I think there’s plenty to do in Maputo. I have yet to spend enough time there to get it all done in one visit. Look forward to the opportunity though.
I’ll start with my 2nd favorite thing to do in the city: shopping. I consider it an extra special treat to visit the food market. Which one? Yes, granted there are several markets that answer to that description, all of which have a lot of natural (read imperfect) produce that is uncommon in my current country of residence. Food that is very reminiscent of my love, coastal Kenya. The market I usually go to is the municipal market which is just at the mwisho (a block from the ocean) of chapas (Mozambican matatus) that service Avenida Karl Marx. I’ve also done a market (not sure of its name) at the western end of town, next to the big roundabout as you’re entering town when coming from Matola (or Joburg). I’ve been to the red star market: if you start at Emilia Dausse and Karl Marx, and walk west on Emilia Dausse, you’re bound to run into it (to the right) after about 3-4 blocks. You can’t miss it. There is alcohol galore sold street side, and more inside, as well as mitumba, fong kong wear, and che/guerilla/revolutionary caps. Praca des combatants is another market area, and is well-serviced by public transport. Somewhere to the north (I think), past the airport, is a market that sells delicacies like cassava and cassava leaves (among many other foods that are rare south of the Limpopo). There’s also a couple of other favorites: the fresh fish market out near sommerschield, and the Saturday craft market that’s in the space next to the porto de peixes (fishing harbor).
Let’s do the food (liquids included) markets first:
The municipal market is always a treat for the senses, and like at many markets on this continent, you can get just about everything there. There’s fish, I’ve seen it as I hurry past to get to the fresh fruit, vegetables, spices, dry goods. Then there’s a section with hair products and curios. The veggies include sukumawiki and a bunch of other not-very-familiar greens. Best of all, you can find those tiny flaming-hot chillies (you know the ones, no larger than the nail on your pinkie finger, red when ripe) and they are sold fresh, dried, or crushed. They also have ukwaju! (tamarind) which I occasionally buy to make the juice. What I have yet to find are mabuyu and achari. Then again, who said that just because I’ve chosen Maputo as my surrogate for Mombasa, it will ever completely replace him in my affections? I live in the hope that mabuyu shall be found further up the coast though (one can do a lot worse than seeking nirvana in MZ).
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