Maputo Makeover
“This is LM radio.” These words used to come whispering out of my old valve radio back in the 60s when I was growing up. Now, 40 years later, I find myself ensconced in a hotel room in Maputo looking out over the city skyline. Maputo has been through a lot during those intervening years, but what is very clear, is that the people and the country are working towards making it the “must visit” destination it was just a few decades ago.
Two of the best known landmarks are still going strong. The Costa de Sol Restaurant is still serving the best seafood in town and the “Grande Dame” of Maputo, The Polana Serena Hotel, recently reopened after a refurbishment that lasted two years.
For bargain hunters and those who like to haggle, Maputo markets are the ideal place to shop. There is a thriving craft market in the city centre, as well as The Central Market that is definitely worth a visit. The former offers wonderful trinket boxes, sandals and bracelets, while at the latter you will find a veritable smorgasbord of stalls selling prawns, fish, cashew nuts (which seem to be on sale everywhere), vegetables and crafts. It was here that I bought a wooden skeleton, which I was told to hang from my rear-view mirror. “If it rattles, it means that you are driving too fast and the sound reminds you of your mortality,” explained the stallholder. A new craft market was opened in 2010 and offers both buyers and sellers the best opportunity to interact in one location.
From the downtown area, I took a “water taxi” to Catembe to have a look at the Maputo skyline from the opposite side of the estuary – and what a skyline it is! The urban sprawl is in stark contrast to Catembe and the people who live and work there. There is also a car ferry that does the crossing, and a trip on either is worth the experience. However, what kept tourists coming back year after year is definitely the food… Prawns, prawns and even more prawns are on the menu at every restaurant. I believe that if I had found one of the major fast food chains, they too would be serving prawns!
A meal at the fish market should be on your itinerary, but it is not a place for the faint hearted, as you get to choose your own live seafood which will then be cooked for you, out of sight in the kitchen. My choice was mud crab (delicious), prawns (again) and rock cod (interesting flavour). For those whose taste buds are more refined, the Delagoa Restaurant (at the Polana Serena Hotel) offers one of the best fine dining experiences I have had, and the city also seems to have an endless supply of coffee shops and bakeries to tempt both locals and visitors.
Most places of interest are within walking distance, but there are taxis that can be hired for around R20.00 per trip (always remember to check the price). For a different way of seeing the city, try a “tuk-tuk”. Often the drivers will offer you a mini-tour of the city at a reasonable rate.
A walking tour will reveal why the city is well known for its architecture, especially the astonishing work of Pancho Guedes. The style of some of the buildings in the downtown area of the city is reminiscent of Havana, Cuba, and I did try to find the local equivalent of the Buena Vista Social club. Caminhos de Ferro de Mocambique, the local railway station, which was used as the “hotel” in the movie Hotel Rwanda, was designed and built in Paris in 1910 by Gustave Eiffel, shipped to Maputo and rebuilt on its current site.
If you like late nights (or early mornings) then Maputo is the place for you! Maputo is a mix of New York – the city never sleeps – and the Mediterranean coastline where evenings only begin with dinner after nine and the clubs do their best business from midnight onwards.
The sea is not the clear blue of the islands further north, but this does not stop the locals from using the beach for a variety of activities, from drumming circles to baptisms.
Wedding parties can often be found on the beach or in the water, while the attending entourage shouts encouragement from the surf line.
Given the amount of rebuilding currently been undertaken and the imminent arrival of international five-star hotels, Maputo seems to be pulling itself up by the proverbial bootstraps and will soon regain its rightful place as a foremost tourist destination on this continent we call home.
Useful Information
Flights: 1time airline flies from Johannesburg to Maputo five times a week.
Travel Info: Phil Baker of Pro-Nexus (pronexus@tiscali.co.za) will be able to answer all your travel queries.
Tours: For Maputo sightseeing tours I recommend Dana Tours (http://www.danatours.net/).
Contact Jane Flood (+27 82 419 0574 or email jane.flood@gmail.com) for interesting walking tours of the city.
Story by David Batzofin (http://davidbatzofin.blogspot.com/)
