Russell's Place in Pemba

Pemba is a beautiful and somewhat unassuming city in Northern Mozambique. It has a nice white sand beach called Wimbe and people leave from here to take overnight trips to Ibo and other small islands off the coast. We got a taxi beyond Wimbe to a backpacker's joint called Russell's place that we read about in our trusty Lonely Planet guide (Note: by this time we had come to call it "the Good Book" as in "What does The Good Book say about it?"). Russell, an Australian ex-pat who had been hosting this camp for the last 8 years or so, greeted us heartily and suggested Omar, the camp manager serve us up cold beers since we looked like weary travellers. Omar obliged and Russell further accomodated us by suggesting we stay in a small tent setup he had, since there were only dorm beds left and he understood that couples like to have some privacy. very nice.



A really nice feature of Russell's Place was the hot & cold ablutions block. In the morning and early evening they would set one of the large metal holding barrels on top of coals that would heat the water. you could then dip in the large mug to create the temperature you wanted. Deliscious!



Just across the road was a small patch of beach with water protected by a kind of cove that meant the water was perfectly still and I could swim miles out if I wanted. Fantastic! In Wimbe you could walk out from the beach and snorkle a very nice reef that was simultaneously being fished by locals (watch out for that hook!). We didn;t get hooked, but Hung did fall backwards onto a sea urchin (OUCH!) andI got to extract 7 spiny stingers from his ass.

Russell was a character & he attracted characters along with assorted backpackers and some Pemba locals at his nightly buffet dinners. He would drink whiskey and gin with his guests until late in the evening in the huge makuti thatch den decorated with all manner of Makonde carvings and comfortably populated by cats and dogs.





We liked this place and hope that it can remain true to Russell's vision even as Pemba real estate is snatched up by foreigners anxious to cash in on the next far-flung resort.