Connecting African Culture Through the Seas
The Amazing Journey of Bill Pinkney Imagine leaving your life and the familiar touch of soil beneath your feet to sail across treacherous seas around the globe with only a …
There’s no city quite like Maputo in the rest of Africa. With cucumber-green and milkshake-pink Art Deco buildings lining wide avenues of palm trees, flaming piri-piri chicken stands, and pretty sundowner spots, it feels a bit like beachfront Miami — albeit one with potholed roads named after Communist leaders, food markets selling baobab fruit and tropical dilapidation that is unsurprising, given that the country is still recovering from its 15-year civil war. Maputo’s charm lies partly in its somewhat artful decay, and mainly in the fact that no construction happened for decades because of the war, so its buildings have escaped the fate of rapidly modernized cities.
Spend your days in Maputo exploring fantastic art galleries and museums that feature local talent, and wander between architectural highlights with distinguished lineages: Casa do Ferro, originally the governor’s residence, is a metal house entirely unsuited for tropical climes designed by Gustav Eiffel; and the more traditional CFM Train Station was designed by an associate of Eiffel. Another landmark building is Santo Antonio de Polana, the distinctive lemon-squeezer-shaped church.
Aside from the cultural and architectural highlights, eating, drinking and partying are what this city does best. Most restaurants serve a fantastic Portuguese-Mozambican fusion of seafood (think juicy prawns, grilled fish and calamari and crab) with local tropical ingredients such as cashew nuts and coconut, with a hint of Arab influences in the fragrant curries and chamussas (fried pastry filled with crab, fish or meat).
Maputo’s thriving music scene is legendary, and while you can hear an ever-present throb of music from when the sun sets, bars and clubs only start buzzing in the late hours of the evening. Almost every night you’ll find live music across the city, from jazz and salsa to karaoke and reggae. Even the central station transforms into a club in the evenings – the retro-styled Bar Kampfumo — and pulses alongside the city’s vibrant nightlife.
Safety: Maputo has a somewhat bad reputation for petty crime. It’s best not to walk alone at night, especially along along Avenida Marginal between Avenida 25 Setembro and Rua Caracol. Even during the day the footpath between Jardim dos Professores and Avenida 25 Setembro, and the footpaths from Avenida Friedrich Engels to Avenida Marginal are dodgy and prone to muggings. Don’t display your mobile phone when you are out on the street, as this makes you a prime target. Don’t carry cash and vital valuables such as your passport or laptop with you if you don’t need to.
The Amazing Journey of Bill Pinkney Imagine leaving your life and the familiar touch of soil beneath your feet to sail across treacherous seas around the globe with only a …
Mozambique’s cuisine stands out amongst the monotonous beans/maize meal/beef stew types of traditional cooking that predominate in most of southern Africa. A tasty triumvirate of Eastern, African and Portuguese flavors, …