For those unaware (likely most people), my voyage of Semester at Sea had an itinerary change due to an approaching hurricane/tropical cyclone in Port Louis, Mauritius. For safety reasons and also to not add to the residents’ stress, we chose to divert to Maputo, Mozambique for a short 2-day port and then add two days to our time in Cape Town, South Africa. Our time in Maputo barely scratched the surface of this wonderful country, but I will give you the run down of both days and all we did. Vamos!
SATURDAY:
A common theme of this port is that we just kept eating. We had spent more time than expected on the ship and just really needed some non-ship-food. We started the day at Chez Fred, a French cafe with so much on the menu. They had all kinds of fun drinks and pastries as well as a menu full of sandwiches and cafe style meals. The owner spent lots of time talking to us about her business and answered all kinds of questions for our school projects. She was wonderful!
We shopped around a local market in the city center for a while too, just seeing what all the vendors had to offer. There were so many options of beautiful art and woodwork to look through. There was also a grocery right next door that allowed us to stock up. One thing to note is that many people in Maputo speak Portuguese with a splash of English. They learn just enough to complete their task, so we were definitely using the Google Translate a lot.
Now onto lunch, we walked to a place called Dhow, right on the water. It had Mediterranean-inspired food and the best gyro I think I’ve had in my life. They also had a luxury store attached with beautiful clothing, art, and furniture that was so fun to window shop. We honestly sat and enjoyed the view of the bay for a while, watching barges come in and even learning about the Chinese fishing industry in Maputo.
We walked through town a bit more and then headed back to the ship to freshen up. One of my friends found a hotel with a super fun dinner and drinks menu for us to all go to, right by the ship. Turns out, lots of our professors were staying there so that was fun/awkward to run into them. The hotel had lots of fun drinks and so many beautiful spots for pictures. The food was just ok but there were tons of options. We just got to sit around in pretty dresses and enjoy our time there, which is the best thing in my opinion.
SUNDAY:
This was a bit of a shorter day as we had to be back on the ship by 2pm. One thing to note about Maputo is that almost all businesses are closed on Sundays, making exploring a bit more difficult. We ended up going back to Chez Fred to try even more of the menu. We also returned to the market to make a few purchases of things seen the day before. We still had time so we wandered the city, finding a park with a beautiful view. We sat for a while and just had a gratitude moment for our lives.
After that, we found a nail salon! This may seem silly, but this felt like such a treat two months into the voyage and this salon was just beautiful. Note: The ship has a salon but a simple dip manicure cost around $80 USD (here in Kentucky, it’s $40) so I just couldn’t stomach paying that. At this point, we were running out of time and it was around 100 degrees Fahrenheit so we just headed back to the ship.
I was certainly not expecting to travel to Maputo on this voyage, but I am so grateful for my time there. The people were nothing but kind, the food was spectacular, and I loved that so many places featured views of the bay and ocean. If you are thinking of traveling to Maputo or even Mozambique, there are so many places we did not get to explore. Many of our friends traveled a few hours away to beach clubs, some viewed the beautiful architecture, and some took this as a vacation and just relaxed in one of the stunning hotels. Thank you Maputo!
Thanks for reading! See you soon!
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