The beginning of my solo travels around Africa! Sadly, Arione had to return back to London so I have to continue my travels on my own!

Yesterday before she left, we went on a day tour around MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE.

Maputo is used to be known as Lourenço Marques, it is the capital city and the largest and most developed city of Mozambique. Portuguese is the official language in this country. The urban area is small and concentrated, with wide avenues and old trees that's why it's known as the City of Acacias

There's a lot of interesting places to visit here:

--> Maputo’s Caminho de Ferro de Moçambique (CFM), one of the most beautiful train stations in the world, was built in 1912 and was designed by none other than Gustave Eiffel of France’s Eiffel Tower fame. Though he's never been here personally.

--> The National Art Museum has a good collection of Mozambican art, including several works of the world-renowned Malangatana, a Mozambican painter and poet.

--> The Jardim Tunduru, a botanical garden located in downtown Maputo, was designed by Thomas Honney in 1885 who also designed the gardens for the King of Greece and the Sultan of Turkey. It now has tennis courts owned by the Mozambique Tennis Federation.

--> The well-known seafood market, Mercado Central, offers fresh fish, crabs, calamari, fruits and vegetables, and many household staples.

--> The Casa do Ferro Avenida Samora Marcel or the Iron House, also designed by Gustave Eiffel, is an all-metal structure originally planned to be the Governor's home but it turned out to be too hot to live in because of Maputo's hot weather and is now a museum.

--> And the Port of Maputo, discovered in 1498 by Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese explorer and has the most important role of the trade from South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe.

Woot!