Ilha Blue, Nampula Province, Mozambique

5jasmine_zim 5:00 PM Aug 31, 2020

Infamous Ilha
A long awaited visit to Ilha de Mocambique was made even more special with Ilha Blue. Pete and Gail are lovely hosts and run this great company to help visitors to Ilha appreciate, learn and enjoy the tourism opportunities there are here. Selmani took me on a great walking tour to explore the history and architecture of this part of Mozambique. Old buildings, interesting stories ending with a sunset on the pier by the museum - wonderful afternoon of learning and appreciating the beauty. The following day we had arranged a boat trip to look for whales and have lunch on an island. Ilha Blue is an accredited whale watch operator that do trips to watch the humpback whales migrating in the Indian Ocean. We set sail on their motorized dhow with a great crew (very fit and strong!) and it was fascinating to enjoy a traditional sailboat and look for whales in quiet. Unfortunately it was slightly choppy and although we saw evidence of whales, there was no jumping out of the water for us! However, we stopped at beautiful Ilha de Goa with its white sand and ancient lighthouse from 1847 and the crew barbecued fresh garopa for us with coconut rice, accompanied by fresh, organic salad from Pete and Gail's garden, and the delicious matapa siri siri (local specialty). After that wonderful treat, we set sail again for Ilha de Mocambique and arrived back to the pier as the sun was setting after a super relaxing day out exploring the ocean! If you visit Ilha de Mocambique, Ilha Blue have the best island safari options to help you enjoy your stay, I highly recommend them as great hosts!

5Damon P 5:00 PM May 4, 2020

Good value, great service, fun experience
You won't regret this - I've been to almost 70 countries and this is really great value and a fun experience. Pete was flexible in arranging a trip for me when his team usually has a day off. The boat, drinks, freshly cooked seafood, activities and conversation were all fantastic. Pete provided a lot of great background and information about the island and other activities you can do. He helped me hire some guys to take me across the water the following day. I don't think any other boat companies speak much English so bear this in mind - I speak Portuguese but this is still the best option. The other boat companies I saw are run by nice people but don't understand the full customer service concept regarding guided explanations, activities, food, etc. They'll just taxi you somewhere. Pete and many others on the island are working hard to foster tourism in the region, educate the locals and ultimately help the economy. It's a stunning intersection of world history and trade with beautiful scenery, food and fun people.