A weekend in Luanda

Last weekend was great. The weather in Luanda has cooled down for the cacimbo (winter), at a very pleasant 18-24ºC. It’s too cold swim so there isn’t so much beach traffic on the Samba road during the weekends. Traffic flow has also improved because construction on the narrow stretch of road near the President’s mother’s house is done.

On Saturday, we decided to venture out for lunch for a change. Ate at a Lebanese place called Al Dar, near the Sagrada Familia church. The food is good but I don’t like the manager so we only go there when we have cravings for lots of meat! That afternoon, I made soya milk using beans that my husband brought from the US after a business trip. This turned out to be far too much effort for something you can buy at the store. (And one of my muslin cloths ripped so I sprayed soya mash all over the kitchen.)

On Sunday, we indulged in a two-hour Chinese massage at the restaurant/massage place near ExxonMobil’s Imbondeiro compound. Afterwards, for the first time, we went for lunch and a movie at the new Belas Shopping Centre -- Angola’s first shopping mall! We watched Homem de Ferro (Iron Man) for 600 Kz each (US$8). Most of the people walked into the cinema 10 minutes after the movie had started. During the show, the guy next to me was talking on his phone and when things got heavy, people started shouting at the screen.

But it was nice to hear people laugh.

Anyway, Monday morning was tough, I think because of the massage...next time one hour is enough!

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