I didn’t want to exclude the last major stop on my Chimoio- Xai-Xai 2007 trip that took place in October and November. There wasn’t much to this leg of the journey. The volunteers there are two of my favorite people in Mozambique, and now they rank as some of the best hostesses in Mozambique. First, let me refresh your memory in terms of the course that I took on my trip. I left Buzi and spent a night with my partner in JOMA, Matt Rysavy. Don’t really have many pics of his site, Nhamatanda, but here is one of the kids playing on his doorstep with some legos that he lets them use. I’m glad that the kid knows how to make a toy gun. Jeez, Matt, can’t you show them how to make a rocketship or something? I’m kidding. Hell, I know that even with my upbringing (as in the upbringing where i was involved with “no nukes” protests at the Unitarian Church) I still played guns on the playground. Não faz mau.
Here’s Matt and the unofficial neighborhood kung-fu club/community watch group.
And here is an unfortunate soul who had one too many bottles of tentação whisky. Note that less than 5 feet behind him is the EN6- the national road that runs between Zimbabwe and Beira, Moçambique’s largest port and second biggest city. Also note that ONE bottle of Tentação Whisky is ONE TOO MANY. We can add him to my gallery of people passed out in interesting situations.
So, the next day I got up and got a boleia to “the crossroads of Mozambique” aka Inchope. Inchope is to Mozambique what Wildwood is to Florida (like the trucker reference, Dad?), cheap places to stay, cheap slightly nasty food, and a wealth of truckers and their companheiras.
I waited here for a while (too long, in fact) before getting a ride in a half-broken-down (meaning it couldn’t go over 40km/hr without dying) semitruck- originally from Kentucky!- to get back down the EN1 over the Rio Save and to Machanga.
Interesting thing about this truck- something I wish I had gotten a picture of but didn’t- is that on the crest it said “ABORTION KILLS”. I wonder if it said that while it was operational in the states or if the assholes who sold the truck over here thought it would be an inspirational message for the natives to adhere. Whatever it is, it’s creepy.
It was quite a bit of ground to cover (Nhamatanda to Machanga in one day) and I wouldn’t have been able to do it had Olivia and Jordan not paid the canoe operator to stay on the other side of the river a little longer to wait for me- if you want the full version of that story you can e-mail me. The thing is, there is no public transport that goes directly TO Machanga. These girls really are out in the middle of nowhere. The most reliable method of escaping to civilization is to cross the Rio Save over to Novo Mambone, usually using a hollowed-out log canoe. Pretty sweet, huh?
So, I get into Machanga, and it’s pretty late. It may have been just past traveling hours, but I don’t recall. O and J pick me up at the river and tell me that there is a party for the design teacher’s wife that night. It’s a big deal- so big that they even got ice for the beer. See, O and J live on a catholic mission, but they only get electricity for 4 hours a day, so cold drinks are a premium (read: they don’t really exist). So I was lucky enough to participate in a cold-drink festa!
Here are a few pics from the party night. Apparently, the design teacher’s wife (Marta) had a little bit of a thing for me, and kept wanting to dance with me. Here is Marta teaching David to get his passada on.
The husband was a little jealous by night’s end and when she suggested that they both stay at O and J’s (cause he was rip-roarin’ drunk) he got pissed and started to take off on his motorcycle. She reluctantly hopped on at the last minute, ending whatever chance I had at true love with a Mozambican design teacher’s wife… whatever that means (nothing). My crowning moment, though was when some rock song came on (i thought it was Queen but am pretty sure it was the Scorpions) and I started to playfully strum the air guitar.
Soon enough I had a group of air guitar followers. So, I got a little more dramatic, and my minions accordingly shredded their axes. Soon enough, it was air guitar madness, with everyone getting their Eddie Van Halen on in a fit of hysterical air-shattering air-guitar on the floor.
My time spent in Machanga was perfect. It was really the part best described as “chill”. I met a lot of O and J’s friends, and we really just hung out, passear’d and tried not to be hot. They would not let me do anything with regards to cooking,and we ate wonderfully, at least by Machangan standards.
Here is the market, whose roof was peeled back like a sardine can lid during the Favio last year. By the way, they have about three things there: tomatoes, dried fish, and onions. We were lucky and found peppers!
I even got to sit in on a study session that Jordan gave for the upcoming national exams. Here is Jordan in all her teaching glory as well as a sample exam (from 2006, i think)
By the way, do you see anything wrong with this exam being used as an english exam? Maybe the sentence that begins with “but”, or the sentence “A lot of people were watching television everywhere, to see the two astronauts stepping down on the moon’s surface.” You’d think they could hire a native english speaker to proof read these things!
Machanga, like Amatongas and Buzi, had qualities of that “perfect site” that I thought I would want when i came to Mozambique. In this case, it’s way out there, and has a lot of cool little places to explore. Here are a few of O and J’s favorite places that they showed me throughout the few days I was there. However, I have had enough fun just visiting, and it turns out I love my little truck-stop of a provincial capital.
I really could’ve stayed for another week and not been bored. Not that there is a lot to do, but Machanga really just has some intangible measure of charm that I really enjoyed. I don’t have many stories to tell about the place, so here are more pictures.
the “walk of doom”
As always, there are more pics from the entire trip that you can access by clicking below
From there, I went onto Inhassoro and back to Quissico to visit Jacki again before heading on to Xai-Xai. It was a sweet trip indeed, and I loved seeing three totally different new sites that I may not get to see again. Then again, one other reason for doing this trip was to see places that I may want my Mom to see when she comes. In fact, I think that if we were to fly into Beira, I would take her down a similar if not exact route through Buzi, Machanga and Quissico (maybe a stop at Tofo beach as well) so she can see exactly how some of us live and work here. Just imagine my MOm on Buzi community radio or dancing at a birthday party in the mato- I think she’s going to love it!
Ok, next post will probably be at least part of my trip to the North. Just to prepare you, I did not make it to Tanzania- or out of the country for that matter- but I did have an amazing trip and have quite a few pics to prove it.
Bummer about those Knights, but good season anyway boys! Ciao, Kevin Smith and good luck on draft day!
Até proxima, e feliz ano novo!
