From Wimbi to Ilha Ibo

Fortunately Duncan a 20 something Londoner on a two week holiday is heading to Ibo also so we share a taxi a 4am taxi back to Pemba charging Mtc300. We than have a forty minute wait for the truck heading first to Quisanga and on to the boat departure point of Tandanhangue. We are joined by James and Pippa, touring South Africans.

The sealed road quickly vanishes as soon as you head out of Pemba, and the journey is yet another rough one. Although Quisanga lies just over 102kms north, the truck bumps and bounces humans and assorted baggage alike, is filled to breaking point of both. It takes a somewhat ridiculous 5 hours going through small villages and regularly stopping off to pick up unfeasibly more passengers and/or produce bags. A small frenzy of sellers greet the truck at every village selling identical and goods in each village, bananas, cassavas, reed mats, etc.

Again various bags are dropped off at everyone’s houses in the small and compact Quisanga before heading onwards to the somewhat surreal Tandanhangue some 30 minutes further onwards. It cost Mtc150 including bag.

Tandanangue is very much a one baobab tree village in front of rich mangroves with a ”shop” selling extortionate warm water for Mtc50 or coke at a reasonable Mtc30.

The Captain comes over to introduce himself and informs us in Portuguesa that the boat won’t leave till 3pm, so we share our supplies of biscuits, smoke, listen to James’ MP3 player chew the fat and take a few photos or the driest dock i have ever seen.

the dry dock at Tandanangue

Fortunately the shore is extremely flat and the tide comes in quicker clearly than many of us expected. By 12.45pm we are told we can board the motorised dhow and sail by 1.30pm for the hour crossing to Ibo island. The sea is calm and the scenery stunning.



crossing the sea at Tandanangue

a picnic on a sandbank at Tandanangue