The islands around Ilha de Mozambique

Even though we spent a week on Ilha de Mozambique, we took a couple of those days to explore the nearby islands.  We opted for dhows instead of boats with motors to let the wind take us to our destination.  The islands were uninhabited for the most part and let us feel connected with nature.

Goa Island

We boarded a dhow en route to Goa Island.  We’d organized an overnight trip that included camping on the beach.  The name of the island comes from the years of the trade routes when people knew if they went in direction of the island they’d land in Goa, India.  There were 3 crew members, our guide and 4 others who would only stay for the day.  It took us a little over an hour to make it across to the pristine white sand beach.

 

 

 

The tide was coming in so we docked and walked to a shady spot.  The tourists went directly into the transparent water while half the crew started prepping lunch and the others went out in search of fresh caught fish.  We swam and then wandered around to explore one side of the island.  It was much cleaner, i.e. no glass, compared to the beach on Ilha.  There were also shells galore and several hermit crabs.

 

 

 

We hid in the shade for lunch and then took a walk to the lighthouse.  It’s the only remaining structure on the island and now runs off solar power.  We climbed to the top to get an amazing view of the island as well as the surrounding islands.  A good portion of Goa Island is exposed reef, even at high tide, and a geyser would shoot up each time a wave came crashing in.  We also got to rinse off with collected rain water, which felt great after being in the salt water.

 

 

 

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and setting up camp.  Everyone had left except us and our guide so we had the evening to hear stories about life in Mozambique.  He talked about growing up during the war and how many fled the mainland to Ilha as refugees.  We learned about the ships that sunk near the islands and the people that came to take away everything they found.  After we finished, we took another walk around in search of turtles before we climbed into our tent on the sand.

 

 

 

Our morning started early, or at least for Tico.  He got up to watch the sunrise while I watched from the comfort of the tent.  We had breakfast as we watched dhows and canoes heading out to fish.  Then, we grabbed the snorkels and went out to see what there was.  It was cloudy so the visibility wasn’t that great, but we did see a few fish before our own dhow arrived to take us back to Ilha.

 

 

Sete Paus and Carrusca

Our group was a British couple, Francis and Pete, who were on a similar path as us, and our guide, Harry Potter, and his girlfriend.  The wind helped us and we arrived rather quickly to where we’d snorkel.  The dhow dropped anchor next to a coral reef that wasn’t far from where we wanted to end up.  We spent about an hour looking at the fish and diving down to get a closer look at their colors.  Then, it was time to set foot on Sete Paus island.

 

 

 

 

The only buildings on the island were the remains of a lodge that was abandoned during construction.  We jumped into the water while our fish were put on the grill.  The majority of the beach was exposed reef, but there was still plenty of white sand.  There were tons of little fish in the shallow water that would dart away from us.  As we got closer, they jumped out of the water and around our legs, which was an odd sensation.

 

 

Our original plan was to eat and go to Carrusca, but the wind had picked up and it would have taken hours to go a very little distance.  So we set up our tents and relaxed the rest of the afternoon.  Dinner was made when they cooked lunch so we ate when we were ready before having a fire on the beach.  It was low tide and again we couldn’t believe how far we could walk.  The light of the moon guided us out at least 25 meters before the waves started crashing again.

 

 

 

 

By the next morning, the tide had come back in and washed away the remains of our fire.  We woke up to watch the sunrise across the island as there was too much bush to reach the other shore.  Our boat returned to make us breakfast and Harry and his girlfriend left us on a second boat that came to get them.  Once we’d taken down the tents and packed everything up, we walked out to the boat.  It was low tide again so we walked through ankle deep water until we reached the point where the boat was floating.

 

 

We coasted over to the mainland toward the Carrusca Mar e Sol Hotel.  As the tide was out, the beach appeared massive and was completely different to the islands.  There were kilometers of wide white sand beach with the turquoise waters slowly working their way back in.  What added to the feeling was that we were almost the only people on the beach.  There were fishermen and a few people selling crafts, but for the most part we had the beach to ourselves.

 

 

We laid down our towels and got in to enjoy the water.  It wasn’t as transparent as the islands as the sand was extremely fine, which caused the water to cloud as we walked.  After we had soaked up enough sun, we headed to the lodge for lunch.  It appeared that there was a small conference there, but again we were the only tourists.

The boat ride back took longer than expected due to the wind.  We ended up having to tack as we were headed straight into the wind.  As the dhow doesn’t have the pulleys and more advanced systems that most sailboats have now, it was great to watch.  They swung the sail over the mast, turned 270 degrees with the help of the wind and then used their force to pull in the sail.  We zigzagged back and forth with the final spin landing us back on Ilha.

 

 

 

We had hoped to get in a chapa and get to Namialo before dark so we could catch the 7 am bus the next morning. As it was already getting late, we thought it was a long shot. The guy in our hostel said exactly what we were thinking and we decided to stay another night. We’d been told to be along the main road at 3:30 am to catch a chapa and make it to the morning bus, but we decided to take our time and catch the afternoon bus.

The islands near Ilha de Mozambique were surrounded by transparent turquoise water.  They invited you to jump in and spend time along the white sand beaches.  More than anything, the islands felt untouched compared to life on Ilha as the only inhabitant on the 2 islands was the lighthouse watchman.  It was hard to say goodbye to area, but we knew we’d continue to see beautiful beaches as we moved North.

Helpful tips:

• Almost everyone on Ilha will try to offer you a boat trip.  Be ready to say no or bargain a good rate.
• Trips that include boats with engines will cost more.
• Compared to the Bazaruto or Quirimbas archipelagos, the island trips at Ilha are much more affordable.