Maputo, Mozambique

Hi All,

This morning we arrived in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.  This is what the city looked like from the ship.

We took a city tour.

Our first stop was the beautiful train station.  

Waiting for the train.

Lined up to buy tickets.

These cars have been around a while.

A contrast in modes of transportation, our ship in the background.

This clock was in the station, this is one side of it.

 And the other side, hmmm.

Next we went to this fort that was built by the Portuguese in the 1500s.

The Portuguese ruled Mozambique from the mid 1500s.  After a nasty war with Portuguese colonial forces, the nation’s independence was won in 1975.  These reliefs in the fort show Portuguese brutalization of the country’s natives.

Most city tours seem to involve a church, today was no exception.  We visited this Catholic cathedral.  

The church has some beautiful stained glass.

These kids were outside the church.  Kids are the same everywhere, adorable.

A couple typical apartment buildings.

Notice the colorful painting on the side of this one.

This house was built by Gustave Eiffel.  He also built that little tower in Paris.  The house is made from metal.  Originally intended to be the Governor’s home, it turned out to be too hot to live in under Maputo’s tropical conditions, and it is now a museum.

This new government building is being built by a Chinese company.

Some views from our tour bus.

Flower market

Some roadside commerce, selling belts.

We saw lots of banana vendors.

Kids at a concert.

Next stop was a botanical garden.

 

Beautiful flowers everywhere.

Finally we went to the natural history museum.

Lots of animal displays

This zebra was not having a good day.

These kids were on a trip to the museum.  Can you tell that they loved having their picture taken.

So that is a look at Maputo.  It is a hectic, fairly modern, and seemingly prosperous  city.  We did not see the poverty that we saw in Madagascar.  Our guide said we were lucky to be visiting on Saturday because the weekday traffic is very congested.  We bought a couple wooden bowls.  These had to be surrendered when we returned to the ship.  They will be placed in a freezer for 72 hours to make sure any bugs and their eggs are eliminated.  The items will then be delivered bug free to our stateroom.  We sail this evening for our first port in South Africa, Richards Bay.  We will be going on an all day tour of a nature preserve.  Bye for now.

Jerry and Helen