It Takes a Village!

January of 2010 was when I first heard about The Dream Project (TDP). When I spoke to Jeanine on the phone she explained to me that there was a Center in the north in the town of Pemba and that TDP had about 6 acres in the south in a town called Ponta do Ouro. Minutes after getting off the phone with Jeanine I got onto Wikipedia & google maps and started looking at the two towns. I was very drawn to Ponta and was hoping that I could go there on my first trip to Moz, but decided not to go as I would have had to go alone.

When planning this trip, I was told that we would be taking a bus from Maputo to Ponta. It’s a three-hour trip, the shortest of all of my scheduled bus trip… no big deal.

The route we took was straight south from Catembe.

Maputo is a costal city and we have to take a barge across the water to a town called Catambe to catch the bus. As we exit the barge I look around and don’t see any buses… only schapas? Oh that’s right people call schaps buses…

I know I’ve written about schapas before, but I feel the need to write again so you get a better idea of my experience. A schapa is a cross between a mini van and 15 passenger van. The height and width of a mini, but closer to the length of a 15 passenger. There are four rows of seats, behind the driver are permanent seats that are designed for two people then at the end of each bench is a chair that folds up and down so people can come and go (it folds up to look kind of like an arm rest for the two seater). Only the front two rows have windows, the back two rows have a bar going length ways though the middle of the window… to hold on I guess?

So in my eyes this schapa would comfortably seat 12 people plus 2 up front. But not in Mozambique… When we arrive there are probably 9 people or so already on. I ask when the schapa leaves… the answer I get… “When it’s full.”

What’s full? Full ends up being four people in each row, one man sitting backwards on a small seat behind the driver and three people up front… 20 people! For three hours. I feel bad for the guy in front of me, the bench in his row is taken up by two larger ladies and he and another lady are left smashed into the chair that flips down. Not only are there 20 people in this schapa but we all have our bags and purses on our laps. I was happy to be in the last row with 3 skinny guys, one of which I knew making things slightly less awkward… but only because we could coordinate who should lean forward and who should lean back.

I’ve been squeezed into this back row for 30 – 45 minutes and we haven’t even left Catambe! The driver takes all of our names and we each pay 175 MTN (abt $6.00) and away we go! It has been raining so the air is cool and the breeze feels so good against my face. The road on the other hand… yeah it’s bumpy. In Moz they drive on the left, well at least that is the idea. But when you get on dirt roads you just drive where the holes are the smallest. So our driver zig-zags all over this dirt road. After about 30 minutes I close my eyes, I start praying that I don’t get carsick.

I actually started thinking if they had schapas in America what would be on the warning sign at the station: “Warning: It is strongly recommended that you don’t take schapa if you are even the slightest bit prone to motion sickness, are claustrophobic, have any sort of tail bone problems, have a weak bladder, and easily lose sensation in your feet. Take the schapa at your own risk. Thank you enjoy the ride, please come again.”

I don’t get sick, I eventually open my eyes and realize that we are actually on a paved road. My guess is that it was paved once years ago and never again has any work been done to it. I think the holes in the pavement were actually bigger than the holes in the dirt road. Funny, right?!

With all the rain, we do come across a few sections of the road that are covered in water. I forgot to mention that that schapa has 4 wheel drive, one thing for sure… the drivers are professionals, they can get over, around, and through anything. While I’m looking out the window, I keep noticing these little pools of water that are connect to the road. Some are really over grown, but then when I see one only surrounded by dirt I realize that they are man made ponds. They were dug so that the water would have a place to pool up, besides the middle of the road. Maybe it the designer in me, but I’m always so impressed with simple solutions such as this. One thing I love about Mozambique is looking around and seeing simple cost effective solutions to problems.  

This was the best picture I could get. In most places the
pond would fill leaving the road dry. The pond is the angled body of water .

About one hour into the drive we pass a woman and her young daughter. They have a flat tire. Our driver pulls over to help. He takes the spare from under our schapa… I think that’s amazing that our tire will fit their truck. Not so amazing when the driver rolls our tire back 15 minutes later! By this time 2 other schapas and one truck have also stopped. Looking back out of the schapa window, I think to myself, “I guess it also takes a village to change a tire!”

The rest of the ride is uneventful. We make a pit-stop about one hour before we arrive. There are a few little bamboo shops so people can buy drinks and snacks. I stay on the schapa… I’m not sure if I can move and I don’t want to be left behind.

When I was researching Ponta, everything kept saying 4 wheel drive is required. I was really curious if they were just being cautious cause they are sick of tourists getting stuck… I mean it’s a horrible road but 4 wheel drive? Well the last 45 minutes of the trip I finally understood why you need it. Once you get off the dirt road there is a one way trail going up and down sand dunes. Most of the dunes are covered in grass with the exception of 2 tire marks winding up and down and up and down… talk about bumpy! When a vehicle comes from the other direction each person gets one tires mark and the other tires goes off road.

It was not the most comfortable rides I’ve ever been on, but it wasn’t horrible either. I love learning about life in Mozambique, I will never forget my first “bus” ride to Ponta do Ouro!