Greetings from hotels that are so nice, most of us (including yours truly) could never afford to stay here and act like this lifestyle is quotidienne.
Question that answers itself: You know what I love about visiting countries that enjoy real estate along the ocean?
But I’m here to check out a bit of Maputo during this short stay, so means getting out beyond the manicured grounds of my beautiful hotel and having a tiny look around. I won’t be able to get outside the city on this trip, so I’m hereby giving you a short-attention span slideshow of this chill and brightly colored city.
Adventurous and stubborn Megan normally eschews any kind of tour group that screams “Hey! Come sell crap to these people!” But I will say that as I get older and more wise/humble/appreciative of basic human proclivity, I find myself considering this option with greater frequency. Especially when I find myself in a largely unknown place and I’m traveling by myself. Also, I’m still rather skittish after getting mugged last year in Tanzania- so since I was going to be sightseeing by myself around Maputo, I was happy to just hit the Easy Button (to steal a phrase from my good friends Mike and Liz) and opt for a sight seeing choo choo train.
After making a reservation the day prior, I was told to walk down two streets and stand at a nondescript bus stop that looked nothing in the way of touristy. Sure enough, a long and rather comical red and yellow train did indeed rattle up and I knew that this was my ride. I will spare you the visual and just show you a bit of what I saw from inside this enchanting little outing. First stop, a closer look at the water. Down here you could see the fisherman wrapping up their morning business.
Call me boorish, but the first thing I asked Leo (my tour guide) was whether I could go running safely through Maputo. He said that lots of people are seen working out in the morning- especially along this stretch of ocean. Down here you really enjoy a beautiful projection out into the Indian Ocean, and in my mind’s eye I could see myself running here quite happily.
“What’s this area called?” I asked Leo. “It’s called Marginal” he answered as he then proceeded to point out this former swimming area that was once cordoned off to protect swimmers from sharks. Marginal, eh? My mind flashed back to a safety printout provided by the U.S. Embassy in Maputo- “avoid the area known as Marginal- muggings happen here”. Eff. Cautious Megan has just lost her new favorite and as of yet untested running path in Maputo. Sigh.
“In the morning you can see the military doing training exercises.” Leo told me as he pointed to these guys. Yes, apparently these are military- but I’m not sure what kind of training they are doing in this small craft. Getting their rowing PQS signed off? To be fair, a RHIB did zip by about a minute beforehand these guys showed up- but the two boats didn’t exactly look related.
We passed streets named after various notable figures to include Patrice Lumumba, Robert Mugabe, Kim Il-Sung and Karl Marx. I definitely appreciate visiting different countries and checking out the various prominent figures who are celebrated. We even passed a shopping mall that owned by a guy who is “currently being investigated by the United States”. I asked Leo what he meant by that, and according to him this guy is one of the top five drug dealers in the world. Additionally, Leo recommended that if I want to buy anything in here, I should not use my credit card. Awesome. This tour is fantastic!
Mozambique gained its independence in 1975 from Portugal (and then suffered a violent civil war that only ended in 1992). Here you can see a fort built in 1721 juxtaposed against against modern buildings. Inside holds the remains of the first Mozambican who rose up against the Portuguese. On the outside are cars parked on the lawn as they wait to get washed. Old and new.
Next we checked out the old train station- if you’ve seen the movie Blood Diamonds (I have not), this place was used in the movie. It was also built by the Portuguese and has apparently been voted the most beautiful train station in Africa.
I dig the green color.
Aren’t train stations the best? No matter where you find them in the world, they really give you a sense of timelessness.
Phone booth in the station. I don’t speak Portuguese, but I had fun translating this little bit of signage.
After the train station our magical mystery train was on its way to check out the local market. Here I’d get an opportunity to do a little comparison shopping between markets in Dakar and markets in Maputo.
We hadn’t even jumped out of our brightly-colored (and impossible to overlook) rolling train before vendors came alongside to sell us their wares.
This guy was one of the first street merchants to shuffle up- and as if I were watching a Slap N Chop infomercial, we suddenly got a trainside demonstration of his coleslaw-creating double knife. I was interested both in the product as well as the vendor’s genuine interest in said product. Me, I opted to carry on my luggage for this trip through southern Africa, so sadly I did not pick up a coleslawing gadget.
Inside the market it is very clean and not at all on par with the nose-stinging aromas found in Dakar. The vendors also utilize a much softer sell. Happily, we really weren’t followed by any aggressive vendors- even though they were easily found along the perimeter of the market should suddenly require a new pair of knock-off designer sunglasses. Or coleslaw knives.
Price list, and apparently everything is free today.
Remember the cashews that I carped about in my previous blog entry? They are in full supply down here. I sampled a couple in the market- and while I wasn’t particularly taken with their crunch- I will say that I was just handed a small bowl of hot cashews here in the bar where I am typing- and they taste amazing. I hereby retract anything bad I ever said about the cashews offered in this region. Equally, I am a bit concerned at how much headspace I have now devoted to exploring the subject of tree nuts.
Maputo has loads of outstanding seafood, to include these live crab. When I asked Leo what the Portuguese word for crab was, he told me and then said that to call someone a crab is an insult since that means he or she is someone always trying to keep others down. I love random cultural fun facts like this one.
I asked Leo about some of the food that should be tried here- and while he didn’t exactly say that I should pop some of these guys into my mouth, dried prawns and fish are used as a seasoning. I can’t comment on the taste, but I can give them top marks in terms of presentation.
Prepare to roll your eyes, but this is what I ended up buying in the market. Yes you can get baobab fruit in Senegal, but I wanted a bag to bring back to the hotel and share it with my friends visiting from America.
I thought that this building was old timey and cool (I was also curious to learn how prevalent Islam was in Mozambique), but you also get a look at one of the more standard (and cheap) means of transportation around town. It’s like I’m back in Thailand again.
On the road again and spying a pretty mosque located down a side street. Wikipedia tells me that Muslims comprise almost 20% of the population. I definitely saw some Halal food trucks and expressions of Islam while poking around town, which made me think that I definitely could use the response “inch’allah” when vendors asked if I would come back and look at their stuff. Actually, most merchants weren’t that aggressive and really couldn’t be bothered if I didn’t show interest in their wares after their initial solicitation. Unless you’re holding a head of cabbage, that is….
We’re still rambling around Maputo when I look up and am surprised to see a familiar face coming back to us for a re-attack with the coleslaw knife. I swear to God we saw him approach our Crayola train three times. Making a living isn’t easy, so I recognize that you’ve to be persistent if you want to be able to finance your next meal. I’m telling you, if I wasn’t carrying on my suitcase for this entire trip then I’d have bought this fine kitchen utensil. I think he must have sensed my interest.
The street vendors aren’t as copious as they are in Dakar, but I always love to see what is for sale on the streets. Dog collar, anyone?
A look down the street leading to the ocean. I think this statue is admonishing motorists to drive with care- either that or you can check out the internet yourself to discover what historical distinction this guy holds.
Behold the most important Catholic church in Maputo. As a former Portuguese colony, this should not come as big surprise.
Our perfunctory tour continued as we skirted the beautiful botanical gardens. Along the perimeter we passed these cardboard signs strung up by a very famous Mozambique jazz guitar player. Or he used to be. According to Leo he went over to America and came back a little mad. And now he spends his days criticizing the Mozambique government by putting up these signs.
This beautiful building is the Museum of Natural History and is significant because it holds a collection of elephant fetuses that document the gestational phases of a baby elephant. Definitely the most random thing pointed out during this trip. Fortunately, there were more gaudy sights to behold…
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the pink Portuguese embassy. Is pretty 1970s, no?
Tomorrow my shield of rolling tourism will be shed. One way or another, I’ll be getting my 13 mile run accomplished here in Maputo.
So that’s kind of it in terms of checking out Maputo. Sure, there’s lots more- but I am afraid that my cashew supply has run dry and I need to get ready for supper. You know what I am hoping that they’ll serve us as a first course? You guessed it, cabbage salad. This country is pretty cool, and I can only wish that I were spending more time to have a look around. We haven’t even scratched the surface!