The Trip to Maputo

The 5th would prove to be a tough but not terrible travel day. We woke up and at about 10 we headed to the taxi ring at the Lesotho border with South Africa. We crossed the border, got our stamps and joined up with a bus heading to Johannesburg. This was more of an experience than it should have been, since the person whom we thought would be our driver was very rude and unhelpful. We tried to site up front at first, but he motioned for us to get out and wouldn’t let us back in. We grabbed two other seats and managed to fit our luggage underneath the rear seats. Finally, when the rest of the bus started to refill, we took our book bags and grabbed the front seats again. Yay! It is difficult to accurately describe just how packed these buses can be, but it really sucks to be in these buses, and it is even worse when you have to carry ALL of your luggage on your laps. We also breathed a sigh of relief when a new driver took over. This guy was much friendlier.

The journey to the Park Station in Jo’Berg occurred without any further incidence. For a few Rand, the taxi driver agreed to take us directly to the InterCity bus station at the station. Johannesburg is known for high violent crime rates and we did not want to trudge through the city with our heavy packs. It is not a place to be with tired legs and minds. We walked into the station, just as the power went out. We were told that this might be a planned and rotating power outage. It seems that Johannesburg has some sever power shortages and that one way they are combating this problem is by simply shutting down huge chunks of the grid at pre-planned times. With the power out, we were unable to pick up our tickets. But this was fine, since we were there about 6 hours early. After sitting down for a good bit (my legs were still very tired from the illness), we walked up to a bar that had a generator, allowing it to serve food. I ordered half a BBQ chicken and Jeremy bought a steak sandwich. Both were excellent. Halfway through dinner, the lights came back on, and we were ready for business.

We went back downstairs, picked up our tickets, and then sat down while waiting for the bus. We had enough time to patch Jeremy’s plastic suitcase. His handle had broken earlier in the day and we had to fashion a new one out of a cloth strap. When we finished, it was time to board the bus (at about 9:30 pm). The bus would arrive in Maputo around 7 am the next day, so we had a long nights’ journey ahead of us. Honestly, at home, you might think that a night bus ride would mean pleasant slumber. Not in Africa! As soon as the ride started, the bus driver turned on the DVD player and started up Littleman, a terrible movie about a midget gangster who pretends to be a baby to recover a stolen diamond from a couple with romantic issues. And hilarity does not ensue. At the first rest stop, we purchased a soda and an ice cream bar, but honestly, with these rides you have to be very careful about drinking liquids. Sometimes the buses stop, sometimes they don’t, and it doesn’t matter how bad you have to go.

That takes us up until about midnight, so the second part of the trip will continue with the 6th.