Vilankulos 26 -30 May, Inhassora 30/5 to 1 June

Saturday 26^th- Sunday 27th May 2012

We left Pomene at  7h00 after a false start the previous day. We found out at the last moment that there was a truck broken down  across the road and we would not be able to get passed it. We spent another day at Pomene, which is so beautiful that there could be far worse places to be stranded. During the day they told us that they had managed to move the truck slightly to the side, so we would be able to leave.
Still quite a hectic drive out, especially when you come around the corner to find  the truck is still very much in the road. At one stage in the overgrown, deep sand section we heard a big thud but could not stop there. When we were able to stop we found branches stuck under the boards on the roof and thought that this was the noise. However when we arrived in Vilankulos and started setting up, we realized that our crank out awning was missing from the side of the truck. We think that this must be sitting in the trees somewhere along the Pomene road. Management at the resort are trying to see if anyone has seen it on the road.
We tried to see if we could extend our tourist visas at the airport here in Vilankulos, but no luck, we may be able to do it in Beira.

We are staying at Blue Water Beach Resort on the south side of Vilankulos. We are the only people here and it is very peaceful. We are using the gazebo for a bit of shade but hopefully we can make a plan to replace it or something. The sites have grass and they have a gorgeous infinity pool overlooking the Bay

view from pool

We are hoping to do a dhow trip over to Maguruque Islands on Tuesday to do some snorkelling, this will be weather dependant.

We have had a very chilled out day at Blue Waters and went over the road to a lovely little restaurant with a pool and awesome pizzas.

Pizza at restaurant over road

Tomorrow, being Monday we are hoping to get a chappa into town and to find a wi-fi connection to pay accounts, update blogs and do some much needed work. We are keen to explore the town and to stock up on some groceries.

Sunrise from Blue water Beach lodge

On Tuesday morning we met Captain John and Martenengo on the beach at 7h00 to go on their dhow Papaya across to the Magaruque Islands. It was a beautiful morning with not much wind. It took us three hours to get across to the island. Once we were there we snorkeled on this stunning reef and saw some amazing sea life. They made us an amazing seafood curry for lunch. We spent some time collecting shells and swimming. The tide then went out and the whole reef where we had been snorkeling was exposed. It is amazing the difference in tidal zones here. It goes from about 4m depth to less than a metre. The wind had picked up a bit in the afternoon when it was time to head back to the mainland and it took us 2 hours back.

Dhow at sunrise

Martenengo & Captain John

Dhow at Magaruque

Marquee with reef in background

30 May to 1 June - Inhassoro

The road - 15km - into Inhassora from EN1 is the width of a single lane, so when a car / truck / taxi comes, you drive with one wheel on the left hand dirt road. generally game of chicken happans

half on - half off

Beach in front of Seta campsite in Inhassora

On the left hand side as you enter Inhassoro, before the turn off to Bartholomew Dias Lodge, there is a little bakery that churns out the most delicious pao, rolls and sweetbuns.



Bryce & Aimee running up to bakery

Just outside the Seta campsite

Huge spider at campsite

Staying at Seta Hotel and campsite. leaving tomorrow for Beira where we are hopefully getting our passports extended then on to Gorongosa National Park  going to be a long day.