BP GEOGRAPHIC

Arrival in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. Its airport gives the unusual scene of leaving a brand new Airbus A350 of Qatar Airways by stairs and going on foot to the small terminal building which seems not to be expecting such a big airplane.

The Costa do Sol is probably the best area of Maputo. It is located to the north and, as the name says, near the coast. There are also nice hotels and guest houses like the Liv Inn.

This one is one of the best places in Maputo in terms of value for money. It is not very expensive but the rooms are very nice, it appears like a small resort and the staff are very kind. Some of the rooms are located in boxes called bungalows, they are small but stylish and have everything one could need.

The Villa das Mangas is a hotel in the Polana Cimento area of Maputo and although it is surrounded by buildings it looks inside like being somewhere on the countryside. It is like an oasis in the city. There are cheaper hotels in Maputo but this one has a special character, also because of its bungalows under the mango tree which gave the villa its name.

There are still traces visible in Maputo of the communist era of Mozambique which lasted from independence in 1975 until the end of the civil war in 1992.

The Zambezi is the fourth longest river in Africa, the longest flowing to the east and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean. The River has its origins in Zambia and flows through Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and finally Mozambique where it crosses the country to empty into the Indian Ocean.