I still find it hard to believe we’re actually in Africa. This stop had us in Maputo, the capital city of Mozambique. Roughly twice the size of California, Mozambique is a country with over 1,600 miles of coastline. Our excursion here was a walking tour in which we strolled the wide boulevards of the lovely capital, stopping at must-see attractions that included the ornate train station, bustling central market, and an 18th-century fortress.

Our first stop was to the striking Beaux-Arts Central Railway Station, often mistakenly identified with Gustave Eiffel due to its alluring mint-green structure, iron latticework, and large dome. We marveled at the building’s outside, and then went inside to a museum that showcased the role of the train station in the history of Maputo.

After the train station, we made our way to the Maputo Central Market, a vibrant open-air setting filled with stands of exotic fruits and vegetables, tropical nuts, colorful spices, and fresh fish. We wandered through the stalls, which were surprisingly calm as far as markets go.

Outside of the market we came across some government buildings and a police station that was bright blue and white. We were warned, however, to not take any photos of armed forces, airports, bridges, or government buildings, so no photos of those are included here. Actually, here’s a bridge photo I took from the ship. Naughty naughty… 😉

We found our way to the 18th-century Maputo Fortress, one of the city’s most visited attractions, which provides insight into Mozambique’s colonization in its intriguing museum displaying armaments and art. We spent approximately 15 minutes wandering around the fortress grounds, admiring the statues and taking in the views from the top of the fortress.

After the fortress, we stopped at the nearby Café Continental, where we enjoyed a drink (a Fanta for Ryan and a local juice that included juice from a baobab tree for me). We also were treated to a signature Maputo delicacy called a pasteis de nata, a custard tart that originated in Portugal. It was quite tasty, and we agreed that it would be worth finding an original pasteis de nata when we’re in Lisbon.

Worthy of mentioning is that we found the street vendors (for lack of a better word – they didn’t have stalls but rather carried everything with them as they followed you around) to be particularly pushy here. We’ve become used to begging and intense selling strategies – particularly in India – but this was a whole new level with the sellers accompanying us on our walking tour. I guess it worked, though, as we did wind up buying some stuff. Here is a picture of some wooden statue things we bought. Ryan’s is the taller one; mine is the family one.

Ryan has been learning the various flags (and Audrey has done this too), so it was only fitting that he also bought souvenirs that feature the country’s flag – a small flag pin and a hat that features the flag on the front. An interesting fact is that Mozambique is the only country in the world that sports a firearm on their flag, namely an AK-47 Kalashnikov. It symbolizes defense, vigilance and their long struggle for freedom and independence. The Mozambican people were occupied by the Portuguese in 1505 and suffered colonialization for 470 years. In fact, the official language of Mozambique is still Portuguese. That said, in 1975 they finally won their independence (though they had several civil wars since then that kept them from having true peace).

I learned later that the movie Blood Diamond starring Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed in Maputo (at least in part). I haven’t seen it but would be interested in watching it now to see if I recognize any of the city sights. Movie night when we get home? That’s it for Mozambique. It was a pretty low-key day, but that’s okay. We enjoyed our walk and the chance to see Maputo.