Tuesday February 16  Maputo Mozambique

Mozambique is a poor African country. We passed fishermen on the way into the harbor.

 Yet the coastline of Maputo is full of modern buildings, almost Monacesque.

 We chose a shore excursion -- Walking Tour of Maputo -- that would show us some of the city, allow us to walk around, yet keep us in a group since personal safety could be an issue in Mozambique. There are stories about police corruption and common thievery that made us feel better in a guided group.

 This is the Grand Railway Station built during the Portugese era.  Currently being rehabilitated.

Our tour leader explained why the windshield wipers were pulled away from the glass.  I assumed it was to keep the wipers from melting to the windshield (it was very hot and sunny).  But no, it's a sign that this car is being watched by "security" people who will keep others from stealing any parts they can get their hands on -- mirrors, lights, wheels, anything.  To me it seemed like a protection racket, but it's the way the economy works.

From the moment we left the port we were besieged by locals attempting to sell us something: watches, necklaces, refrigerator magnets, belts, small electronic goods.  They walked alongside, they got in your path, they talked constantly.  One group member actually took a watch from a vendor to look at it, and it took him five minutes to give it back.  There were also tables set up with small things like iPhone chargers.  A collection of shoes on the street -- if they had your size you were golden, otherwise, move on to the next.  This guy wasn't as aggressive as most, or maybe it was too early.

When the Portugese left Communist era architecture abounds throughout the city.

 Some of the former grandeur has fallen into decay.

Our tour also included a couple of blocks of the "red light" district, similar to Amsterdam's, although without government approval and supervision.  We were told the going rate is about $25, which I presume includes a (shortened) lifetime of memories.

Here's a study in architecture -- the Stalin inspired building at the bottom, and two newer buildings behind it.

Fort of Maputo built by the Portugese.

We stopped at a cantina for an included drink which was served in an unopened aluminum can directly from the Coca-Cola distributor.  I'm not sure we would have drank anything else.  There was no electricity or air conditioning in the restaurant.  Our guide explained that there were problems with electrical service in some areas of the city.  The toilets did have a romantic candle-lit appearance, but no running water.  Yet somehow they were serving meals -- that looked good to me -- to their local customers.

Final stop on the walking tour was the Mercado Municipal, the local market.  It was like local markets everywhere, except there didn't appear to be much meat available.  I saw only produce, but there were a couple if small side rooms we didn't visit.

I thought this was an interesting architectural detail overhanging the sidewalk.

 Here's the view from our stateroom at the Maputo port.  That's not the cruise terminal -- there is none.

The central roof the railway station.

Technical note: Once again we used the old P&S cameras during the walk.  We didn't want to carry around the big DSLRs in this city.  Some of our group did carry them, without incident.