During my second weekend (I know, I'm more than a week behind) I walked down to the
baixa (which literally means lower), the downtown of Maputo and at the bottom of the hill that the rest of the city rests on. I took the walking tour set out in the Lonely Planet tour book, with a few extra stops of my own added in. The first stop was the Fort or
Fortaleza, the oldest historical site in Maputo, but I don't know what happened there.
Lame, I know. But thanks to Wikipedia, I can tell you this: "Founded in the late 18th century, the capital city of Mozambique was named for Lourenço Marques, the Portuguese trader who was the first European to explore the area in 1544. After independence, the city's name was changed to Maputo. Maputo's name reputedly has its origin in an old, fierce tribal leader, Maputa, who once ruled over the region." There you go. The fort is very well maintained and beautiful with its many coconut trees adorning the lawn.
Even the cannons look beautiful but again reminds you of the bloodshed that happened here. Across from the Fort is is arts and crafts market that occurs every Saturday morning. This picture of the market with the buildings in the back is taken from the top of the fort is my favorite of Maputo so far.
Off to the left of the fort is the harbor where apparently watching the freighters unload is quite a sight, but which occurs at 6am, so doubtful I will ever see it.
I then made my way around the rest of the baixa, past various cafes, restaurants, shops and jazz clubs towards the
municipal market. The market is an experience. You walk in and you are immediately assaulted by the smell of fish. You get used to that fairly quickly, but the children constantly asking for money and asking to help you takes a bit more adjustment. The fish look so good though, despite the flies, and are fresh from the sea. The market is huge, about the size of half a CFL football field. There are people everywhere selling anything you could want from arts and crafts to bath products to hair extensions, baked goods, stationary, footwear, and topped off with pickpockets I'm told. I had no problems, but I was a little on edge. I felt like I was in a scene from
Brokedown Palace, and anyone who has seen that movie will understand why I was on edge. After the market, with fruits, veggies, and the best cashews on the face of the earth in hand, I headed over to the
botanical garden, which looks alright in the picture, but in person wasn't quite as impressive.
It's no Assiniboine Park or Gatineau Park, that's for sure. But I wont ever tire seeing acacia and coconut trees, no matter where they are. Near the botanical garden is the
Praça da Independençia or Independence Square,with Maputo City Hall on the left and the
Cathedral on the right.
Across from the Praça is the French Cultural Centre where they show films and have various theatrical performances.
This is also where I peed in my first hole in the ground. It was actually quite nice compared to what could, and probably will, be. I have to say, Africa is dirty. You have no choice but to become less prissy about things lest you go completely mad and leave the country. Like when I found a lizard in the pantry, I thought, great, he can eat the mosquitoes. I completely ignored the cockroach in my bathroom, and the tiny little bugs on my bread, I just brushed them off and continued making my sandwich. I guess I'm becoming Africanized, or, possibly losing my mind.
Lame, I know. But thanks to Wikipedia, I can tell you this: "Founded in the late 18th century, the capital city of Mozambique was named for Lourenço Marques, the Portuguese trader who was the first European to explore the area in 1544. After independence, the city's name was changed to Maputo. Maputo's name reputedly has its origin in an old, fierce tribal leader, Maputa, who once ruled over the region." There you go. The fort is very well maintained and beautiful with its many coconut trees adorning the lawn. 
Even the cannons look beautiful but again reminds you of the bloodshed that happened here. Across from the Fort is is arts and crafts market that occurs every Saturday morning. This picture of the market with the buildings in the back is taken from the top of the fort is my favorite of Maputo so far. 
Off to the left of the fort is the harbor where apparently watching the freighters unload is quite a sight, but which occurs at 6am, so doubtful I will ever see it. 
I then made my way around the rest of the baixa, past various cafes, restaurants, shops and jazz clubs towards the municipal market. The market is an experience. You walk in and you are immediately assaulted by the smell of fish. You get used to that fairly quickly, but the children constantly asking for money and asking to help you takes a bit more adjustment. The fish look so good though, despite the flies, and are fresh from the sea. The market is huge, about the size of half a CFL football field. There are people everywhere selling anything you could want from arts and crafts to bath products to hair extensions, baked goods, stationary, footwear, and topped off with pickpockets I'm told. I had no problems, but I was a little on edge. I felt like I was in a scene from Brokedown Palace, and anyone who has seen that movie will understand why I was on edge. After the market, with fruits, veggies, and the best cashews on the face of the earth in hand, I headed over to the botanical garden, which looks alright in the picture, but in person wasn't quite as impressive.
It's no Assiniboine Park or Gatineau Park, that's for sure. But I wont ever tire seeing acacia and coconut trees, no matter where they are. Near the botanical garden is the Praça da Independençia or Independence Square,with Maputo City Hall on the left and the Cathedral on the right.
Across from the Praça is the French Cultural Centre where they show films and have various theatrical performances. 
This is also where I peed in my first hole in the ground. It was actually quite nice compared to what could, and probably will, be. I have to say, Africa is dirty. You have no choice but to become less prissy about things lest you go completely mad and leave the country. Like when I found a lizard in the pantry, I thought, great, he can eat the mosquitoes. I completely ignored the cockroach in my bathroom, and the tiny little bugs on my bread, I just brushed them off and continued making my sandwich. I guess I'm becoming Africanized, or, possibly losing my mind.
1 comment:
Hey Suzan,
Just wanted to let you know that I'm reading, and that I am enjoying your Maputo stories and your Winnipeg references! Keep the vicarious adventures coming,
Andrea
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