Luanda, Angola 12-2-23

Luanda the capital is a modern metropolis in this county of eight million people.  Cranes show a vibrant economy and passing through the city we also see the poverty. Today Angola has oil revenues as well as the rare minerals. Our guide Natasha, with Lyzaya tourism, fled Angola with her mother during the civil war.  She has returned and has a degree in International Business, is a teacher and guides as a part-time gig.  See her below in the yellow.

Our first stop was the Iron Palace, now a national gallery.  We met the artist with her extraordinary work, portraits and assemblage of internal electronic parts.  Angolan artist Daniela Ribeiro makes use of recycled technological waste like mobile phones and computer parts, epoxy resins, vinyl and PVC.  She has lived in both Angola and Paris. 

Look close to see the electronics

Ever been to Bryce Canyon, Utah?  Miradouro da Lua known as the Valley of the Moon mimics the Fairy Garden in Bryce. 

The National Museum of Slavery the spot where the West African slaves were held, baptized and sent on their way to America, never to see their county again

Neto buried here

António Agostinho Neto died in 1979 and was an Angolan politician and poet. He served as the first president of Angola from 1975 to 1979, having led the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) in the civil war for independence which lasted from 1961 to1974.  His burial place at over 393 feet, it is taller than both New York’s Statue of Liberty and London’s Big Ben belltower. 

Flame of the Forest is stunning with its coral red flowers in the spring.  

Baobab trees, also known as the tree of life, grow across Africa, can live for up to 5,000 years, reach up to 90 feet high and up to an enormous 160 feet in circumference.  They can provide shelter, food and water for animals and humans, which is why many savannah communities have made their homes near Baobab trees.  This one is small and for most of the year they are leafless.

Built in 1576 by the first Portuguese governor of Angola, the Fortress of São Miguel looms over Luanda Bay, which it once defended. Since then, the five sided fortification served for a time as an administrative center and a military garrison. Today, it is home to the Museum of the Armed Forces, with displays of tanks, combat vehicles, weapons and cannons used in Angola’s Civil War for Independence and also in opposition to South Africa’s military interventions in the 1970s and ‘80s. 

            The Portuguese tiles blanketed the entire interior.