Mozambique – We Have Arrived!!!

An early start of 4am had us on the road and back at the airport, ready for our flight to Nampula, Mozambique, where we would be transferred to Coral Lodge 15.41 – our home for 4 days as well as the site of our African blessing ceremony.

Coral Lodge 15.41 is a unique barefoot beach retreat situated on a peninsula within the wild and rugged Varanda nature reserve in Northern Mozambique.  It was conceived and created by a very brave and ambitious Dutch couple – Alexandra and Bart Otto who had a dream of opening a high-end lodge on the coast of East Africa so they could spend quality time together while they raised their 3 year old son. 

Opened in June 2010, the lodge has 8 luxury villas. We opted for one with fantastic ocean views.

The view from our Villa (No.3), was wonderful - the video below captures a time-lapse of an afternoon and gives an idea of how idyllic the location is.

The beaches were amazing and we spent many hours walking the picturesque coastline, as well as the large sandy tidal flats which we shared each morning with fisherman and children from the nearby village who were foraging for sea worms that they would later dry and eat.

  

  

Watching the constant dhow traffic along the coast, used for both fishing and transportation, drove home that we were in a part of Africa that remains largely untouched.

  

 

In addition to our beachcombing and swims, we took advantage of the lodge’s traditional dhow to sail to one of the nearby deserted islands for a day, where we had a sumptous lunch, including a massive lobster large enough to feed both of us!

 

We thought that Alex and Bart achieved their goal of creating a top-end resort admirably, with fantastic accomodation, wonderful and attentive staff and a chef (Carlos) who created superb dishes each night.We were particularly impressed with Carlos and his creations; his passion for his craft was impressive.  He was trained as an autoplant engineer in East Berlin while Mozambique was still supported by the USSR, only to return home to find that there was no use for those skills (no auto plants!).  As a result, he interned in a restaurant, and anyone who tastes his delicacies will appreciate that it was a fortunate twist in his career!  While he had worked at numerous larger restaurants, and been sent to train in Amsterdam, he has chosen to work at a small lodge.  His passion is the creativity required to make perfect dishes from the unpredictable fresh produce that is sourced from the nearby village and fisherman each day. 

We loved our time at Coral Lodge – a perfect place for our African blessing ceremony – stay tuned for photos of our special day!