The Little Train that CAN: Our First Ride On The Gautrain

Posted on by
Reply

10 June

Much like it takes leaving the United States to remain appreciative of all that we as a nation possess, the same goes for South Africa. Even though it is very possible to live a comfortable first world lifestyle in ZA, there are always those differences stemming from our diverse cultures. Dealing with the target on your back in ZA as a white person, never mind a tourist or an American, is quite different from most other nations. The lack of Internet access, which my iPhone and job at Apple have made such a necessity, plus the craziness on the roads that seems to be ‘proudly South African’ can lead to a dissatisfaction upon arrival. The fact that my first few days in country were troubled with a lost airline bag, and food poisoning, my return to South Africa had been far from pleasant. However, two weeks in Mozambique with the beautiful chaos that is most of the continent brings my appreciation for ZA back to a all new high. 2 weeks of seafood had also been my limit and being able to grab a fast food burger at Steers (a local burger joint) was certainly needed to balance my diet.

Continue reading →

Blondie and The Three Boys

Posted on by
Reply

9 June

Today was long, but wonderful.

We were first to board the bus back to Joburg, so Alex quickly snagged the front seats on the top level so we could appreciate the last views of mozambique and admire the beautiful South African landscape. I was a little hesitant to sit with three sides of glass on either side of me. Ever since our bus accident in SA in 2007, I have been very aware when riding public transportation of how we would survive/get out if we crashed again and front seats/glass did not have a good outcome in my mind. Alex tried to reassure me by pointing out that the front seats have seat belts- it did not help. Continue reading →

The Wheels on the Bus Go Bump Bump Bump

Posted on by
Reply

8 June

Up at 4am this morning as we want to catch the 0500 or 0600 chapa (pronounced sha-paa, think Arnold saying ‘Get to the Chopper!). It’s so nice to have a proper hot shower to start the day, as I’ve forgotten how much African public transport abuses your body. It’s not the tight spaces that wear on you it’s the pounding your body takes through the speeding up, slowing down, and swerving to avoid potholes at high speeds, and then of course the constant bumping plus the major ones that the driver doesn’t avoid. As I was on the far side of the chapa yesterday I had the full force of 3-4 other people in my row exerting the force of the turn against me into the side of the vehicle. Luckily we were already crammed together so there was no ‘sliding’ just the force of the movement of the chapa. The hot shower did wonders to cure these resultant aches.

As we’re leaving we ask the security guard which way to the chapa station. Continue reading →

Oh Where Oh Where Did My TCO Go?

Posted on by
Reply

Woke up at 6:30, we ate breakfast, put the last items into our suitcases and walked to town. We quickly found a bakkie that was heading out to the N1 and got in. Not more then 5 minutes into the trip I began to doubt our decision as something on the bottom of the bakkie went clank, clank, clank against the asphalt. Of course the day we NEED to be out at the N1 on time to catch our bus back to Maputo we pick the vehicle that is falling apart. Mid way through the journey, after struggling up the hill the driver pulls the bakkie over and gets out. The guy who collects the fares and the driver are discussing something in Portuguese and then look at a wire coming from a spare battery in the truck bed, but the driver shakes his head “No”. One of the passengers in the back had wrapped his machete with plastic and a string, so he removed the string and gave it to the driver who proceeded to get under the truck and I presume tie whatever was clanking back to the truck. If that is what he went under the truck to do he failed because as soon as we started moving again the clanking began.

Continue reading →