Catumbela sits between Benguela and Lobito on Angola's central coast, straddling the river that shares its name. Originally called Quitumbela after a local soba (traditional leader), the town has always had better water and a friendlier climate than its neighbours -- in 1650 there was even talk of moving the provincial capital here from Benguela.
The town grew rich on the inland rubber trade after the road to Bailundo and Bie opened in the late 1800s. That boom faded, but Catumbela remains a quiet stop between the two larger coastal cities, with colonial-era buildings along the riverbanks and a slower pace than either Benguela or Lobito.