I, Zeb the Duck, am in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, in southern Africa.   My hotel is nice and centrally located.

Hotel Maputo in Maputo, Mozambique

But, there are no tourist offices, no tourist maps and no tourist information in sight.   So, mom and I head out and are greeted by vendors.   Persistent, but friendly, vendors.   We do not want to shop today, just look around and get oriented.   We head downhill, hopefully toward Maputo Bay.    Must be a government building?

Government building

This statue is of Marechal Samora Moises Machel, the first president of the Republic of Mozambique.

First president of the Republic of Mozambique

And here are the friendly, persistent vendors.   Still no shopping today.   We wander a little more, not sure where we are heading and what we are seeing.   A park, older homes, and our friendly, persistent vendors.   So, mom talks to Isaac, one of the vendors.   He is friendly and persistent, and we like him.   He agrees to be our tour guide today.   This is so much better.   I, Zeb the Duck, like Isaac, and he speaks a little English.   Mom wasn’t a very good tour guide here.   Isaac takes us to The Fort.   A short walk and we are here.

The Fort

Inside is a garden and small museum.   I love the statues.   Here I am on a horse.

Love statues of humans on horses–and a duck

This wagon is great also.

Wagon

This fort was build by the Portuguese in the mid 19th century, near the site of an earlier fort.   Portugal colonized Mozambique and the official language is Portuguese.   However, like many places in Africa, people speak a few tribal languages first, then learn the official language left by the Europeans.   These people speak many languages.   Here I am, sitting comfortably with Isaac, our guide, watching me.

Isaac is watching me.

Inside one of the small rooms of the small museum, I rest on the sealed carved wooden coffin of Ngungunhane, the final ruler of the famed kingdom of Gaza.

Wooden coffin

The Kingdom of Gaza, 1824-1895, dominated southeast Africa in what is now southern Mozambique, southeast Zimbabwe, and parts of South Africa.     The coffin lid carving is beautiful.

Carved coffin lid

More wonderful carving on these wall panels.

Carvings

More statues with me, Zeb the Duck.

Sculptures

And statues on wall panels.

Sculptures

This fort was well guarded.

Every fort needs canons.

Attacks from the water were always a very real threat.   This fort is on Maputo Bay which goes into the Indian Ocean.   Leaving The Fort, you can see that Maputo Bay, and the Indian Ocean are right here.

Leaving the Fort, Maputo Bay sparkles in the sun.

Mom and Isaac agree to meet again tomorrow morning at our hotel, and he will show us more of the Maputo area.   I am so glad she decided to hire Isaac.