Cowbright: Luanda, Angola

We woke yesterday as we were making port in Luanda, Angola. Located on Africa’s southwestern coast, Luanda is the capital and largest city in Angola, and is home to over a third of the country’s population (9+ million people). It is also Angola’s primary port and a major industrial, cultural and urban center. It’s official language is Portuguese. The median age in Angola is 16.7 years old, and the average number of live births per woman is 4.9. https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/angola-demographics/

Our general plan as we head around the Ivory Coast of west Africa is not to get off the ship unless we have an Oceania excursion. However, in looking ahead, some of the excursions don’t seem all that desirable anyway. But today our excursion was titled “The Changing Face of Luanda”. We were accompanied by an Oceania employee and followed by security to each place we visited.

We were off the ship by 8:30 and greeted by lively dancers, drummers and a terrible odor (think rotten eggs + dead fish). I snapped some quick photos while hurrying to get on the bus. Even the lobby on Deck 5 where we normally disembark smelled horrible all day long from the odor wafting in through the open door of the disembarkation ramp. Not a good first impression!

drummers drumming....

dancers dancing....

smiling...though it was terribly stinky and miserably hot

I was relieved to see that our bus was air conditioned and our guide spoke fair English – as long as he didn’t speak too fast. I’ll be honest. Between all the on-and-off stops, the heat, not always being within earshot of our guide or understanding him even if I was, it was just – a lot. Most of what he talked about concerned the history of Angola, its leaders, its wars, its fighting for independence, etc.

Port Luanda terminal

first stop - Iron Palace

1963-2026 Day of Africa celebration

Our guide explained the meaning of their flag and its colors - black (color of the people's skin), red (blood), yellow (rising sun), the sickle or blade (agriculture) and the cog (industry).

If anyone reading this is a history buff or just loves to learn, I've included some hyperlinks (bottom) that provide more information than I could give in one or two sentences. Our first stop (above) was the Iron Palace, a historical building believed to have been built by the designer of the Eiffel Tower. We weren’t allowed to enter but simply climbed several floors of iron stairs, then circled around the building and came back down.

From there we were driven to the Church of our Lady of Remedies. As is usually the case, there were souvenirs that could be purchased and children asking for money.

Church of our Lady of Remedies

interior of Church of our Lady of Remedies

memorabilia for sale outside

Our next stop was San Miguel Fort. I'm resorting to AI for help explaining this one, as it will do a far better job than I could. I took tons of photos here.

The Tiles: Inside the fort’s central courtyard, a low, squat building holds rooms featuring beautifully preserved Portuguese azulejos (tin-glazed blue and white ceramic tiles).
The Murals: The tile panels were installed during the 1930s to serve as a permanent visual history book. They depict traditional Angolan wildlife, local flora and fauna, early regional scenes, and the colonial history of Angola.
The Rest of the Museum: The fortress grounds act as an open-air exhibition featuring soviet-era murals, captured cannons, vintage military aircraft, and tanks. The location on Morro da Fortaleza also offers panoramic views over Luanda Bay and the Marginal.

entrance to Fortress of Sao Miguel

Above is the entrance to the Fortress of Sao Miguel. Antonio Agostinho Neto (1922-1979, below) was an Angolan physician, poet and revolutionary who was Angola's first president from 1975 until his death.

view of bay through gun port on top of fort

interior Fortress of Sao Miguel

lots of military displays

Pres. António Agostinho Neto

one of several hallways lined with beautiful tiles

Next was a visit to the National Anthropology Museum. As with the tiles at the fort, I took many photos there. Description of this museum - it "houses over 6,000 traditional artifacts spanning 14 rooms across two floors. It showcases Angola’s rich cultural heritage through ethnographic objects, musical instruments, sacred art, and historical displays representing the country’s diverse ethnic and linguistic groups." I would describe many of the items as quite creepy.

National Anthropology Museum

instrument made of gourds

many different masks - some creepy in appearance

Our last stop was the mausoleum where President Antonio Agostinho Neto, first president of the Republic of Angola lies in a glass enclosed casket inside a huge domed room, literally surrounded 360 degrees by (artificial) flowers. This was the only place we visited that we were not allowed to take pictures.

President Neto Memorial Building

mausoleum building entrance

Finally, after walking through all of the places listed above, we were driven past other points of interest (Igreja de Jesus, Maria & Jose, Houses of Parliament, Malanga and the National Bank of Angola). We were told not to take pictures of any of the government buildings. Apparently someone in the other van took one, and we were all stopped and that person made to delete it. I only took one "drive by" and that was the bank below (note bus window reflection in photo).