Monday 2 July 2007- Day Thirty One

The mission of the day was to eat by the Indian Ocean and put our feet in the water. This morning started out with a mosquito-free shower in a room that was free of mildew. It was followed by a mighty quest to find an ATM that (1) worked and (2) did not have a line fifty people long. Four hours later and three banks later we had local currency and were sitting down to our first meal of the day. Eating in Maputo is also a slow process and having recognized this, we immediately began planning our next meal.

It was really wonderful to have a day to wander around on our own without schedules and somebody else’s agenda influencing the day’s events. I’ve found a travel group that has similar interests as me and is really laid back. We started with the Central Market, an open-air structure, where the vendors were selling fruit, vegetables, fish, poultry, beef, hair supplies and souvenirs. The colors and smells reminded me of the Spice Market in Istanbul. I really love the feel of open air street/market shopping.

The next stop was an old Portuguese fort by the ocean. There were a lot of old statues from the period of Portuguese rule that had been placed in the fort for preservation. After this we walked to the Plaza dos Trabahaldores and the train station. The train station is one of the most beautiful buildings that I have ever seen. It is a pale green building with white edging done in the Spanish Colonial style. It was here we ran into Pietro and the informal settlement tour (or should I say we made up the entire informal settlement tour).

The tour of the informal settlements was really interesting. The informal settlements in Maputo are closer in proximity to the city but they are definitely more secluded than the informal settlements in Joburg. In general, the informal settlements in Maputo are more formalized and stable than both Alex and Diepsloot. They have a central paved road with sidewalks and huge drainage gullies. Off the main road, there are dirt roads that provide the grid of the neighborhoods. The pathways are clearly marked with signage, free of garbage and appear to have an overall organization. The houses are all constructed with cinderblocks and mortar and some have tiled roofs (others have the corrugated steel that is common in Alex and Diepsloot). There appears to be some kind of electricity provided as a number of houses have satellites.

The informal settlements in Maputo have less formal economic activity and more formalized businesses. There were far fewer fruit vendors on the streets as well as small spazas along the road. In Maputo there is an interesting sub-economy of home furnishings and plumbing supplies. There is a large corner market that sells mid-range furniture to the community. Pietro explained to us that they would buy the furniture and leave it in a spare room until they have guests. He then dove us by what he referred to as the Informal Home Depot. These businesses sold pedestal sinks and toilets exclusively.

After the informal settlements we finally achieved our goal: dinner by the ocean and a quick dip in the water. The dinner was one of the best I’ve had since we’ve been here, good food and good company. After we finished eating we were able to make it to the beach and put our feet in the Ocean, which for winter was surprisingly warm. It was the perfect end to the perfect day.