Maputo was the next port of call for the Crystal Symphony, and we woke to find ourselves alongside the dock with a railway station a stone's throw away. Between the dock and the station, abandoned buildings, roofless and looking rather shot up, no doubt a legacy of the war for freedom from Portuguese rule (excuse me for not being able to give a concise history, but it all seems so long ago) were incongruous among the fine examples of architecture that remained dotted among modern buildings. The city sprawled away into the distance, much larger than I had imagined, and although we didn't go ashore and only viewed Maputo from the deck, it didn't seem to have much going on in the way of traffic or city activity. I realise I didn't exactly go and look for myself, but the reports from returning passengers, hot and sweaty from long walks in the neighbourhood, made it clear that nothing had been missed. The only really big activity was the construction of a gigantic suspension bridge right in front of the ship, evidently under Chinese supervision, and it looked rather out of place in an area where ancient wooden fishing vessels lay beached at low tide, and a long jetty jutting into the bay was the only sign of activity, with cars and people constantly boarding a series of decrepit ferries to cross over to the other side. They will no doubt be out of business once the new bridge is opened.
The headland was lush with trees and houses hidden among them - no barren township - and it would have been interesting to know about who lived there and whether they thought life was good in Maputo. So difficult to really get the feel of a place when passing through in a bubble of ostentatious luxury! I took photos of the fishing boats, as I felt that was probably a good representation of life in Maputo.
No comments:
Post a Comment