Moz leaves me longing for more
Chakalisa Dube | Friday September 26, 2014 16:32
My road journey to Maputo through South Africa took over 10 hours on Friday beginning in the morning. The main purpose of my visit together with 11 Botswana Travel agents was to tour various hotels and tourism sites in Maputo in order to sell them to Botswana travellers.
When one enters Maputo, he or she is greeted by dirt around the city. Pieces of paper and other forms of garbage are scattered around the city, not sparing even the ever-bustling city centre, which houses the central business district (CBD).Tall buildings that obviously have seen better days characterise the CBD as they bear hallmarks of poorly maintained edifices. Not forgetting some roads which are also not that well maintained.
Maputo’s looks are not surprising; the city is still recovering from years of war and political instability. There is construction going on all over the city.
However, behind the dirt, grim buildings lies a jewel, lies the beauty and many historic sites that make the city a rough diamond just waiting for an experienced hand of a polisher to become more appealing. From the outside most hotels and mall buildings look dilapidated. However go inside you will find charming brilliant places.
Inside, the hotels, like in most buildings, are neat and the walls are splendidly decorated with drawings, which have a Portuguese influence, giving the buildings more life. The tall buildings also bear true characteristics of colonial style buildings.
Mozambique has also capitalised on the presence of the sea, the Indian Ocean that borders the country in a southeasterly direction.
As one get closer to the city centre one will see most hotels that are situated on the edge of the sea creating an unparalleled beauty, pleasant and soothing sight, making the area a must-see for tourists.
Even those who need a perfect time to relax under a soothing ambiance can visit the hotels near the sea, which provides an aura and atmosphere perfect for relaxation. I also had the chance to visit various tourist attraction sites in the city last Saturday morning. But it was for only two hour, which left me wanting more.
Almost all of the sites I visited are within the city centre. Firstly I visited the train station, which is probably among the greatest tourist sites in the country.
The station is situated next to the port at the Mac Mahoni square. However I did not get the chance to see much of the station as it is still under renovation after having been used for over a century without being restored.
I however had the chance to see some of the trains that were used during the station’s formative years after it was established in 1895 and officially opened by Paul Kruger. To those who do not know, the place is where some of the scenes of the movie ‘Blood Diamonds’ was shot, which makes it a treasure.
Despite Mozambique having been torn by war and most buildings dilapidated, the train station was ranked the seventh beautiful railway station in the world by Newsweek. The station is currently open for passenger trains though it is still under renovations.
Then I headed to the Municipal building or town hall, what in Botswana we usually refer to as the civic centre. The town hall is probably five times the size of our civic centres. Again, due to a tight schedule, I just had a few minutes to learn about the building.
The hall hosts the Mozambique fashion week every December which usually attracts hundreds if not thousands of spectators from across the globe. It is also where the highly revered Mozambican revolutionary leader, Samora Machel used to give his speeches at the hall balcony named Salon Nobre.
Machel would later die in a plane crash suspected to have been the work of Apartheid South Africa. Within the city centre, there is also an arts and craft fair where various artists display their products. The fair is open every day and the public, mostly tourists haggle over prices of the products on display with the vendors.
However, being a tourist, be sure to part ways with a significant amount of money for any products you buy. I am told by locals that tourists are usually perceived to have money.
Art is also celebrated in Mozambique. You hardly go a notable distance without noticing paintings depicting the Mozambique and general African lifestyle. Artists are also over the city displaying and selling their products. I also visited the Samora Machel statue at the Independence Square and posed for a few pictures.
The statue is among the highly revered areas in Mozambique. The market place where a variety of vegetables were being sold it was among the areas I visited. The size of the market is the size of three soccer pitches.
My day on shot tour of the city on Saturday ended with a night out. I attended a show by a local DJ at Sanana High School, a highly respected educational institution in the country.
In a nutshell, the Mozambique people enjoy their nightlife because of few restrictions with reference to alcohol consumption as compared with Botswana. Beer is sold in almost every corner of the country and bars as well as nightclubs, which open until late.
Despite ill-fated activities being associated with alcohol, Maputo is believed to be safe and relatively peaceful. My only disappointment was not being able to visit an area where weapons have been turned into art,as I had anticipated we would get there when we started our Saturday tour of the city.
The area is called Nucleo. De-commissioned weapons after the war in Mozambique were brought to Nucleo and several artists turn them into stunning pieces of art. I also did not visit the Natural Museum, which I am told is one the best in the world. The Museum, which is a 16-century building, boasts the most complete elephant foetus in the world on its display.
Not visiting these places left me wanting more. The last day of my visit was a lighter one. I took a two-hour boat to the Centre Maria Island where I visited the Machangulo Beach lodge, which is located on a hillside at the edge of the Indian Ocean.
My visit to Machungulo was official, but I took to marveling at sea waves as well as mingling with my colleagues. The water creates a great spectacle, which is a must for a tourist. The Island is also situated in an area, which gives one to get a rear view of the sea.
The location affords one a chance see whales frolicking in the water from close range. This is said to be the whaling season as it usually comes around September.However in my case I was unlucky as I did not see the whales.
My last trip Inyaka Islands was synonymous with that of Maria though the area is far from sharks. The two islands, which have a population 4,300 and over 6, 000 respectively are opposite each other.
On Monday I took my journey back home but having not seen many sites I had hoped to see due to time constraints.
I was left yearning for more piece of this great country called Mozambique and recommend anyone to visit and obtain empirical evidence.