Luanda, Angola - Feb 2

Angola is a multi-faceted paradox. Belgium (the Congo) and Portugal (Angola) competed to see who could most completely screw-up an African colony. Belgium won, but barely. Angola slogged through a 15 year fight for independence as Portugal played four factions off against each other until 1975. A bloody 27-year civil war between the factions ended in 2002.

Below is Angola’s National Monument to Dr. Agostinho Neto, Father of Angola, as seen from the old colonial fort that overlooks the city. We later visited the mausoleum-memorial itself, taking a picture of the entrance. Neto led Angola to independence following his imprisonment locally, in the Cape Verde islands, and in Portugal. He was a devout Marxist-Leninist, comrade-in-arms with Castro, and supported by Russia and China.

Neto died in 1979 and was succeeded by José dos Santos as leader of the leftist party and President. Dos Santos is still president. Paying lip service to Neto, he converted the regime to crony capitalist one-party rule, encouraging foreign investment and richly rewarding relatives and high party officials. In competition with Nigeria to create the most corrupt country in the world, he won.

Here is Luanda’s waterfront promenade, from the fort. It’s called the Marginal as in Havana, but looks more like Avenida Atlantica fronting Copacabana in Rio.

Here is Joani posing in front of a great revolutionary howitzer of the people that was used to fight against the facist Portuguese colonists, according to the military history museum in the fort:

Our tour also visited a building by Gustav Eiffel who also designed some stuff in Paris. The “Iron Palace” was fabricated in France and intended for the US, but when stopping in Angola to pick up slaves en route, the ship rode too low in the water for both cargoes. The ironwork was left in Luanda.

Angola does have great wealth in oil and diamonds and has grown explosively; the third largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa after South Africa and Nigeria. Luanda is a rapidly growing and modernizing city of seven million. 90% of the buildings are less than 10 years old with construction cranes everywhere. Dos Santos and his friends have skimmed about $32 Billion off the top by conservative estimates while the average Angolan lives on less than $2 a day. Human rights ratings are in the mud. Our tours had heavy police escorts.

Here is the HQ of the largest Angolan oil company:

The US is not terribly popular as during the 27-year civil war we supported the losing right wing UNITA party that also enjoyed the full support of the apartheid government of South Africa. However, US dollars are extremely welcome.

Here is a picture of Portuguese colonial tilework from inside the fort-museum. This picture is dedicated to Kathy Wicks, who likes this kind of art work, at least on pieces of china.

Two days at sea and then we visit the Skeleton Coast of Namibia.