Maputo, Mozambique

Mozambique is a country still struggling to get back on its feet after years of civil war and natural disasters. We docked in the large port of Maputo harbor and as we entered the harbor were surprised to see an attractive seaside city with a promenade that winds for miles along its shore. Our ship was the first cruise ship to enter this harbor in years and Maputo was a maiden port of call for Holland America. The city had been preparing for our visit for over a year and the British Embassy had spent time training the new tour guide. It was the first time that any of them had done a tour and all the buses had to be brought in from South Africa many hours away. Tourism to Mozambique has only just reopened and we were told by the ship’s excursion leader not to expect too much.

Maputo is the capital and largest city of Mozambique with a great location on the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese had run the city for several centuries until in 1962 the Mozambique war of Independence began. The Portuguese were eventually overthrown and in 1975, 250,000 Portuguese were given 12 hours to flee, leaving the country with no skilled professionals to maintain its infrastructure. The economy collapsed and the country turned to East Germany and the Soviet Union for help; but the country still went bankrupt. This was followed by a Civil war which lasted until the mid 1990’s. Unfortunately, many of the animals also fell victim to the years of war and the animal population is only a small fraction of what it once was. They are trying to repopulate this but it will take years.

Now 10 to 15 years later the country is till poor with 40 to 50% unemployment, a huge HIV problem and wages that can be less than $1 per day. So, our expectations were not very high for this visit. However, we were very pleasantly surprised by what we found. The city is clean, the people well dressed, and there is a growing wealthy class in the suburbs. The inner city still had its squares and beautiful Colonial buildings from the days of Portuguese rule. We found some really nice businesses just opened, with western like coffee shops and restaurants. The city market was the cleanest and most modern we’ve seen on this cruise and the tour guides tried very hard to explain the city to us.

Some of the most interesting sights were;
Nelson Mandela’s residence where he lives with his wife, formerly the wife of Mozambique’s President.
The Iron House—made completely out of iron. It was built by the Portuguese for their Governor but was too hot to live in-Duh
The Fresh city market
City Hall
The beaches and suburbs
Botanical Gardens
Natural History Museum

This country has tremendous potential and tourism is just beginning again. It was very interesting to see the country prior to the large investments that I expect it will receive in the next few years.