I went to the island shortly after the war ended, so this review may be rather out of date. It was an unforgettable experience. I flew from Maputo to Nampula and drove in a battered taxi for three hours through the rain soaked jungle. It took three hours because of the huge craters from mines littering the road. I would say about 40% of the local people had injuries or were maimed from mines. The Island of Mozambique lies like a glittering pearl in an blue-green lagoon. It is reached via a single-track concrete pillared causeway built by the Portuguese in the sixties. During the war the population, migrating to the coast from inland, expanded from 3000 to 25000 in a few years, and the population continues to rise, placing unsustainable pressure on the scant resources of this tiny island. Water shortages are common, there is strepticocca all over the coral surrounding the island from unprocessed human effluent. This situation may well have improved since my visit, but the floods of a cuple of years ago cannot have improved the situation. The island itself is beyond comparison in the Indian Ocean. Zanzibar, Kilwa, Mombasa, even Lamu, cannot hold a candle to it in terms of historical importance, beauty, charm, variety... The 17th century Portuguese fort is magnificent, the baroque gateway carved from stone and white coral, and the old bronze cannon still there, rotting in their emplacements. The ancient chapel on the tip of the island being restored by a small team of dedicated craftsmen; the governors palace, a Visconti-esque fantasty of tattered damask curtains and Indo-Portuguese furniture; the fabulous Neo-classical Hospital, once the healthcare marvel of the Indian Ocean, now a decaying hulk; the old slave-huts and Admiralty, the fruit and spice market, the mosque, the beaches, the old colonial palaces and houses -all beautiful. I can't recommend it highly enough. Be careful what you drink; theres hardly anything to eat except lobsters and pineapples; its highly malarial there; negotiate your boat trips, including fuel, before you set off; there are marvellous beaches across the lagoon on the island with the lighthouse. Everyone should go there NOW, before it is restored and commercialised to death. This is bound to happen sooner or later - its just too good an opportunity to miss!