 |
African Cup of Nations - blog
Benguela, a pearl of wondrous beauty
by Paul Myers
Article published on the 2010-01-13 Latest update 2010-01-13 17:56 TU
Gabon player Daniel Cousin
(Credit: AFP)
Paul Myers travels to Angola's port city of Benguela as he follows the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations for RFI.
Oh the joys of travel.
I have discovered a tournament called the 27th Africa Cup of Nations. This one is taking place in the port city of Benguela and it is a pearl of wondrous beauty.
This parallel universe exists because Benguela is hosting Group C comprising Benin, Nigeria, Egypt and Mozambique.
Egypt is the team going for a hat trick of titles. Nigeria is on the rise while Benin and Mozambique are very much the lightweights of the group.
But as we’ve seen so far, the underdogs have been having a good old bark. Minnows Malawi thrashed Algeria 3-0 while Burkina Faso calmed the Elephants more usually known as Cote d’Ivoire.
To prepare for Tuesday’s cut and thrust, I walked down to the seafront on Monday night and listened as the waves broke onto the shore in the darkness.
OK, the place I wanted to eat at was closed, but to be fair it was late.
What wasn’t great was the total lack of help the night receptionist offered back at my hotel.
The attitude was, "Well, if you turn up after 10pm you’re not going to eat." But he was a young man – mid 20s at the most - and he didn’t know anywhere?
At least our driver, Michael, was more efficient the next morning. When the internet disappeared at the hotel, he took me to a cyber cafe.
There was traffic but no jams. There was space and life, a balmy vibrancy.
Benguela was originally settled by the Portuguese in the early 17th century. It looked a good idea to the intrepid souls who came ashore back then.
There were loads of fish, good supplies of fresh water and fecund plains.
However lurking in the shadows were mosquitos and the first foraging parties were virtually wiped out by malaria.
Fast forward a few hundred years and the place is now renowned for its bananas, beaches and beautiful women.
So when I saw a comely lass on the street offering up her fruits, I bought a pineapple.
Well, Michael did the negotiating. I’m not quite sure if it was a bargain but I put it down as my contribution to the local economy.
It will be interesting to see the effects of the Africa Cup of Nations on Angola in a year or so. And on Benguela in particular. There's a central push to shift the commericial maritime traffic away from Luanda to Benguela which will probably promote it to the status of the country’s second city.
That’s likely to mean more building and development. I hope it’s done sensitively and sensibly.
For the moment though…Benguela stadium sparkles, the roads leading to it are broad, straight beasts and once inside the volunteer staff volunteer to help out if there’s any trouble.
The pleasure of simplicity.
