Getting into Angola

Spend the night on the plane from Schiphol, chatting to a charismatic French guy who is in the oil business. He lives in Luanda with his wife and children and has been in Paris for training. What with that and the economy class seat (business is £5000 one way in this oil and diamond driven economy) I haven’t had a lot of sleep. It’s searing hot, twenty degrees higher than in the UK, so I’ve soon got a banging headache. The interminable wait to get my visa doesn’t help. You can now get an e-visa authorisation, very quickly, whereas up to last year visas were nigh on impossible. There’s a new president and a lot of money seems to have disappeared with the old one, so Angola suddenly needs tourists. However, there are still several queues at arrivals to negotiate for form checking and fee paying and only one man in charge of visa operations. And that’s after I’ve waited half an hour in the wrong queue.

The Zombie Tour of Luanda

I'm exhausted from my flight, but it’s difficult to be grumpy when all the Angolans are so delightfully friendly. Even the men in Luanda Airport immigration. Then I’m met by Paulo and Climaldi who are beyond delightful, so I’m doing my best to look thrilled when they tell me I’m going on my city tour straightaway, as my evening flight to Lubango, in the south, has been moved to mid-afternoon.

Fortunately, there are few major sites, though Luanda is an oil boom town, a city under construction – after the long lasting civil war (1975-2005) the city seems to be permanently expanding. The centre is divided into three distinct sections – Baixa de Luanda (lower Luanda) from the port to the fortress, Cidade Alta, the upper part of the city, home to the presidential palace, and Ilha do Cabo, a peninsula which creates Luanda Bay, famous for its vibrant beaches, nightclubs and restaurants (known as the 'Island of Luanda').

Behind and above the historic centre, central bairros include Maianga and Alvalade (residential) and Miramar (embassies), as well as Kinaxixe and Maculusso, which are characterised by Portuguese apartment blocks. Further outside the centre, the neighbourhoods become more informal, dotted with 1970s Cuban apartment blocks and new developments.

Luanda Redevelopment

Luanda was recently voted the most expensive city in Africa for expatriates. There are glass scrapers and chic restaurants, sandwiched between oil tanks and shanty towns. The government are busy demolishing the latter and replacing them with two-lane highways and shopping malls. I’m unable to establish whether the dispossessed people are being rewarded with superior living quarters. I read that some are being moved 20 kilometres away. Unsurprisingly, they’re not very happy about it.

President Neto's Monument

I’m not sure whether to be sorry or not when it turns out that a considerable chunk of what I have  been scheduled to visit is closed on Mondays. Climaldi, who has been allocated guiding duties, says ‘he had not been informed’. Nevertheless, he turns out to have a silver tongue. He talks us into the park surrounding first President Neto’s towering and strangely splintered phallic mausoleum and I’m given special permission to take pictures. The elephant statues were designed by North Koreans and represent strength, wisdom, and Angola's natural heritage.

The Forteleze de Sao Miguel

The Forteleze de Sao Miguel is a sixteenth century building dating from the earliest period of colonial rule. it was a self contained city for the military garrison, as well as a holding point for slaves. The fortress is surrounded by murals and monuments. Possibly the most important is the statue of Paulo Dias de Novais, a Portuguese explorer and colonizer, the grandson of Bartolomeo. Dias founded the settlement of São Paulo de Luanda, (attracted by the famous silver mines of Cambambe, and became the first governor of Angola, in 1575.

Some of the exhibition halls here are shut. But the famous blue tiled interiors (azuleros like those in Porto) are still accessible, and there is plenty enough artillery from the civil war decorating the walls and terraced fortifications outside, if I had the inclination to gawp at guns; the outlook across the city, Bay of Luanda and the harbour are splendid.

The Open Air Market

Next, an open air market where most of the goods piled high on wooden trestles are hidden under an assortment of cloths. Those stall holders who are open for business seem to be slumbering peacefully next to their wares.

Miramar

Last up, Miramar, a tour of all the embassies, a row of opulent villas, cheek by jowl with a couple of spare presidential palaces; they all have a great miramar (sea view) across the up and coming Ilha do Cabo - more shanties earmarked for destruction. They’re to be replaced with smart hotels and beach bars.

Other Central Landmarks in Luanda

Amongst the most dramatic buildings is the huge neo-renaissance National Assembly. Inaugurated in 2015 it was definitely intended to make a statement. It is a part of a vast Political Administrative Centre which includes the Presidential Palace, the Palace of Justice, the Episcopal Palace and several government ministries. The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) has held a majority in the Assembly since Angolan independence in 1975.

There's also an ornate yellow Iron Palace. Climaldi tells me that it was built by Gustave Eiffel and used as the French Embassy. However, Wikipedia says that its origins are much more mysterious. It is believed to have been pre-built, in France, in the 1890s and was destined for Madagascar, via boat. Instead, the ship carrying it was grounded on Angola's Skeleton Coast, by the notorious Benguela Current. So, the Portuguese rulers of Angola seized it and used it as an art centre. After independence and civil war the damaged palace was left to rust and rot. Oil boom finance led to grand renovation, in 2009. But it remains closed, its future is still undecided. The options are: diamond museum or restaurant.

End of a Zombie Tour

And that’s my zombie tour. I’ve survived on caffeine from Coca Cola. And I’ve also escaped unscathed from the car. I’m not sure if Climaldi is unfamiliar with the vehicle, but so far, he’s scraped both the front and rear bumpers on kerbs and nearly taken out a motor cyclist and two pick-ups. He seems oblivious to the sound of horns pursuing us down the road. And, talking about survival, I’ve already got mosquito bites. I need to get out the anti malarials, when I arrive in Lubango.