I traveled, in total, 1200 miles over the past two weeks. Manjangue, to Chokwe, to Macia, to Xai xai to Vilanculos to Chimoio was the trip to In-Service training. I never thought 600 miles would have to be split into two days' travel (i.e. there is no conceivable way to make the trip in less time).
#spoiledbytheeaseoftravelintheUS
The experience has been typical of transportation in Mozambique. Chapas. Imagine an old, small bus with worn, poorly padded plastic-covered seats. Now imagine said bus in 80 degree weather with upwards of 20 people (mind you, the bus is designed to seat a maximum of 17 or 18 people- record number for me was 25. That was fun). Now imagine that crowded, hot bus traveling down a pothole ridden road, swerving, bumping bouncing and jerking for long periods of time. Welcome to the world of Mozambican public economy ground travel. They're cheap, granted (around 1 metical per mile traveled on average outside of big cities, sometimes more) but they take forever and are very uncomfortable. There are other forms of travel, sure. If you're on a main highway, or in a provincial capital, you can get on a machimbombo (big ol' bus). It's much more comfortable, affording the PCV-coined name maningue nice bus. These, however, can be expensive and very, dangerously fast. I've heard that they have a distastefully high tip-over rate. That could just be fofoca (gossip), though. You can also boleia (hitchhike), but that can be very tricky. With all the risks associated with climbing into a car with an unknown person/people and driving on a remote road, it's not uncommon to have a lead-foot driver driving at dangerous speeds or to be asked for a ridiculous amount of money for the favor. On top of all that, the driving culture here is very different from that in the States; few people seem to think that drinking alcohol while on the road inhibits driving abilities; an unfortunate fact that cost the lives of two PCVs last year. Also common is poor maintenance of vehicles, so break-downs are commonplace. Peace Corps has a policy of no travel at night as well as a prohibition on boleia-ing. No surprise. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen, though. Sometimes you have no choice. Difficulty of travel in this country is an unfortunate reality. Most of the time, everything goes smoothly and you arrive at your destination. Most of the time.
I thought it important to blog about transportation because everybody here is subject to it. Mozambican and foreigner alike must endure lengthy uncomfortable chapa rides*. The infrastructure here is growing and, I'm sure that as Mozambique develops, the transportation will improve, but for now, everyone has to settle for Chapas (unless you can afford to take a plane,train or bus, which the vast majority of Mozambicans cannot). The difficulty of transportation in Mozambique has far reaching effects impacting the economy, food distribution, healthcare, public safety and education among other things.
As a PCV, the hardest part for me is the difficulty associated with seeing friends and loved ones far away. The thought of traveling so far and for so long makes distance seem worlds from the physical distance in kilometers. Solidarity and camaraderie are an even match for the time and effort involved to travel to see friends. Definitely relevant is the recent sacrifice given by a group of 16 northern Moz 19ers that chapa'd an 800 mile, 30 hour excursion (not including the return trip) to visit close friends they hadn't seen in months. You know who you are, Norte Forte. Love you for making the trip. All of you. It was so good to see you. Especially you, Jamie! <3
*If you know a Mozambican and you live in the south, odds are he/ she has family or a house in Maputo. Most teachers I know have moved from the city to the 'matu' (wilderness-roughly translated) to work. Lots of people work during the week in a small town and travel home on the weekends to see their friends and family in the big city, be it Maputo, a provincial capital or modestly sized city. Heavy and frequent travel is ubiquitous among Mozambicans. A five hour chapa ride becomes small beans after a while
picture: a typical chapa.
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