When the itinerary for the Viking Sky World Cruise was released and we saw Angola listed as one of the port stops, it definitely gave us pause. Our expectations for docking there were fairly low—mainly due to Angola’s history of slave trade, internal civil unrest, the presence of malaria, and its high poverty levels.
Luanda, the capital, is actually the most populous Portuguese-speaking city in the world and one of the oldest colonial cities in Africa. Angola has had its share of strife over the past few decades, and while tourism is slowly trying to get established,— especially with changes in cruise routes due to the situation in the Red Sea—it’s clear that the country needs lots of rebuilding/rebranding.
We took Viking’s included excursion, which brought us into the city to visit a church, an old fort, the beach area, a war museum, and the central government square where Parliament is located. It was striking—and honestly a bit sad—that so many of the tourist “highlights” focused on war monuments and the long, painful history of Angola’s fight for independence from Portugal in 1974 followed by a civil war involving multiple political factions leading to proxy wars and coup attempts supported by Cuba. The civil uprisings lasted until 2002.
We did witness real poverty—displaced people living in shanties and struggling with daily life—but at the same time, we saw glimpses of wealth, largely driven by the nearby oil and diamond industries. The contrast was jarring. It was represented to us that cost of living in Luanda is one of the highest in the world.
Our motor coach ride was supported by police escorts and we did get several young boys begging for money and food when we walked towards the church.
We had the experience of Angola in the short time we spent there. We did see Luanda with our own eyes, and saw a city with potential but still in flux and recovering. Unfortunately, it’s probably not a place we’d return to anytime soon.
