Another afternoon we take a simple wooden boat to a nearby lagoon to swim in heavy rain, palm trees jutting out from the island’s skyline menacingly, and a fog settling over the steaming, smoky-green water. The lagoon feels like something from a Peter Doig painting. Around it, Pemba’s predominantly Muslim population go about their business, chopping things, selling things. Back on the beach, women wade out to sea with baskets on their head to harvest seaweed, covered from head to toe in brightly coloured kanga (traditional Swahili dress).
