Inhambane

An hour flight north of Maputo this quaint little town is one of Mozambique's oldest. Before the Portuguese settled here, Muslims would hang out sailing Dhow's along the shallow coastal waters. The Muslim Dhow Sailing Club (MDSC) started here in 1462. Nightly regattas were held with massive buffets afterward. Good times. That all changed when Portuguese explorer extraordinaire, Vasco da Gama, showed up in 1498. Guess who won the regattas now? That's right. Vasco did. He won everything. As a result, Vasco became extremely popular. (BMOC). During every race, thousands of Muslim's lining the shore would chant, "Vasco Vasco he's our man......", you know how it goes. The people were great, the food was awesome....it was Vasco's kind of town. Like Vegas. It was so good he gave it the name, "terre da boa gente", or "Land of the gentle people".
Inhambane then became a major export town for ivory and slaves. Kind of a buzz kill. Then all the action moved south toward Maputo and eventually Inhambane eased into a role of sleepy Portuguese town with high end resorts along the coast. They have huts on stilts, white beds with beautiful flowing mosquito nets, and fishing from your deck. Just like the Edgewater in Seattle.

pw