Mozambique’s friendly people

By Roxanne Reid
I was recently invited to visit the northern Mozambique port of Pemba in Cabo Delgado province and then take a short flight to Medjumbe Island in the Quirimbas Archipelago. Anyone who has visited that part of the world will know what an odd mix of true Africa and tropical paradise it is. But for me the highlight was Mozambique’s friendly people.

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Pemba is a fairly large town that sprawls across the land enclosing one of the world’s largest natural bays. It was hot and humid when we visited the AVANI Pemba Beach Hotel & Spa at the end of November but we enjoyed its exotic architecture, its infinity pool, its extensive breakfast buffet and its Club Navale restaurant, which served delicious prawns and crab curry. Best of all, the staff couldn’t have been friendlier or more laid back. Some spoke better English than others, but their language of welcoming smiles was universal.

Smiling faces greet you as you enter the AVANI Pemba Beach Resort & Spa

There were beaches swaying with palm trees, where naked kids giggled in the water and men fixed their once-colourful, now sun-paled dhows; there was a festival on Wimbe beach where people played a lazy game of beach soccer; there were grinning kids running to see what we were up to, this odd collection of five pale-faced women.

Pemba is a fusion of palm trees, fishing boats and beaches

Want to see the town? No problem, we piled into the minibus with a driver and a guide to explore the hills and valleys that make up the town. Pemba’s architecture is a mix of Arabian influences and Portuguese colonial, now mostly faded and sad. But the dazzling colours the people wore helped to brighten the scene, whether it was a lively red skirt, a yellow T-shirt, a swirl of colours in a skirt or head-scarf.

Whenever we stopped in Pemba, children came running to see what we were up to, but they didn't beg

And there was the local market, a rabbit warren of narrow alleys stuffed full of Chinese tat, shelves of hair products or kitchen utensils, neatly stacked vegetables and garlic, and clothing rails jam-packed with fabric in vibrant colours. Best of all was that we, five foreign women who stood out like sore thumbs, could wander the market’s alleyways without so much as a sidelong glance. We were simply accepted and ignored unless we looked interested in buying something.

Bright colours in the market

Medjumbe island
Just a 30-minute flight away by small aircraft was Anantara Medjumbe Island Resort & Spa, but it felt millions of miles away from the bustle of Pemba. Medjumbe is a tropical island in the Quirimbas Archipelago with the signature turquoise sea and creamy white beaches, nothing to do but dream the hot days away in your private pool on the deck of your cabana, take a beach walk to the lighthouse, go by boat to a neighbouring island for a picnic lunch, or knock yourself out with water sports from sea kayaking and snorkeling to windsurfing and fishing.

Worlds away from Pemba in every way but one: the people, warm, welcoming but never intrusive. There are 38 staff members on the tiny island, just 1km long by 300m wide, and each had a gentle smile that lit up his face, whether he was a barman, a waiter or the guy who cleaned your cabana.

Most workers on the island come from villages nearby on the mainland. They work for 25 days and then get five days off, sailing back to their village by dhow – something that seems impossibly romantic for us, but for them is just part of everyday life on the islands. (I was hugely disappointed that the island’s dhow was beached for repair so there was no sunset cruise by dhow for me, even though it’s a means of transport that’s been on my to-do-list for ages.) If the staff come from a little further afield, they may work for 50 days straight and then get 10 days off, allowing them longer to get home and back again after spending some time with their families.

Here in the Quirimbas you'll find both traditional dhows and more modern craft

The bar at Medjumbe, a perfect place to get one of the barmen to whip you up a pina colada

I especially enjoyed meeting Chef Gabriel Nhavoto, pastry chef extraordinaire, and his kitchen staff with their bright-eyed, enthusiastic smiles. Everything that came out of Gabriel’s hot-as-Hades kitchen was made from scratch and sublime, from light-as-a-feather croissants, pain au chocolat and pasteis de nata to fluffy omelettes, lobster bought fresh from a local fisherman, and a fine-textured crème caramel with orange sauce that was impossible to resist, even on an already full stomach.

Gabriel has worked at Medjumbe for two years, having worked and trained for 12 years at a bakery in Maputo, which also sent him to Angola for added experience.

The fabulous Chef Gabriel (left) and his staff at Medjumbe

Lobster bought from local fishermen was on the menu twice in two days

General manager Celine Pezel told me that because many of the staff are undereducated, they get ongoing training on site. ‘They may start as a dish washer and move up to waiting tables,’ she said. ‘We have 15 minutes of training every day in one aspect or another and they’re amazingly eager to learn. We’re like a big family here.’

Bento, our waiter at Medjumbe, was always helpful, always smiling

Despite all the water sports on offer, for me three experiences on Medjumbe stood out as special. One was being able to take a 5am walk along the beach to the old lighthouse with nothing but scuttling crabs for company – and to feel 100% safe doing it, no looking over your shoulder South-African style. The second was a calming and relaxing massage from spa therapist Joanne Davies, which ended with a glass of hot ginger tea and an iced water chaser while I ‘recovered’ on the spa’s deck overlooking the sea.

Third and best of all was interacting with the warmly friendly locals who work on the island and were so ready to share their abundant good nature.

I was a guest of AVANI Pemba Beach Hotel & Spa for a night and Anantara Medjumbe Island Resort & Spa for two. My flights were sponsored by Airlink.  

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