 minutes, with lots of digging, pushing and waiting, but they were finally able to free the car.
It was dark by the time we got to the camp, but we were glad to have made it in one piece. Our bungalow is nothing like our bungalow in Zanzibar, but it’s really cute. There’s a porch with 2 chairs and a hammock, and when you walk in, there’s a small dining area and kitchen, a double bed and a bathroom (running water, but cold only), and then there’s a ladder to an upstairs loft with just a twin mattress on the ground. It’s not fancy at all, but it’s so peaceful. And the best part is that there are tons of windows, and the weather has been so nice and breezy.
We ate dinner at the camp’s restaurant. I had a delicious grilled calamari steak, Vonnie ordered a traditional Mozambican dish made with some kind of greens (similar to spinach), cashews (usually peanuts) and local spices – it’s similar in consistency to an Indian spinach curry or creamed spinach (without the cream). And Misol ordered a crab curry, which had tons of crab, but it was really messy and hard to eat.
After dinner, we played some games (Misol and Vonnie are both addicted to games – I think they’re going to have serious withdrawal when they go back to the States) and then went to bed. (We also had the brief period panic when Migum called us to tell us about Mommy’s canceled flight, but luckily, that all worked out ok.)
Waking up was great. It was absolutely gorgeous out. After a breakfast of cereal and juice, we went out to the beach, which may have actually been more spectacular than Zanzibar. It was definitely less populated, and the water was beautiful. We spent the entire morning swimming, sunning and reading. It was glorious. We then came in, showered and then had a lunch of crackers and cheese (there’s only one restaurant here, so we’re trying to minimize our number of meals there). The rest of the afternoon was spent playing games – Settlers, Big Two, etc. – and eating lots of snacks. Now we’re getting ready to head out for dinner.
It’s amazing how quickly the days go, even when you’re not really doing anything. I just keep trying to remind myself to appreciate and enjoy this time of doing nothing because I know I’m going to be back at work before I know it
On Saturday, we woke up somewhat early so that we could leave for Ilha. Although a car is faster, the cheapest way to get from Chocas to Ilha is by boat. And not just any boat but the traditional Mozambican dhow boat, which is a type of sail boat. There are no docks, so the boat just comes to the beach to pick you up, and then you have to walk out (until the water comes up to your thighs) and climb into the boat (easier said than done). Unfortunately, when we got out to the beach, there was barely a breeze and the water was almost completely still. So what they promised would be an hour boat ride ended up taking about 2.5 hours! But it was so peaceful and beautiful that we didn’t really mind.
When we landed in Ilha, the water was too shallow for the boat to get that close to the beach, so we had to land a bit out and walk in the rest of the way. We then walked to our hotel, which was lovely. It felt like we were at an old Spanish house somewhere in Mexico. There was an open dining area next to a swimming pool, and there were beautiful pink flowers everywhere.
Our room itself wasn’t quite so nice – it wasn’t terrible, just really…bare. Also, the hotel “accidentally” gave away the room that Misol had reserved, so instead of having a bathroom attached to the room, our bathroom was “right across the hall,” meaning that it was down the hall and around the corner. But the good news was that our room had air conditioning, which turned out to be quite necessary given how warm the weather got. And the room was much cheaper than a room with an attached bathroom, so we saved some money.
Our room wasn’t ready when we arrived, so we started with lunch. Misol had been raving about the hotel restaurant’s tuna with basil sauce. Unfortunately, they were out of the basil sauce, but they had a garlic sauce instead, which was delicious. And Misol asked for the tuna to be cooked just barely seared on the outside, so it was completely raw in the middle – almost like sashimi. It was SO good!
After lunch, we headed for the pool, where we spent the rest of the afternoon.
The next day, I was feeling too lazy to do any sightseeing (there’s an old fort on the island that’s supposed to be interesting), so we literally spent the entire day by the pool again. For dinner, Misol arranged an awesome grilled seafood feast – grilled tiger prawns, a giant calamari steak and a whole lobster! It was fantastic!
The only negative of our time in Ilha was that, after having survived both Selous and Zanzibar without getting any mosquito bites, I got eaten alive in Ilha. (Mommy, I think this means that neither of our insect repellent devices really work.) I’m still suffering from it now.