LUANDA, ANGOLA

I am struggling with words about Luanda, Angola.  Even the Viking Daily had little to say……

“Luanda is the most populous Portuguese-speaking capital city in the world and among the oldest colonial cities in Africa, having been founded in 1576 as São Paulo da Assuncao de Loanda.  Angola’s primary port, as well as its major industrial, cultural and urban center, the city is a short drive from striking natural wonders, including the otherworldly landscape known as Miradouro da Lua (“Viewpoint of the Moon”).  Here, millions of years of erosion have created a karst landscape with different colored strata that stretch toward the sea.”

We were warned at our port talk the day before we docked in Luanda to keep all valuables on the ship, stay together and don’t venture anywhere by yourself.  After hearing these words and reading between the lines, several of our friends decided to stay onboard and not go into the city.  We were not one of them and decided to see for ourselves what this large city of 9 million people had to offer.  Our tour today was called “History, Architecture, & Coastal Views of Luanda”, a two hour included tour.  It was basically a bus tour through the city center and along the coastline, making stops at a church in the city center and at a fort near the port. What struck with me the most about this tour is that there were 8 buses in a caravan with armed guards in the front, center and at the end!  Were they there to protect us or to let us know that Luanda is indeed a safe city and tourists are indeed welcome…….  Something to ponder…..

We received a very warm welcome with dancers as we exited the ship.  This was a wonderful treat and unexpected.  There were also beautiful murals all along the walls of the buildings lining the port.

For the rest of this post, I am simply going to express my thoughts and then share my photos.

1.  I have noticed a big contrast between the African cities that were once colonized by the British as opposed to those colonized by the Portuguese, French, Germans and Dutch.  The British colonies had a better infrastructure, were cleaner, more prosperous and economically better off.  

2.  Luanda (originally a Portuguese colony) seemed to be comprised of the haves and have nots - mostly the have nots…..

3.  The downtown area was large and had some tall, beautiful buildings.  Why didn’t any of the stoplights work?

4.  The beach front was beautiful and could be could be developed to be a wonderful tourist attraction - but it was filled with homeless and shanties.

5.  Armed guards and policemen were everywhere.

Lots to ponder……..

This is a photo of the truck of armed guards following our caravan of busses.  They allowed their picture to be taken because Mark was in it.  Another photo shows our caravan of buses.  The guards made sure that our buses did not get separated along our tour route.

This is the Catholic Cathedral that we visited in the city center. The Church of Our Lady of Remedies was built in 1628 and is the seat of the Archbishop of Luanda.  I was taken by the woman cleaning the courtyard with her tiny broom.

Fortress de Sao Miguel is a former Portuguese Military Base and is now a museum and a national historical monument.  It was very interesting and very well done.

Photos in the fortress including some school children on a field trip.

Views of the shantytown that surrounds the fortress.

Pretty architectural features that I discovered.

Monument of the unknown soldier and other city sites.

City and government buildings and a monument where Angola’s first president is entombed.

Views along the beachfront.  Such a contrast on both sides of the street.  Beautiful beach (although I was not able to capture the homeless tents set up on the beachfront) and the shanties on the other side.

And finishing on a pretty note:  A Lovely door and window photo captured at the Fortress de Sao Miguel in Luanda, Angola.