Unexpected Moonlight Dhow trip

We took an early bus to Vilankulos from Beira, and landed in time to find out that an overnight dhow safari was happening the next day. We had wanted to do one, as the Bazaruto Archipelago, is now a National Park, is a glorious group of islands off the coast of this small town, accessible only by boat. We were to join a larger (19 peeps!) tour group that was composed of a bunch of Aussies, a few New Zealanders, a coupla Brits and a Swede, who had been travelling overland on a huge 4 wheel drive bus that we passed on the way into town. Hung says that now that Americans don't travel as much (post- 911) that "Australians are the new Americans" of international travel (bad reputation for being loud, rude, and oblivious to local culture and mores) - here was a chance to test this hypothesis.

We set off early Monday am with everyone excited and the only concerns expressed were if we had enough sunscreen on. Well, the weather took a rather dramatic turn and within an hour we were in the midst of a downpour, with cold gusts of wind and zero visibility. We changed course from our original morning agenda of rock reef snorkelling and motored on to Bengeurra island where our lodging was located so we could change into warm clothes and get shelter. There were not many happy campers, and some of the group wore long faces that only got longer as the two day adventure cruise wore on. Having been in worse situations with groups of longsuffering Africans, we were still in good spirits, and enjoyed the rest of our day on the island.



The next day was chilly but sunny, so we set out early for Two Mile Reef, reported to be one of the best snorkelling areas in all of Mozambique. About an hour into the 90 minute trip, 80% of the group campers (who could have chosen to go on the boat or stay on land) were complaining about the cold wind and the waves. To be fair, the swells were significant (about 3-4 feet at times) in certain areas, but the boat was very sea-worthy and for gods sake, you are on a BOAT in the OCEAN!!! I was holding my tongue with both hands when someone actually said "Does anyone really want to go to the reef?" and many started to suggest, even though we were only 500m away, that we turn back to shore. Unbelievable. Well, thankfully there were a few others besides myself who were not scared of a little wave action and when we pushed on to the reef there were 5 of us who jumped into the complete magic of the reef.



Even though conditions were not perfect, there was abundant and beautiful sealife all around. Many more fish than I had ever experienced and larger and many more colors. Wow! I could have stayed in much longer, but I could feel the stares of the whiners and wingers on my bare back, so after 30 minutes or so I returned to the boat. A few folks (including Hung) were cut on coral, as the swells were powerful and the reef was shallow. Wounds were treated & we headed back, stopping at some gorgeous white sand dunes on the main Bazaruto Island before heading back for lunch.



After lunch we had a rest and then set sail to go back to the mainland around 2:30pm. An hour into our trip, our motor (we had yet to actually use the sails on the boat due to tides and wind direction) cut out. We were now adrift and the sails were hoisted. Since it was sunny, most were still enjoying themselves (except for the die-hard complainers, a group of young Aussie girls who I wanted to throw overboard). Without the motor, a school of dolphins came right under the boat, and the sails caught the wind and moved us along at what seemed to be a pretty good clip. The captain tried to revive the motor, while we headed straight across the channel. I'll cut this part of the story short by noting that the weather again changed quickly and we were under 10 minutes of almost hail-like stinging rain. We finally disembarked after 7:30pm, having spent the last few hours huddled over the small firepit in the center of the boat, admiring the moonlight's bright reflection on the water, and listening to the captain and his mate singing what sounded like African sea shanties. Lovely & unexpected.