World Cruise 2013: Day 87 - Maputo, Mozambique

World Cruise 2013

April 2, 2013

Today the ship arrived in Maputo, Mozambique at 8 AM. Maputo is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It location on the Indian Ocean has led to an economy centered on the harbor. Coal, cotton sugar, chromite, sisal, copra and hardwood are the chief exports. Maputo was formerly known as Lourenco Marques (named after a Portuguese explorer). In 1962, the formation of the Mozambique Liberation Front fought for independence from Portuguese rule. The Mozambican War of Independence ended in 1974 when the government of Portugal granted independence to all Portuguese overseas territories. The People’s Republic of Mozambique was proclaimed on June 25, 1975, and the city’s name changed to Maputo. Over 250,000 ethnic Portuguese left the area, virtually overnight, and the newly independent country had no skilled professionals to maintain its infrastructure. The economy plummeted. The governing party turned to the communist Soviet Union and East Germany for help, but by the early 1980’s the country was bankrupt. The Civil War, which lasted until 1992, further weakened the economy, but with the end of the war, growth and stability returned. Today, tourism is certainly playing a part in boosting the economy.

I took a tour called “Maputo Sights”. Our first stop was at a beautiful railroad station, an architectural highlight of Maputo. Our next stop was at the local market for a glimpse of how the locals barter for goods and food. Next we stopped at Independence Square. Here was a statue of the country’s first president, Samora Machel and a Roman Catholic cathedral, which I entered and took some pictures. We then walked a few blocks to a house made entirely out of iron, very impractical for hot African summers. We walked some more to a garden, which was not all that great and we got back on the bus. Our next stop was at a Natural History Museum which had many of the African animals mounted in natural settings. We drove on the coastline to see some of the upscale housing and we returned to the ship.

Because the Portuguese were here, the town had many modern buildings.

Below are some pictures taken from the ship and from my tour.