It was another early morning as we have a Walking Tour of
Maputo at 9:15. We are docked which
makes getting off of the ship much easier.
The weather is much cooler as well as very cloudy and rainy off and on,
so we are taking our umbrellas and doing the tour any way.
We had coffee and yogurt in the Coffee Bar and then went to
the theatre to get our tour tickets. We
got on the last group which was good as there are usually fewer people in the
last group. Sten was our guide – he was
born and raised in Mabuto, the capital of Mozambique.
We left the pier on foot and it was a very short walk to the
Train Station, reputedly designed by Eiffel but it wasn’t. It was under renovation so we couldn’t see
the beautiful façade but we walked in and saw the tracks and some very old
engines – small gauge.
The harbor sailing in to Maputo, Mozambique
The old train station - under renovation
Old train displays were set up inside on the platforms
The inside of the train station in Maputo
An old steam engine
Beautiful elaborate building - all under renovation
Statue in the plaza in front of the train station
The statue in memory of those who fought for the country
From there we went across the square to a monument built to
remember those who fought in one of the wars.
Then we walked through the red light district where there were lots of
night clubs. Sten explained that 1 in 10
people in Mozambique have HIV and it is a huge problem, mostly due to the lack
of education and poverty.
We saw one of the only mosques where you don’t have to take
your shoes off. Then we walked past some
government buildings to an old fort built by the Portuguese. The Portuguese were so cruel to the natives
when they came to Mozambique and the locals were thrilled when they left. There have been many wars in Mozambique until
it became independent in 1963 and was unified.
One of the only mosques in the world where you don't take your shoes off. Why?
People will steal your shoes here!
A good bit of building going on in Maputo
A nautical museum in Maputo
The old fort in Maputo
The fort was well maintained and an interesting visit
Old cannon on display in the parade ground
View of the parade ground from up on the ramparts
A nearby market busy with lots of customers
Beautiful engraved cannon
More engraved cannon
Cannon and shells line the walls of the ramparts
Several statues of famous people in the fort
Another bronze statue
A relief depicting one of the many wars to conquer Mozambique
A tombstone marker in the fort
Our guide explaining the statues and the fort
An old casket
We walked to the Continental Café and had very strong coffee – like Cuban coffee – and a sweet that was made of coconut. We had a chance to rest and enjoy the busy streets with lots of cars. Parking is a real issue in Mabuto and they park everywhere. Sten showed us the “parking authorities” monitoring the parking but explained that they are the most corrupt of any of the government officials.
We then went to the large market that was actually pretty
clean as far as the African markets go.
Fish, meats, produce, gifts, etc – you can find anything here. Tim bought 3 bags of cashews for $10. We then decided to leave our group and go off
on our own – “independent” as Lydia from Sydney calls it. Sten wasn’t happy but I tipped him and off we
went.
Interesting art about women in the museum part of the fort
The bakery/café where we had coffee and a treat
The busy streets of Maputo - cars parked everywhere
The market - quite a beautiful building for a market
Inside the market - they sold everything - we bough cashews
But much of the city is crumbling and falling down - so sad
A statue in one of the pretty parks
The iron house -made entirely of iron - I'll bet it's noisy when it rains!
The large cathedral near the government buildings
The congress building
Inside the Congress building
Beautiful floors and architecture, but water leaks all over - badly stained ceilings
Tim at the central circle in Maputo, Mozambique
Typical housing scene - somewhat squalid conditions
Sailing out of the port of Maputo, Mozambique
The infrastructure of the city is crumbling and so sad. The sidewalks are a mess, puddles and mud
everywhere and buildings in shambles and falling down. We walked toward the “congress” building and
came across the “Iron House” designed by Eiffel and made of all iron panels
that came from Korea! Some other people
from our group went in but they said it was hot and not much to see. We walked to the congress building and it had
water running across the floor from leaky ceilings. We then took a different path back to the
ship and it started raining harder so the umbrellas came out.
We got back to the ship, changed clothes and went to lunch
in the dining room. One of my favorite
waiters, I Cade from Bali, served us.
He’s so funny and cute.
We relaxed and read in the room and then went to the gym for
an hour. We showered and dressed and
went up on deck before 5 for sail away.
Then we went early to the theatre to get a good seat for the Christmas
Show at 5:30. It was a great show with
lots of Christmas carols, a great contemporary number by David and Nathan, and
a super lyra number by the show girls.
Great fun.
The cast was all decked out for the Christmas Show
Good music, good dancing, good costumes, a fun evening
Nathan and Allan with the other dancers and singers in the Christmas production
The 12 Days of Christmas was a hoot!
And Santa even arrived at the end of the show
The girl dancers did some ring performances that were excellent
A great way to celebrate Christmas in the Indian Ocean - quite a production!
We went to Observation and met Patricia and Paul there for a
drink. I got the maître d’ to get us in
early at Prime 7 so we went and had a super dinner. Tim and I shared the 42 oz. porterhouse. We closed the restaurant. We then went for a nightcap at Observation
and ended up closing the bar. We are experiencing
weather now so the ship is “rockin’ and rollin’”!
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