Maputo, Mozambique (Tuesday, February 16)

This morning we awoke to noticeably calmer seas, but behind schedule due to a delayed departure from Richards Bay and an adverse current.  The high winds we encountered offshore since leaving Cape Town were gone.  At 6:30 AM (+2 UTC) the temperature was 79.5^oF.  

Maputo is at the head of a bay with a meandering channel.  Entering it, we encountered small fishing boats.  Most were a type of sailboat called a ‘lateen’.  A few had motors, but for most the alternative to sailing was rowing and it was a long way to shore. 

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We disembarked at 11:00 to tour Maputo, our relatively short time in port precluding tours further afield; the downside of being on a cruise ship. 

We had some concern about the tour because Oceania had cautioned passengers that there was no governmental control of guides (language proficiency, level of knowledge, etc.).  As soon as our guide correctly used and clearly pronounced the word ‘ameliorate” in the course of rattling off a string of facts about Maputo and Mozambique, our concern evaporated. 

Our first stop was the famous train station, noted for its architecture.  As has happened to us at numerous locations around the world, the station was being renovated so we were not allowed inside it.  This struck me as a bit contradictory since people were going in and out of it, but apparently the construction precluded seeing the interior architecture.  Our visit was limited to listening to our guide tell us what we would have seen if we could have seen it, all the time figuratively swatting away a swarm of ‘street merchants’.

This stop was our first experience this trip with the hawkers who materialize when a tour bus starts offloading passengers.  Hats, sunglasses, shawls, watches, necklaces and so much more are pushed at you.  We had been told that if you engage with one of the peddlers, even just by making eye contact, they will mercilessly pursue you.  Thankfully, there were a number of (19 passenger) buses visiting the sites on our tour, so as soon as the peddlers decided they had mined all the sales potential from our group, they dashed off to another bus.

We proceeded to the central market – a big hall selling all sorts of foods, although judging from my pictures I seem to have been having unwittingly been focused on fruits and vegetables.  We had been admonished by our guide not to take pictures of people without their permission.  This was not a social, but rather pecuniary issue.  The YES/NO threshold was generally $1.  Since I was not taking close-ups, I decided that if my auto-drive happened to go off as my camera was hanging by my side, albeit with the lens pointed in the direction of something that interested me, that was in the spirit if not the letter of the understanding that scenic pictures okay. 

The next stop was a major square.  There was a huge statue of the first president of Mozambique - Samora Machel.  Both in terms of social bent and long-winded oratory, our guide’s description of him reminded me of Fidel Castro.  The statue was in front of city hall.  Just off the square was a steel house built by Gustave Eiffel.  Not his most brilliant idea given the climate.

The natural history museum was somewhat primitive in comparison to many, but reflected a lot of work on a no-doubt limited budget in a political climate that included a civil war 25 years ago.  It gave us a good idea of the animal life of Mozambique and its ocean waters.

It was time for lunch, which was served at the decidedly upscale Polana Serena Hotel.  Nice lunch.  Great view.

After lunch we drove back into the center of the city.

The last stop on the tour was a small fort built when Portugal colonialized Mozambique, which incidentally explains why the people of this country speak Portuguese.  From the fort, we returned to the ship.

Here are a few pictures from our tour that did not fit elsewhere. 

• The World War I memorial statue moved to a park opposite the train station so that the mega-status of Mozambique’s first president could take its place at Memorial Square, which he renamed Revolutionary Square.

• Guides waiting for their charges who were wandering around inside the central market.

• A mural at the museum of natural history

• A cobbler repairing a sandal.  Although on a sidewalk by a park with no shop anywhere in sight, the padded chairs suggest he has had this location firmly established as his place of business.

INSIGNIA cast off on schedule, dawdling in the harbor until an inbound freighter cleared the channel, then headed to sea.

The passage to Nosy Be, Madagascar is 1,300 nautical miles, so we will have two full days at sea, arriving about noon on the third day.