I'll Get The Champagne...: Leaving Maputo...

View of the train station across the plaza.

Tomorrow it's off to Dar es Salaam and then quickly Zanzibar and, later, Kilimanjaro...

I'm sad to leave here; this is an amazing city that already has me scheming about finding a way back. I will definitely look into research possibilities when Robarts is handy once again... maybe there's an early-twentieth century journalism angle that I can explore or something like that.

What other city refurbishes an Art Deco washroom? Maputo, you rock!

What is it about this place that makes it so endearing? I guess in the first place I have to say that it is physically beautiful -- and was definitely more so in the past -- but that edge of decadence and decay only adds to its appeal. The fact that you can feel the energy and that there is a lot of investment coming also gives the place a kind of "see it now" feel.

The public washroom at the train station plaza.

There's also the food. Maputo is definitely a place for people who like to eat and eat well. It's not fantastically cheap but not once have I felt that I didn't get my money's worth and the sheer quantity and quality of the seafood here is a prize in an of itself. Yesterday we went back to the Fish Market. The prawn lady totally remembered me and jumped up to say hi and then helped us choose lobsters (mmm). Later, after we had feasted once again, we were waiting for Bento, our cabbie to pick us up and she came out of the market to say goodbye and to say that she was going to miss me, etc. So sweet.

Grilled lobster that I was forced to eat...

So yeah, then there's the people here. The War is still in recent memory but everyone has been very friendly and helpful. Sure, they stare a lot at the white guy wandering around, but that's OK.