Maputo

Maputo is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. A port on the Indian Ocean, its economy is centered around the harbour. Compared to some other sub-Saharan African cities the urban area feels small and concentrated with wide avenues and old trees. People are generally out and about in the streets, walking driving and getting on with life. The vibe is healthy and active, with little begging and lots of street vendors and markets. There is no heavy presence of police during the day.

There are few tourists or white people to be seen and at times the atmosphere is as much South American as African. Buildings range from new high-rise construction to old colonial palaces, but the dominant architecture leans toward anonymous Stalinist-looking concrete-walled boxes of various heights, generally with badly eroded paint and lots of security bars in one or more stages of rusting. Fortunately, these tend to fade into the background as non-descript and uninteresting, and there are enough buildings with old charm or high style and lush enough gardens (cycads, coleus, flamboyant, jacaranda, bouganvillea, etc.) to give an overall pleasing if shabby feel.

Accomodations in town include two backpacker lodges. The Base, run by an extremely welcoming staff, is located in the heart of the city and is a perfect base for venturing around Maputo. Small but clean, The Base offers small six-bed dorms, singles and doubles. As an added bonus, the balcony offers great views of the Indian Ocean. Fatima's, a few blocks away, offers a similar bunch of amenities with questionable results.

Fruit juice is (sadly) usually sweetened nectar and not fresh 100% juice. The usual selections of fizzy sugar water in a bottle (soft drinks) can be found too. Pressed sugar cane juice is available in some markets.

Coca-Cola products are also widely available including Cola, Sprite, and Fanta fruit-flavored pop (Orange and Pineapple are most common, Grape is also sometimes available). "Sparletta" brand fruit-flavoured pop is also widely available. Expect to pay between Mts 7,000 and 10,000 (US$0.25 - $0.40). Shop owners are usually very strict when it comes to the empty bottles as they are expensive and reused, do not try and keep one without trying to pay the full price for the bottle first.

The wine selection is reasonably good, and depending on your budget you can get a range of South African, Portuguese and Chilean wines. Most common are cheap South African and Portuguese wines, but you can find nice wines (for a price) in upper-end restaurants and certain bottle stores or delis. Wine by the glass generally comes from a box.

Beer is widely available, with 2M ('dosh-em'), Laurentina (brewed by 2M), Manica, and Raiz being the common selection. Laurentina comes in two varieties, 'Clara' a lager, and 'Preta' a very dark Lager with hints of coffee and chocolate. Locals tend to order the Laurentina varieties simply by saying Clara or Preta, and leaving out Laurentina. Preta is the most expensive beer, followed by Manica and then 2M. Raiz is a newer beer intended for the budget market and is considered a 'cheap' beer. Beer bottles are also expensive and should always be returned or purchased. The beer itself is very inexpensive and reasonably good ranging from Mts 9,000 to 15,000 (US$0.35 - $0.60).