Notes from a Mozambique Journal

Day 1 in Mozambique: 11 June 2011, Maputo

Ever since I was 18 years old and I read my first Getaway magazine featuring an article on Mozambique, this country has captured my attention and desire to travel there.

Finally, 11 years later and a delayed flight in Johannesburg, I had arrived and woken up in Maputo with a smile on my face. I had a full 9 days ahead of me which translated into a full 9 days of adventure and discovery.

We stayed at a great guest house called Palmeiras, professionally run by Celia, a friendly hostess who makes you feel right at home and our first morning began with a good, hearty breakfast.


I have to mention the breakfast as Celia arranged a delicious continental buffet with some local pastries. The highlight for us was most definitely the freshly squeezed passion fruit juice. It was simply divine and I am still dreaming about it.

After breakfast we were ready to set out and explore. We did not have a set plan of what we wanted to see and do but instead decided to venture out and just see how the day would unravel.

We walked down the hill towards the Catholic cathedral which has beautiful stained glass windows.


Across the street we found Parliament, an impressive building that boasts an even more impressive view of the city as you stand on the steps and look down Samora Machel Avenue.

With the ocean in site, we decided to walk down this avenue named after the great liberation leader of Mozambique towards the harbour, Samora Machel.



Along the way we passed the Iron House, which is a building made completely out of iron plates.


To the right of the Iron House stands a large statue of Samora Machel. As Neil explained, Samora Machel was Mozambique's Nelson Mandela. A revolutionary socialist leader, he fought for Mozambique's freedom from Portuguese rule and led the country from independence in 1975 until his death in 1986.


Machel died in an aircraft crash in the Lebombo Mountains, near Mbuzini, South Africa on his way home from an international meeting in Zambia. A conspiracy theory was born and many thought that Machel's death was not an accident but a conspiracy between the South African and Soviet secret services. 

His widow, Graca Machel married nelson Mandela in July 1998 and thus became unique in having been the first lady of two different countries. Later on in the day we would drive past their residence in Maputo, in a more affluent area of Maputo, Polana.


Behind the grand statue is the entrance to the botanical gardens. Through a beautiful crafted arch one could see a lusciously green garden and we decided that we could come back later to take a walk around.

Further down the road we stumbled upon a street market where hawkers were selling all sorts of curios and artefacts; beautiful wooden bowls and bangles, colourful sarongs and dresses, grass baskets and much more. One man was walking around with a pile of little grass boxes and when he walked past us, he lifted the lid and inside was a tortoise! Now I wasn’t sure whether he was selling it as a pet or for the dinner pot or whether it was simple a tortoise shell but I got a fright and I wasn’t going to hang around to find out.

The market was located right next to the Maputo Fortress. The fortress boasts an interesting history that dates back to 1721 when Dutch settlers established the Lagoa Fortress. It was later abandoned and re-established by Austrian settlers in 1777 and used for the salve trade. The fortress was even attacked by French pirates in 1796 but currently, the fortress is used as a Military History Museum.

We walked around the fort accompanied by beautiful classical piano music. I thought it was a CD playing but when we walked into one of the rooms, we saw a man seated at a piano, his fingers gently gliding across the keys, producing delicate music for us to enjoy as we viewed the local goods for sale at the various stalls.

When Neil could finally drag me away from the piano music, we made our way to the railway station, a delicate minty green building that shows the European colonial era of the country. It was built in front of the Praca dos Trabalhadores which means Workers Square. In the middle of the square, in front of the railway station you will find a large monument of a lady holding a sword, erected in memory of all those who died in World War II.

From the train station our day got more exciting and soon we would meet our tuk-tuk driver who would enhance our Maputo experience. We hired a tuk-tuk and he promised to show us the sites around Maputo. We gave him Carte Blanche on what to show us and away we went.

Our first tour stop was the Mercado Municipal, the central market which is frequented daily by the locals to do their grocery shopping.


To me, the market resembled that of an Italian market with its various stalls set out in an organised fashion per categories.

My favourite stall, without a doubt, was the cashew nut store (obviously) as this is one of the reasons I knew I would love Mozambique.


I love those delicious tasting bean shaped gold nuggets and being able to eat them every day of the holiday was a little slice of heaven for me.


The lady was very friendly and even told me to mix some peri-peri spice into the nuts while Neil took a photo.

With a 2kg bag of cashew nuts under my arm and a big smile on my face, we walked out the market and continued our tour.

One definitely feels the European and more specifically, the Portuguese influence on this country. It is evident in the buildings, people and cultural. The Natural Science Museum is a beautiful Moorish style building that was worth a stop.

Driving along Marginal Avenue, on route to Costa del Sol, we saw men selling wagon loads of coconuts. I exclaimed in delight as I love coconut and immediately our tuk-tuk driver made a quick u-turn and a stop at one of the wagons.

The man chopped away the hard green skin around the coconut with a large panga to expose a softer beige flesh.


We were then instructed to stick a straw through the top and viola! A fresh coconut cocktail.

At Costa del Sol we decided to take a walk along the beach and enjoy a cold beer because in South Africa you definitely cannot drink a beer on the beach. What a novelty we truly abused this holiday.

For me, the walk along the beach was a highlight as I got the chance to see the natural flow of the local people and really let the notion that I am in Africa set in.

All along the road one can see local take-away restaurants. In front of the restaurant the women are braaing chickens in half drums and to the back, on the beach, are tables and chairs where you can enjoy your meal with an ocean view.

It was getting quite late in the day so we decided to stop at cafe Mundo in Palano which is the fancier area of Maputo. At this point we said goodbye to our tuk-tuk driver and enjoyed some more local beer and nacho’s at the cafe.

On the way back to the guest house we took a walk through Jardim de Namorados. It is a lovely garden with a beautiful view over Palano and the Indian Ocean. We saw many wedding couples, at least three, who came to the gardens to take pictures. Apparently this is the place to come and take your wedding photos and rightly so.

As we sat on a bench under a large tree and enjoyed our ice cream, we watched the delights of the garden unfold; happy wedding couples taking photos of their special day, a young boy playing guitar for two beautiful young girls and little children running around playing catch while their parents sat chatting.

On suggestion by Celia, we ended our night at the restaurant Cristal and had a taste of the local dishes.

My first day in Mozambique was so overwhelming. It was the first time I have travelled to another African country and my brain was so busy absorbing all the new sites, sounds, tastes and emotions.


The stimulation was inspiring and for the first time, in a long time, I was smiling and laughing from the heart.


I felt alive.


And our journey was only beginning...