Maputo, Mozambique

We had a late start to the day, having had too much fun the night before. We did miss out on most of the heat so it wasn't too bad.

Took a taxi to the baixa area (lower escarpment part), where most of the classic Maputo buildings are found. Started at the train station, which makes lists of top railway stations in the world. Then zigzagged our way to Praça da Independéncia. Stopped in at the Info building near the plaza, and were met by a gregarious woman. We had beeen referred by both the good book (Lonely Planet) and our hotel in Ilha to call on Jane Flood, who runs walking tours of Maputo, with an architectural focus. Turns out the woman who welcomed us was indeed the one-and-only Jane Flood! She had loads of recommendations for us, and was very helpful.

It was getting late in the day, so we finished our tour of the plaza and then took a taxi home. Maputo is known for its king shrimp, so we headed over to Marna Brasa based on the recommendation from the guest house folks. It was excellent, with a vinho verde. (Most restaurants here have three categories for wine: red, white, and green. The green refers to the age of the wine - verdes are very young wines).

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We were up at a more reasonable hour this morning. Had the same breakfast (scrambled eggs, buttered toast with the crust cut off, bacon, fruit salad, plain yogurt, and good tea/coffee). It's a standard breakfast served almost everywhere we go, but they do a good job of it here.

Started at the National Art Museum in the baixa. It was good, although half of it was under construction. Walked across to Txhapo Txhapo, a hip little restaurant recommended by Jane Flood. It was quite good, and their mixed fruit drinks were excellent. The air conditioning was a nice break from the heat.

Then onto a couple art galleries in search of souvenirs. First went to Núcleo de Arte, which had some very interesting paintings and sculptures in their showroom. Walked next to Tilandia, which was also good, although I found Núcleo to be more interesting. We went back and this time wandered through the back rooms beyond the bar, where the artists were at work, or at least in the process of getting inspired. (By that I mean drinking and smoking up). There were more pieces on display here, for lower prices. We ended up buying two paintings and two sculptures. It was a long process to pay, as they had to unpack a new printer to print off the document needed to take art out of the country.

By the time we were done it was almost 5pm so we took a taxi home. We had no energy to head out, plus the restaurant at the guest house was quite good and had great atmosphere. Their special of the day was grilled shrimp, so while in Maputo, eat as Maputans. Had another vinho verde, and called it a night.

Maputo was a really enjoyable city, with lots of arts and culture, and really cool architecture. The food was also really quite good. We were glad we tacked it onto our trip to Mozambique.