Where blue sky touches paradise

I love island escapes; there are always enough activities to keep you occupied and on an island you are forced to relax and rejuvenate. 

This was the case on my recent visit to Bazaruto Island in Mozambique staying at the magnificent Indigo Bay Resort. One of two resorts on the island, my destination was three short flights away from Pietermaritzburg.

Bazaruto is the biggest island off Mozambique, spanning 37kms from tip to tip with a girth of 6kms. With 2,700 locals inhabiting the island, you get a good feel of everyday life in our neighbouring country. International tourists lap up the opportunity of cultural excursions into the villages and in the evenings locals put on a vibrant show, and dance around bon-fires lit on the beaches.

Gazing out over the water surrounding Indigo Bay, you are mesmerised by the number of shades of blue there are in the world, some I am sure don’t even feature on detailed colour charts. Rising early for sunrise strolls, I beat all the other tourists onto the beach, relishing my island-style existence sauntering along neatly- kept beaches, my footprints were often the only ones left in the golden sand.

Later in the morning, when the resort came to life, refreshed tourists ventured out to tackle various activities with gusto. Each day the activities menu included snorkelling; sunset sailing on a dhow; diving; dune boarding; horse-riding; deep-sea fishing or surfing. An extensive selection of boards are available in all shapes and sizes. And if that wasn’t enough, there is a myriad other options which can be custom-ordered – kite surfing for example; or snorkelling or diving off two-mile reef. Everyone at Indigo Bay would go to the ends of the earth to make your stay a pleasant memorable holiday.

My first full day was spent snorkelling around Paradise Island, true to its name. I hunted for a precious glimpse of the fabled Dugong – a rare cousin of the more familiar dolphin. After almost two hours in the water, having seen an encyclopaedia of reef life, I retreated back to the boat all prune-like, unsuccessful in my Dugong quest, but utterly satisfied. That afternoon we were free to explore Paradise and went onto the neighbouring island.

In the 50’s an extravagant Portuguese man had built a huge resort on the island, with rooms, chalets, a restaurant reaching out into the ocean and an interestingly-designed church. When the civil war struck, he escaped back to his homeland, leaving the place to lie dormant. After 25 years the now desolate place is a wonderful setting for a Robinson Crusoe wander. Having extensively clambered through the ruins, I reunited with my fellow snorkelers. After all the fresh air, swimming and walking we devoured our lunch, the picnic style beach braai was munched under a massive tarpaulin sheltering us from the sun. All of us returned in the late afternoon sun-kissed and happy.

A couple of hours later I was treated to a session at the spa, in arguably one of the best settings I have ever seen for a spa. After 45minutes of kneading elbows and healing hands I walked out taller, far less entangled and knotted. Walking back to the reception I stopped to enjoy the setting sun casting a firey glow on the trickling pond that disappeared into the ocean beyond.

The following day when the world was still asleep I met Holy Lad; a tall, dark and handsome steed. Together with Alfonso, the activities man, Holy Lad and I cantered off along the beach. Following Alfonso we passed coral reefs revealed by the low tide, shell banks and basic boat building yards set amongst coconut trees. Two works-in-progress of varying completion were propped up against the trees with a few chaps busy adding more wood to their creations. Alfonso explained that one dhow, a traditional fishing boat, could take anywhere between six months to a handful of years to complete.

Shortly after we turned up and trotted through a number of villages, a few of the small rondavel like huts were equipped with solar panels. Children played in pristine front gardens before heading off to school. Everyone greeted us pleasantly as we rode past them.

Inbetween formal activities, I managed to spend hours soaking up the sun or perfecting hanging out in a hammock on the seaside accompanied by an anthology of Saul Williams poetry. Home for my stay was a thatched chalet raised on sticks nestled in amongst the coastal forest. It was a stone throw away from the ocean, at night you were lulled to sleep by the waves gently tumbling onto the sand. I was utterly enchanted by the outdoor shower with gorgeous sea views.

Another highlight was a sunset dhow cruise. We waded through knee high water and boarded a local’s dhow, setting sail to nowhere. We carved through the water in a light wind with the skipper quietly gliding us offshore as the shadows grew longer and the sun slipped below the horizon, displaying yet another perfect sunset.

He dropped us off in front of Club Naval, the beachside restaurant where we were enticed to indulge in yet another exquisite menu. The food over the period of my stay was heavenly, from buffet breakfasts fit for a king, to lunches that encouraged siestas. To dinners, both buffet and set menus, that would have Jamie Oliver or Nigella Lawson going back for more.

I returned home with batteries recharged, completely invigorated and revitalised by nature.

My trip was kindly made possible by Airlink, Indigo Bay and Solenta Aviation. Airlink fly into Vilankulo, for more info go to www.airlink.co.za. A short flight on a Cessna airplane operated by Solenta takes you to Bazaruto, for more info contact 011 312 0196 or reservations@cfa.co.za. For bookings at Indigo Bay, contact Rani Resorts on 011 658 0633 or www.indigobayresort.com.

ENDS

Somewhere.... It snowed!

It feels odd to be stating this as a true Durbanite, but it feels warmer today with the temperature sitting comfortably on 4degrees.

Overnight the temperature plummeted to -1. This morning at breakfast there was evidence of overnight snow with cars driving past with a dusting of fresh white snow but the pavements in my surrounds only had evidence of rain.

At each sighting of Saint Etienne, the cathedral  truly is magnificent! Cruising around Bourges, it feels good not to be harassed by traders asking where you are from but walk around in solitary silence, giving you time to admire.

The familiar streets holds the same charm as before. Rugged in their cobbledness embraced by beautiful antique buildings. The weather is warmer than my previous visit, all though it seems that there has been a lot of rain in recent weeks with surrounding fields all very water logged, paths are all slodgy so you side step into the street to avoid numerous puddles, at these moments you are never sure which side of the road you are on, where the traffic is coming from so you are stepping out into the road while nervously glancing in all directions looking for a car.

Wednesday night I had the honour of watching Bourges Basketball's final game in the Euroleague, they played bottom of the log Brno. It felt like it was a training game with Bourges trying a few new things, mostly pulling them off. All the players had winning smiles on their faces as the visiting team strained to keep in the picture. The coach, Valerie Garnier, ran several changes with almost everyone getting a good run. The newcomer to the team, Johannah Leedham from England, in my opinion was the player of the match. She was silently determined and got a number of rebounds and intercepts. One play when she was in support with Dumerc haring down the court, Dumerc drew the defender to her and tossed the ball flawlessly behind her back into the waiting hands of Leedham who effortlessly added 2 more points for Bourges. Dumerc however was named MVP, her play was impressive. Her legendary charge into the circle, holding up and floating the ball in was wonderful to see. The crowd went wild every time she got the ball, and as she had done in the Olympics, she secured the ball with only seconds remaining and crushed Brno even more as she played her trademark shot. At this point, the entire stadium was on their feet singing and cheering!

I sat inside the cathedral for ages reading Saul Williams poem, Said the Shotgun to the Head. I watched as tour parties moved through the cathedral stopping at the same spots pointing at a column or stained glass window. The tour guide rattling off something of interest and flashes disturbing the peace as the tourists all captured their memories.

I have spent the previous three days trying to sort out the car that I hired. It seems their machine is not communicating with American Express. I have spoken to Amex several times and they say that there is no evidence of Europcar trying to reserve money off my card so today in despair, I cancelled the reservation and walked to the train station researching various options of where to go as I fear I have seen almost all there is to see in Bourges. All the places I would like to get to, the timing isn't right with arrival times only giving me a brief window of opportunity to sight see.

 I currently sit in an Irish pub, enjoying a Guinness with my lunch. Pondering what to do this afternoon. I sit under a glass conservatory watching the ominous weather move across the sky disguising the blue suggesting I find a few indoor activities to keep me out of mischief for the remainder of the day.

My amusement for now is a rowdy group of men who are giving the waitresses a hard time and she is handling them expertly.

For now, bon appetite and an Irish Guinness Cheers.

Pooh says hic.