MSC Sinfonia: Portuguese Islands

On day 3 of our cruise, we were anchored in the middle of the ocean and were transported via a massive rubber duck type boat to the Portuguese Islands.

You can see the Sinfonia far in the background

We went to Inhaca Islands which is situated across the bay of Maputo, just 40km from the capital city of Mozambique. It has a population of about 6000 and they survive mainly on agriculture and fishing in the communities. Again, the people here are incredibly poor. We had 2 little local boys trailing behind us as we were taking pictures and when we gave them each a R10 note, it was as if they'd won the lottery. Very humbling experience.

On our way to Inhaca

We stopped for lunch at one of the few restaurants on the island and because I was hanging like a wet sock as a result of the previous late nights, the heat and humidity were seriously starting to take its toll. All you want to do is drink liquids and soon you realise you haven't eaten much in a day.

A menu to compare prices (Check the price of crayfish)

Very "sorry my dear" market

The bottle store :D

Delicious prawns

Swimming in this water was amazing. 

I had a wonderful experience on these islands. It was definitely a worthwhile adventure and even G had to be coaxed out of the water so that we could go back to the ship.

MSC Sinfonia - Maputo, Mozambique

I would recommend this trip to anyone and everyone. In fact at least 10 of my friends have also taken this very same trip in the same year, unfortunately our planning skills sucked and we weren't able to enjoy it together but still a worthwhile holiday.

View of the deck where you spend most of the day

First stop was Maputo, Mozambique and what strikes you is that despite its setting in one of the most beautifully tropical almost island climates, the buildings are derelict and the people are incredibly poor. the locals rely solely on tourism and fishing as a means to support themselves financially and everyone is trying to get you to buy something.

Vendors selling everything from booze to "fresh"vegetables

The city centre that we walked through has many high rise buildings in various stages of decay, but were still inhabited by people. One building looked as if it had been ravaged by fire.

Many streets in the CBD look like this one. Helen Zille would be disgusted.

Despite the disappointing greeting described above, Mozambiquan people are warm and friendly and only want to take you all over the City. Hence why our tuktuk driver took us somewhere completely off the beaten track and we ended up lost for a good hour.

We managed to find someone who spoke fluent English at a hotel I still have no clue where we were and ended up at the port at a quaint little seafood restaurant. Sometimes you have to give these places a chance.

Even though the pool had seen better days, we definitely enjoyed the lunch as did many other MSC Sinfonia boat trippers whom we met at the restaurant.

More later...

Durban & Mozambique 2012

Wow. I have somewhat neglected to maintain this blog page.

Nevertheless, with some spare time on my hands I can slowly update about the fantastic holiday we had in Mozambique and Durban this year.

Let's start with Durban, which, after the Western Cape is definitely one of my favourite destinations in South Africa. I can handle the humidity and gigantic ants. We visited my best friend Jody, who was living there at the time and managed to act like tourists in the City for a few days.

My KZN highlights were:

1. Moses Mabhida Stadium - It's definitely worthwhile taking the Skycar for a panoramic view of the City. Also something that the City of Cape Town can learn from MMS is the use of the Stadium for social activities like restaurants and bars.
2. Roma Revolving Restaurant - If you can stomach high altitudes I would suggest that you check in at this eatery which specialises in Italian cuisine, atop a restaurant with a speed control mechanism which allows for a revolution of anything between 60 and 90 minutes. Check out their website for details. http://www.roma.co.za/home/
3. Bunny Chow - needs no explanation and what's a visit to Durban without tasting one of the various bunny chows on offer.
4. uShaka Marine World - water slides and pools as well as shark tanks and rides for a fun filled Wet 'n Wild day, regardless of how old you are, nothing beats a water slide!

Moses Mabhida Stadium - Skycar

Mr Moses Mabhida

Someone struggles with heights

Truly such a great time with 2 of my favourites, wish I could visit every year.

Next up : Mozambique..