A loo with a view

Things are always much better in the light of day. Our overnight stop looked good in the bright morning sunshine, and if we had managed to coax some hot water from the shower then things would have been perfect.
The return to Nampula was a breeze compared to the madness of the drive in the dark. After fuelling the trucks, hitting an ATM, and getting bread and veggies we moved on for Ilha da Mozambique and thankfully we had a good road despite the usual obstacles of vehicles, people, and animals.
The site, Casuarina Campismo, on the mainland right next to the causeway that links to Ilha was idyllic, right on the lovely white sandy beach, cold showers and a bucket flush loo. The only fly in the ointment being the locals using the shoreline as their toilet, as they have probably done for centuries. So no swimming here, and makes you wonder about using any beach doesn't it?
Today we used our legs for the first time in a while and walked over to Ilha to explore, the causeway is about 3km long. The island is a UNESCO World Heritage site and was very interesting to wander. It is quite sight with the streets lined with mostly ruined old Portuguese buildings but it was bustling none the less. As on the mainland, most old buildings are left to rot, a few are utilised for shops, and the locals build their own mud and thatch dwellings in-between. There is quite a bit of reconstruction going on and we came across the Secondary school which looked brand new. The locals were very friendly and understandably inquisitive. It was a long morning, especially as we had started early hoping to find breakfast on the island. All we managed was the odd doughy thing from street vendors, deliciously welcome. Rebecca was suffering from a blister on her foot but soldiered on like a real trooper. We were glad to eventually make it back to camp for lunch in the heat of the midday sun.
Our timing was good though as we had barely set foot off the causeway when Kingsley Holgate and his band of merry men and women pulled up in their convoy waiting to cross over to Ilha. We had a quick handshake and chat with Kingsley before they sped off over to the island to dish out their cargo of mosquito nets. Its a small world but we thought we might cross paths somewhere on route.
So today, north to Pemba and beyond.
S15'02.540 E40'41.726