2nd June, 1990
Mozambique Island, a Portuguese version of Zanzibar, was the country’s capital until 1907. This small island, completely covered with buildings, is attached to the mainland by a single-lane causeway, well-guarded and surprisingly still intact. Lumbo airport lies on the mainland nearby. The elephant grass on each side of the tarmac strip rose three metres tall, making us suddenly fearful of an ambush. But there was no-one in sight, not even when we rounded the corner to the tiny terminal building, until an old man hobbled onto the patio with two red batons to direct us.
“Decolar que horas? What time take off?” he asked by way of welcome.
“We’re going to visit Ilha de Moçambique. We’ll leave tomorrow.”
“But here no soldiers to guard plane. Me don’t know you coming.”
“Is it a problem?”
“Very serious.” He shook his head disapprovingly. “Bandidos armados attack here last week. They fire houses, kill people. You must go.”
He urgently encouraged us to leave for Nampula, 80 nautical miles inland. The panic in his voice made it clear that he was serious. For us, it was a gamble. Should we stay and risk having the plane torched, or fly inland and risk being shot down?
From Freedom of the Skies
Glimpses of the journey:
- Around the world
- Crossing the Atlantic
- Saint Louis, Senegal
- Bubaque, Guiné-Bissau
- Timbuktu, Mali
- Cottars’ Camp, Kenya
- Virungas National Park, Zaire
- Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe
- Sossusvlei, Namíbia
- Lumbo, Mozambique
- Antananarivo Madagascar
- Adis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Misfat, Omã
- Jaipur, India
- Himalaia, Nepal
- Mae Hong Son, Thailand
- Bario, Sarawak, Malaysia
- Borobodur, Java, Indonesia
- Baliem Valley, Irian Jaya
- Gimbat, Australia
- Munda, New Georgia, Solomon Islands
- Hurricane in Apia, Western Samoa
- Anaa, Tuamotu, Polynesia
- Easter Island, Chile
- Crossing the Andes, Chile-Argentina
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
