19th of June, 2018.
In the beginning, it is to good to be true. I have my seat and the minibus is properly full, nobody is over each other. Even the songs are great! Some old good music.
I do not know at which point exactly everything becomes a mess. I have just half seat and everybody is squeezed. Then the woman just beside me gets sick and threw up in her kid and a little in the lady beside her. She is sick for a long time and later her daughter also starts to throw up. A baby starts to cry crazily loud and desperately for some long minutes. And the road, I do not even know if is still possible call that thing a road, because there are enormous wholes everywhere. It is a horrible, long and exhaustive travel.
People keep leaving but the driver keeps accepting others in there places. So the minibus is always full but people keep coming and going.
In one of these moments, when I am sitting in a very uncomfortable way, which makes me ask myself – can this possibly get worse? Yes, the universe answers five minutes later: the tire burst. And guess what? They do not have a jack. At least it does take too much time until someone stops and decide to help.
We are on the road again and I am starving. I have had just that Coke for lunch and a peanut candy, which I was trying to buy with a note of twenty Meticais (the candy it was five Meticais), but this young guy who was also in the minibus anticipated me and paid the boy who was selling it. I tried to refuse or later tried to give him half of the candy but he said it was fine. Maybe it sounds a small thing for most people, and economically talking, five Meticais cost three cents, but for me it was the most beautiful act. That guy probably has not too many things in his life, or too much money, but even so he decided to help me. And I do not even know his name. Wherever you are know, anonymous helper, thank you very much.
It is almost midnight when we arrive in Inchope. The minibus stops just in front of the shop of a senior lady, who is cooking Ugali. I ask her if there is something to eat with it that is not meat and she say she has beans. Fifty Meticais and I eat as it is an Italian Pizza. Then I ask her about the police control and she says it is far down the road. It is too late to go around alone and probably any nun from a church nearby would be sleeping. All the ladies from the other shops around are already laying down on the floor, using their mats. I decide to do the same. I ask the lady if I could join her and she say it is OK and I could even put my backpacks inside her shop to be safer. Just like that, I sleep on the streets, again, but this time with company. Nothing happen during the night.
After five o’clock there is already movement on the road and I decide to get up. I buy some bread and hot water to have a simple but delicious breakfast. I also buy some chips from the lady of the shop, to make sure I would have some lunch this time, and then I leave.
The police control it is not that far. I find a good spot, under some shade, to start hitchhiking. It does not take too long until a nice senior man stops for me. He is going to Maputo! Should I give up of going to Vilankulos and go straight to Maputo with him?
P.S.: For some reason which I cannot remember, but I think it might have something to do with a possible host near Tete, I ended up there. Well, not necessarily in the town but I crossed a bridge just after. And that is the only way, the only proof I have about it: a photograph of this bridge. I can’t find a text about this situation, even though I know I wrote about it. What a hell? I remember a lot about that day: the guy who gave me a lift, he was a taxi driver; then he got stolen by the other guy who was with us, that actually happened right after we crossed the bridge; then he drove me to a place where he tried to talk with some military people if I could camp in that area (what?); they refused, so he drove me to a church, we talked with the priest and I spent the night there. That’s all I can remember. If you can find an explanation, please help me out!
10 Years Around the World 