7 reasons to cruise to Mozambique's exotic Ilha island

This seven-night cruise to the old capital of Mozambique and back is the stuff memories are made of, writes Paul Ash

1) There is nothing like doing nothing at sea

The voyage to Ilha de Moçambique is one of the longest cruises you can do in local waters. The island is a long way from Durban, which means four days at sea in which you get to stare at the deep navy blue of the Indian Ocean, listening to the sea rushing past and watching flying fish and puffy white clouds and dramatic thunderstorms burst on the faraway horizon.

2) The ship becomes your home

With just 2,500 passengers, the MSC Sinfonia is positively tiny by modern standards and after a couple of days she feels like home. I quickly adopted a fine routine: breakfast brought to my cabin at 7.30am, a quick amble around the boat deck for some sparkling sea air then a morning nap with the balcony door open to hear the sea crashing past. A late lunch at 2pm, followed by another nap or a dip in the pool. Early dinner, maybe a show, another amble round the deck to check the stars, then bed. Sleep. Deep sea dreams. Repeat.

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3) You will meet interesting people

Last year on the same voyage, I dined alone, which was sort of weird. This year a full ship meant I was seated at random at a table with seven other people. Who says the art of conversation is dead? Our dinners were lively and funny and after a week we were firm friends. You don't get that on a three-night cruise.

4) Time stops

By the time I staggered aboard the vessel, I had been travelling non-stop for four months. I needed to catch my breath and a week-long cruise proved just the ticket. On a sea voyage like this, the days blur. You breathe, you eat, you sleep, your mind wanders and you regain some of your humanity. It's like you've entered a parallel universe where the clocks move slower and people smile more easily.

5) Ilha de Moçambique is as exotic as it gets ...

Those slow-moving clocks will put you in the right frame of mind for the time capsule that is Ilha. Seafarers have been calling here for more than 1,000 years. The Portuguese arrived with Vasco da Gama in 1498 and stayed for 500 years. In 1508, they began building the fort of Sao Sebastiao, the largest fort in East Africa, but first they built a little church, the Capela de Nossa Senhora de Baluarte, which translates as the Church of Our Lady of the Bulwarks.

Both were built to last and there is something quite stirring about standing in the nave, where ancient mariners probably fell on their knees and gave voluble thanks for their being spared the various horrors of those long voyages from Europe to India. The fort itself could use a curator to develop its potential but it is still an absorbing place, where heavy cannons point out to sea from bastions overrun with green grass and bougainvillea. Then you can wander Ilha's old, quiet streets and dream about long-ago lives in the fantastic ochre-painted villas.

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6) ...and there is treasure there

We all dream of an island with buried treasure. Ilha has that, although not in the usual way. In the vast reception rooms in the governor's Palace of Sao Paulo (built comparatively late by Ilha's standards in the 17th century) are artifacts gathered over half a millennium - paintings, furniture, tapestries, jewellery and, oddly enough, a proper, functioning kitchen.

Amidst this are at least four Ming vases, which local legend says came from a wrecked Portuguese merchant ship in the bay but which - given their astonishing condition - may have been presents to local traders when Chinese explorer Zheng He's massive fleet came calling on one of his voyages between 1406 and 1433.

The other marvel, which never fails to stun me, is a huge tapestry in the dining room of a despairing shipwreck scene with emaciated, forlorn castaways on the beach and faces peering at them from the jungle beyond. We don't know when the tapestry was made or who the artist was but it is a stark memorial to the many Portuguese vessels lost on these shores and whose few pitiful survivors often came staggering into Ilha years later after a bitter trek up the coast.

7) .... and fine places to eat by the bay

Ilha has taken a long time to waken from its postwar slumber. Ten years ago, eating and sleeping options were paltry. But its Unesco World Heritage status - and the regular arrival of the MSC Sinfonia - have given local tourism a shot in the arm and there are now a number of restaurants along the shore. This year's happy discovery for me was Rickshaws, an American-owned restaurant and pensao where I fought the heat with dark, icy Laurentina Preto and guzzled chorizo and freshly made bruschetta while watching dhows sail past as they have done for hundreds of years.

As a fellow traveller once advised me, you should go. And the best way to go there - even if only for a day - is by ship.

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Don't miss your last chance to sail to Ilha

The MSC Sinfonia will make one last voyage to Ilha de Moçambique. The eight-night cruise will depart Durban on December 18 and the ship will call at Ilha then Pomene - MSC's new Mozambican destination - and finally the perennial favourite of Portuguese Island. Prices start at R11,200 per person. For a voyage such as this, however, I strongly recommend paying for a balcony cabin (fares from R16,000) so you can lie there during the day and listen to the Indian Ocean hiss past on one of the four wonderful "sea days" when you are out on the big blue.

• To book, call 087-075-0882 - or your nearest Asata travel agent - or see msccruises.co.za.

• Ash was a guest of MSC Cruises