Angola in 5 days – 3rd May 2010
Date: Friday 21st May, 2010 | Country: Angola | Tags: africa, Angola, blogsherpa, Luanda, Lubango, Ondijva | 5 Comments »Border
At the Luvo border we had to wait 30 min for the official to finish his breakfast and turn up at his desk but after that the official papers were stamped so we though and we proceeded to leave the border post, at the gate that allowed us to drive to M’Banza Congo the next recognised town we were stopped and told that we hadn’t finished all their administration, when we turned back and angrily went back into one guys office he told us that he had forgotten to photocopy our passports, another 30 min later and we were able to leave the border!
History
In 1483 Vasco da Gama dropped anchor in Luanda bay which pre-empted the start of a conflict that went on for over half a millennium. Angola was inhabited by a number of small tribes which were loosely defined kingdoms. The Portuguese had no real desire to settle on this African shoreline and post 1500 the more fertile lands of Brazil held a greater attraction for colonial farmers. For the next 300 years Portuguese colonies only served as a strategic base on route to the cape of good hope and as a collecting centre for one of the largest forced human migrations in history. Due to this slavery, clashes amongst the tribes and the colonials became notable after WWII and inflamed in 1961 when the colonial authorities started to get heavy handed. The initial independence movement split into 3 main groups in line with tribal affiliations. The National Front for the liberation of Angolans (FNLA) was supported by the northern tribes, DRC and anti-communist western countries; The Popular movement for the liberation of Angola (MPLA) was supported by the southern tribes, the USSR, Cuba and other soviet allies; and the National Union for Total Independence of Angola (Unita) formed alliances with the Portuguese right wing, the USA and apartheid South Africa. In 1975 the Portuguese granted independence to Angola but as the colonials withdrew a mass scramble ensued converting central Luanda into a ghost town and left the country without any qualified human resources and no administrative structure. Unsurprisingly Angola was set for a civil war and for the next 15 years there was a foreign intervention but not necessarily for the right reasons as western business interests continued to fight amongst themselves for the oil, diamonds, iron ore, copper amongst other resources. In 1991 a ceasefire agreement was set in place by Cuba, USA and Angola but broke down the following year as Unita lost a general election claiming the poll was rigged. Around 200,000 people died between May and October 1993 as Unita took war to many provincial cities destroying along the way most of the countries road, rail and communications network. UN sanctions against Unita diamonds caused Unita’s cash supply to dry up and the control of the country side gradually crumbled from 1998. It’s leader Jonas Savimbi was killed in Feb 2002. A new peace accord was signed in April 2002. Since then Angola has entered a period of peace and regeneration.
Day 1
As we only had 5 days to travel through Angola I’ll try to keep the blog short and sweet, we tried to extend at the entry to Angola at their border but were told no we could not, and we have heard stories of being charged $100 a day once you overrun your welcome according to the visa so 5 days it was! After leaving the border we drove to M’banza Congo which was a 60km drive, the roads were mainly dirt roads but on the whole ok and the views of the rolling hills in the cool morning was a great feeling, that is until we encountered a few parts where the recent rains had affected the road badly, at one point we were faced with a muddy road that 2 large trucks had got stuck in and almost made the road impassable, as we waited amongst the chaos of the men that were busy trying to work out what to do amongst themselves we could hear in the bush to our right the sound of an engine working overtime, a few minutes later we see this bus rip through the bush and re-enter in front of these trucks, the driver was in a big hurry for some reason and I ended up having a shouting match with him as he wanted me to move out the way, the only way for me to move was to drive into the mud and potentially get stuck with the rest of them! I went into low range and hoped for the best and ended up narrowly sliding past the far right truck and was able to carry on.
Above: Bus driver late for his lunch!
The roads thereafter for the next 20km were very bad and it was a relief to stretch ourselves out in M’banza Congo. The diesel here was cheap and worked out at £0.20p a litre!. On asking around the town for street food everything we looked at seemed to be double the price at least compared to the past few countries we have visited so we avoided buying anything and waited hoping that the next town would be better. For the next 200km to N’zeto it was clear that the Chinese road companies were busy in Angola as the majority of vehicles we passed were being driven by Chinese truck drivers and there was evidence of road construction everywhere you looked in some shape or form.
N’zeto
On arriving around 4pm we entered what seemed a very empty and relaxed seaside town, the roads were quiet and only a few shops were open. We drove around the town in search of either a campsite or a cheap hotel and found neither. The only bar in town also had rooms above but started at around $40 which was above the kind of prices that Reka and I were willing to pay although the guys sitting at the bar tried their best to help us get a cheaper price with the manager in what Portuguese we could muster. Eventually after driving a little bit more we decided to camp up against the shoreline and asked a neighbour if it was ok and he said we could do what we liked so that was good enough for me!
Above: Camping in quiet N’zeto
Day 2
On the way to Luanda near Ambriz, we met an army guy who was patiently waiting at the roadside and his car was lodged in a ditch off the side of the road. When we asked him what happened he told us that a large Chinese driven truck had been speeding in the opposite direction but in a way that took up most of the road, the army guy had to swerve out of the way avoiding a more serious accident and ended up getting stuck in the ditch. As I was about to get the tow ropes out of Maggie some of his army colleagues arrived in a heavy duty JCB and with the use of the crane managed to pull him out of the ditch with the help of a few us pushing the vehicle from behind. He was very happy once his vehicle was out and started up first time.
Above: Helping the Army guy out of a ditch
After driving on some fairly good graded dirt roads we then hit a stretch of 100km of absolute crap which meant very slow driving and even though the pictures don’t really show it the pot holes made for an uncomfortable 3 hours of manoeuvring round these holes. It was pure elation to see a sign for Luanda followed by a recently tarred road with no holes that meant the drive was nice again.
Above: The terrible road to Caxito/Luanda
Luanda
Initially the road into Luanda reminded me of Accra in as much that such a big city is overloaded with vehicles stuck in traffic jams due to the lack of foresight by the original city planners. On the outskirts of Luanda there were some very poor areas which could be described as a shanty town and an hour of slowly moving into the city we were able to drive to the centre where we stopped to walk around for a bit. On entering a small cafe we checked out the pricelist and quickly realised that ordering food here was not an option as a simple sandwich started at $20. All the cars around me were brand new and you could see that a lot of cash was floating around the city.
Above: Central Luanda
We then went in search of some cheap food and somewhere to sleep that night. We drove along a small narrow strip along the coast called Ilha where we were told at the very end of this strip we would find some reasonably priced food. It was fairly easy to find and when you arrive there you are greeted by the smell of grilled food and hundreds of small little shacks by the beach where people are rustling up some tasty meals. A lot of locals were already sat at various tables, some tucking into giant plates of fish/crabs and others drinking a lot of booze. We found one lady that could speak English and her speciality was grilled squid, she like all other places we asked charged $20 a plate so Reka and I shared a plate. Although it took a while to come I have to say it was by far the best squid I have ever tasted, very unlike some of the rubbery stuff I have tasted in the UK, this was a joy to eat. The owner also told us that if we didn’t find any place to sleep that night, we could always camp outside her shack, it was a nice offer and a good backup although the sort of area where the music was loud and sleeping would be difficult. We couldn’t find a decently priced hotel anywhere near this place and as the sun was setting we drove into the nearby communal park. There we were shown the local water patrol police station (inside the park) near the harbour and we enquired to a local guard if it were possible to camp outside their station. It was quiet and secluded and very safe! The guard who spoke good English enquired to his boss. His boss then brought out another guy (the bosses boss) to come and meet us and look at the vehicle, he then brought had to bring out the stations commandant to meet us, walk around on the phone to some big chief and chose a spot where we could finally rest. I have to say that even though it was a comedy moment meeting every chief in the harbour police we were treated really nicely by every policeman that we met there, they allowed us to use their showers and toilets normally reserved for staff and they even offered to provide a guard to walk with us when we left the park to walk around the area that evening, so highly recommended if you want a nice place to camp when in Luanda!
The Harbour police of Luanda
Day 3
Sadly on a 5 day transit visa we had to keep moving so there was no chance to check out anymore of Luanda! On our way out we saw a woman grilling some chicken on the street and so for breakfast we bought some peri peri chicken fried with onions and my god it was good!
The weather by the way was becoming much more southern Africa as there was less humidity, cooler starts and ends to the day with warm sunshine during the daylight hours and by far much more enjoyable than the humid hot sunshine of what we had experienced in West Africa! Driving along the coast to Porto Amboim we saw a vehicle parked up alongside the motorway and it seemed they had car problems. When we stopped to see if they needed any help they looked desperate for a way to get moving again but weren’t too sure of the actual problem. We tried to jump start their car but the problem was much worse than that and after they tinkered round the vehicle for another 20 minutes I suggested that we tow them to the nearest town which was 40km away so that they could investigate the problem at a garage, they didn’t hesitate and an hour later of driving slower than usual over some large hilly terrain we were able to drop them off!
Above: Towing some locals
The drive along the coast was a wonderful experience and it is clear that Angola is a truly stunning country. Even along the coast the terrain is varied and mountainous and you see some wonderful landscapes along the way.
Above: Driving through Lobito
That night we found a quiet place along the coast in Benguela, you could see that some very wealthy people live there occasionally and some are in the process of building their own weekend getaways, so it was very quiet when we got there as it wasn’t the weekend so there weren’t many people around. I asked a nearby house owner who told us that camping close by would be no problem.
Above: Camping in Banguela
Day 4
We drove more inland towards Lubango and once again the landscape changes but the consistent factor is the beauty of the country. In the morning we spotted a couple of cyclists that looked like long distance travellers, when we met up with them they had also been travelling for a while, one French guy had been cycling through Africa for the past couple of years, the American had cycled from Spain to here over the last 8 or 9 months and were nice guys to chat to. They had overstayed their welcome in Angola by over a week already but were hoping that at the border they would meet a nice official who wouldn’t see this as a problem. It is impossible to cycle Angola in 5 days so they must have a case! A few hours later we were in a nice town called Lubango and things seemed to change a little here in terms of the food prices as we got closer to the Namibian border. We found a nice Portuguese cafe that had a great selection of savoury pastries and the owner Joanna was such a friendly woman who spoke great English, she had lived in Namibia for a number of years and had moved with her Husband to Angola where she was originally from a few years back. She was kind enough to buy us both a beer as we sat munching on her pastries and salad which again like most of my African experience so far was full of generosity and kindness.
Above: The road to Lubango
That night we found a small man made pool of water off a side road near Chibemba and camped their for the night. I had to remove the contents of my roof tent at this spot to let the mattress dry up as it had started to smell from the dampness of the rain it had soaked up while in Congo Brazzaville and DRC Congo!
The only problem with this place was that throughout the late evening many cars would arrive and people would come out covered in dust and dirt and strip off and dive into these pools of water cleaning themselves vigorously with their own soap, after seeing that it wasn’t a place for me to have a quick dip so I decided to remain unclean until we got to Namibia!
Day 5
The road to Ondijva was again a nice drive and we made good progress throughout the day. One thing I noticed about school kids in the whole of Angola was that unlike all other countries I had travelled so far where each school had their own coloured uniform, all school children in all parts of the country we had been all wore white almost like lab coats over their own clothes to school. Many of the younger school kids carried their own chairs/stools as they went or left school for the day.
Above: The road to Ondijva
Approaching the border we realised that diesel started to become harder to obtain, many of the petrol stations we went to in various small towns had all run out and were waiting for their next delivery, after speaking to one station owner he told me that many of the trucks going to or leaving Namibia normally fill up in Angola as the prices are that much cheaper! I got into a conversation about our trip with the same petrol station owner and he then sent one of his friends to go into town and 20 minutes later he brought back a giant Angolan flag that he gave to us as a gift from him!
Border
At the Angolan side things are very chilled and there are only a few offices to visit all located next to each other so the process is very straight forward. I had to wait 20 minutes for my carnet to be stamped out as the lady responsible was having her lunch but apart from that there were no delays. There were many money changers hanging around the Angolan side but their rates were not as good as a shop I was told about that changed money on the Namibian side so we waited until we got through before we changed up our Kwanza’s and dollars.
Conclusion
It’s a shame that Angola is such a difficult place to get into as it could be such a wonderful destination for those that have travelled to many African countries. The coastal areas that I went to are peaceful and under developed which gives a more natural wilder feel about it when you visit these places. Angolans were very easy to get into a conversation with although many speak only their local languages and Portuguese. I found that it was cheap to drink beer and fill up Maggie with Diesel so we would stop for the odd beer here and there and in the evenings we would cook up some noodles and pasta that we had stored up for times like this due to the expensive prices of food. Kwanza’s and dollars were the chosen currency so bring plenty of dollars if you are lucky to get more than a 5 day transit visa. Accommodation was not easy to find and where there was a hotel it normally came with an expensive price tag but we camped for 5 days without paying a penny and apart from not having a shower it was a pleasant experience. The drive was doable in 5 days but it doesn’t allow you to explore many places when you get there so I hope at some point the country becomes easier be able to travel as not everyone wants to live there and make millions from the oil that Angola clearly has!
Reka – HUN: Angola az eddigi egyik legszebb, ugyanakkor legdragabb orszag is; igy tehat reszrol sajnalatos, de szerencses is, hogy csak 5 napounk volt keresztul robogni. A hataratkeles eltarott egy darabig, mert az angolai oldalon elfelejtettek lefenymasolni a vizumunkat, meg a kocsi parpirjaira is varni kellett egy darabig.
Elso nap nem sokat haladtunk, mert az ut borzalmas volt M’banza Congoig (kb. 70 km a hatartol), de aztan belehuztunk es az estet mar N’zeto-ban toltottuk a tengerparton. Megerkezesunk utan nem sokkal ugyanis felismertuk, hogy sem szallast, sem etelt nem kapunk olcsobban, mint $20; ami pedig nem a mi penztarcankra szabott ar. De a helyiek nagyon kedvesek es segitokeszek voltak, mert minden tovabbi nelkul engedtek, hogy felverjuk a satrunkat az utca vegen, a parton.
Masnap elertunk a fovarosig, Luandaig, ahol hosszas keresgeles utan sem talaltunk olcsobb etelt, mint a $20-os tintahalat, sult krumplival (de az olyan tinta hal volt, hogy csak na; nem ragogumi kilonyi panirban, hanem igazi husos, zamatos a grillrol). Ugyhogy egy adagot megosztottunk, majd a varosi parkot vettuk iranyba, hogy esetleg ott kempingezzunk. A parkon belul volt a helyi vizirendorseg fohadiszallasa is, ugyhogy gondoltuk, minden kesobbi problemat elkerulve inkabb bejelentkezunk naluk. Erre a kapuor szolt a fonokenek, aki megkerdezte a fonoket, aki miutan elkoltotte fel oras vacsorajat kijott, hogy szemugyre vegyen minket, meg a helyet, ahol letaborozunk, aztan ujabb negyed oras diskuralas utan aldasukat adtak ra, hogy kozvetlenul a kapu elott aludjunk.
Harmadik nap a Lobitotol nem messze levo Benguela tengerpartjan aludtunk (a legolcsobb szallas is $100 lett volna fejenkent), es vacsorara a meg reggel beszerzett chilis csirke szendvics maradekat ettuk gyorstesztaval, es persze aznap sem zuhanyoztunk…
Negyedik nap ismet csodalatos tajakon vezettunk keresztul, ilyenkor bantuk csak igazan, hogy nincs tobb, mint 5 napunk egy kicsit jobban felfedezni az orszagot. Itt-ott megalltunk egy sorre, meg tankolni is kellett, es ez a ket dolog meg olcso is volt hal’ Istennek (sor: $1, Gazolaj: $0.30/liter). Lubango egy nagyon helyes kis varos volt es szerencsenkre talaltunk egy olcso kavezot is, ahol a tulajdonos holgy meg meg is hivott minket egy-egy sorre, raadasul olyan salatat is keszitett nekunk, amitol meg a husimado Noel is megnyalta mind a tiz ujjat. Bar mondanom sem kell, hogy negy napi konzervkaja utan barmi frissen keszult etel jol esett volna. Aztan mivel meg volt par orank, tovabb indultunk, hogy utolso napra ne maradjon tul nagy tav, hiszan ujabb hatar atkeles vart rank, es a hatarra nem tul szerencses keson erkezni (errol bovebben majd a Namibia fejezetben). Az uttol nem messze talaltunk egy heleyet, par mesterseges tavacskaval, es miutan a helyi idos bacsi is odebb allt, neki alltunk, hogy ujabb teszta-csodat fozzunk vacsorara. Nem sokkal kesobb ismat tarsasagunk akadt, mert a helyiek eloszeretettel hasznaltak a tavakat esti furdo helykent, ugyhogy a vacsaorankat ugy koltottuk el, mintha egy nagy kozossegi furdoszobaban ultunk volna. Joggal kerdezitek, hogy akkor mi miert nem furodtunk… hat a viz mocskosabb volt, mint amilyennek en ereztem magam, ugyhogy inkabb kihagytam ezt az elmeny. Meg az az igazsag, hogy az estek is kezdtek egyre huvosebbek lenni, de ez egyaltalan nem panaszkodas, hiszen a kozel fel evi majdnem folyamatos izzadas utan igazi feludulest jelentett, hogy be kell takarozni ejszakara.
Utolso napunk Angolaban hasonloan telt, mint a tobbi: reggel kave, delben sor, es megallas csak rovid szunetekre, hogy nehogy tullepjuk az 5 napos hataridot. A hatarra aztan oda is ertuk du. 2 korul, es nem sok varakozas utan mar ki is leptunk Angolabol, hogy a mar nagyon megerdemelt namib civilaciot elvezhessuk (kemping meleg zuhannyal, friss etel elerheto arakon es jo utak, amik remelhetoen nem okoznak kart Maggiben).
Sajnos ez a beszamolo nem olyan szines es elmenydus, mint az eddigiek, de az ido es a penz is ellenunk volt, ugyhogy megtettuk, amit tudtunk es igy is elveztuk az itt letet, amennyire lehetett. De ha valakinek sikerul az 1 honapos vizumot beszereznie es a zsebe is ki van tomve, akkor szerintem nagyon megeri ellatogatni Angolaba, mert csodaszep! Udv. mindenkinek, es megkezdhetitek a visszaszamlalast, mert mar csak 3 orszag van hatra…
