Authorities were slow getting to the ship this morning in order to run us through customs. However, we eventually made it off and found the guide for our tour of the city of Maputo. Our first stop couldn’t have been more than a few hundred yards from the ship. The train station in Maputo was built by the Portuguese more than 100 years ago and has been named as one of the 10 most beautiful train stations in the world.
It also houses a train museum. There were a couple of very old looking train
engines...
and some cars that looked like box cars but were apparently used to carry the lowest paying passengers. Didn’t look like fun.
and some cars that looked like box cars but were apparently used to carry the lowest paying passengers. Didn’t look like fun.
In the plaza in front of the station was a statue of the
Snake Lady. The legend is that a cobra
had been hanging out in a tree and striking people as they walked below. The enterprising Snake Lady put a bowl of
porridge on the top of her head (no one knows why she chose porridge) and when
the snake struck it drowned in the porridge, thus ending it’s reign of
terror. Would that all terror problems
could end using a bowl of porridge.
From there we stopped at the Portuguese fortress. In front of the fortress was a tree with a
large interesting fruit (looked a little like a giant peanut). This fruit is rumored to enhance male
performance.
Inside the fortress were the usual guns and statues...
and a small museum with lots of small wooden carvings.
and a small museum with lots of small wooden carvings.
Some of the surrounding buildings were quite modern.
We stopped briefly at the Central market where there were the usual fruits and vegetables,...
fish,
We stopped briefly at the Central market where there were the usual fruits and vegetables,...
and tourist items.
Independence Square had a statue of Samora Machel, the
revolutionary who helped Mozambique gain it’s independence from Portugal.
Next door was the Cathedral of our Lady of the Immaculate
Conception. Worth a short visit.
We then took a short walk to the Iron House. It was designed and built for the governor by
Gustav Eiffel, designer of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Since he liked working with iron the entire
house is built of iron, inside and out.
Needless to say it didn’t work out very well. An iron box in the hot, humid African climate
was beyond uncomfortable. It wasn’t too
hot today so it wasn’t too hot inside when we visited.
The drive around Maputo took us by a number of very
interesting buildings…
and art pieces.
We then stopped at St. Anthony’s Cathedral. It had a very unique shape
which resulted in a very unique and beautiful interior.
The stained glass was isolated in the very top peak of the building…
The stained glass was isolated in the very top peak of the building…
and around the very base of the oddly shaped walls. Very beautiful.
We also stopped by the Natural History Museum. It featured a lot of very old (and rather
dusty and worn) stuffed animals native to Mozambique.
We had a lovely drive along the very long beach.
There were a lot of stalls set up to sell food and snacks to the beach goers.
There were a lot of stalls set up to sell food and snacks to the beach goers.
There was a snack wagon shaped like a ketchup bottle
and trash containers also shaped like bottles.
Our last stop of the day was the arts and craft market where
they had all things touristy from fabrics to
carved wooden items (many looking suspiciously massed
produced),
although there were some that looked pretty unique.
There were a lot of basket stands,
and even a number of items made out of old tires.
It was a hot humid day but we saw most of what we wanted to
see so it was a good day. We didn’t have
lunch until we got back to the ship mid-afternoon. And since it was a hot humid day we had to
have milkshakes from Scoops, the on-board ice cream shop featuring Ben and
Jerry’s Ice Cream. Yum.
The entertainment tonight was Irina Guskova, our favorite
violinist. She put on a wonderful show.
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