Last One On Is A Rotten Egg!

Sunday started out early. Nunu and I were catching the 7:50 bus out of Johannesburg into Maputo. I bought my ticket a few weeks back online so all I needed to do was get my boarding pass. I’ve never taken a bus before, but I thought if we got there 45 minutes early we would be okay.

When Cesar dropped us at the bus station I immediately knew I was in over my head. I was imagining a small strip mall with a bench out front, but this place was huge!

We finally made it to this huge lobby that was full of bus companies and food vendors… more like a mall than what I had imagined in my head. Each line had a handful of people in it, so I was beginning to think that we had timed this just right. We were taking the City to City bus but I didn’t see a counter for them. The information desk wasn’t open, so I went to the Travel Lux Bus counter (I think it’s a sister company). The woman told me to walk down another hall and I would find it. So thankful they speak English in South Africa!

Nunu and I wound down another long corridor happy that we didn’t have one more 50 pound bag to be pulling (because it was lost on my flight). We get to another lobby, my stomach instantly sinks… this place is packed full of people. I come to realize that the majority of people in the lobby are waiting in line for City to City! Nunu waits with our bags (he already has his ticket) and I jump in line.

It’s 7:20, I stand there for a few minutes and the line goes nowhere. I have a sinking feeling in my stomach. It’s now 7:30, my bus leaves in 20 minutes. The line has moved about 5 feet, the line winds around for as far as I can see… things aren’t looking good. If I were in America I would have started working my way up the line asking if I could go in front of people, but here I’m not sure what to do.

I ask the woman in front of me if she thinks I will make it to my bus on time. She looked over my ticket and told me to go to the security guard near the front of the line and show her my ticket. I make my way up to the front trying not to look like I am cutting… luckily the security guard is near the outside where I can reach in to get her attention. The security guard is a no-nonsense woman. With a stern look on her face she reads over my paper work. I’m shocked when she tells me I can go to the front of the line. I get there and I’m not really sure how to cut in. People are very protective of their spots and not to keen on the idea of letting me in front of them. It’s hard for me as I’m sure these people have waited there turn for hours and here I come just stepping right in.

A woman complains about me and the security guard comes up and physically puts me right in the front of that line! The guys behind me are very kind… I think they could see the look in my eyes. I’m guess I had the look of shock on my face as I really couldn’t believe how long this line was and I was trying to grasp the reality that I might miss my bus.

I get to the window. It’s typical glass with the opening below for you to exchange money and ticket. The window is heavily tinted, with the exception of a small circle that is slightly tinted. I’m not sure what good the circle does, I could barely see the man.  I slide my internet print off in. And strain to look in the window. The man says nothing to me, which is probably good because I don’t think I would have been able to hear him. He moves at a snails pace hand writing out my ticket.

As soon as he hands it to me, I head off back to Nunu running! As I’m making my way back through the line the woman who was in front of me reaches out and say, “Did you get it?” When I said, “Yes” she got a huge smile on her face. 

One of the things I love about traveling is you get to meet so many people. Some people that become your life long friends, others who are involved in your life for only a matter of moments. Just as in the States, some of them aren’t in the best mood, while others want the best for you. I was so touched by this woman’s concern for me and my bus ticket.

I’m not sure where the bus is, so when I find Nunu we take our bags and hurry down the corridor. I was so happy to find that it was just around the corner from where Nunu was standing. We get my bags loaded and get on the bus to claim our seats. Nunu says that he will wait outside to watch our bags under the bus.

He comes in a few minutes later to check on me and I ask him if he can buy some phone credit so I can call South African Airlines again. I asked him this because I thought there was a guy selling them just outside of the bus. About two minutes after he leaves the bus driver comes down the isle checking our tickets and passports. Nunu isn’t back yet, so I made my way to the front of the bus so I could be looking out for him. I hand the bus driver my ticket and say, “When are we leaving, my friend should be right back.” His response, “We are leaving now.”

Still no sight of Nunu, I tell the bus driver I am going to look for him. I head out and watch thinking, “how long can it take to get phone credit?!” I finally see him and am able to gesture that he needs to hurry. As he gets closer I notice that he has more than just the phone card. A bag of Chicken Licken and a Coke! Not sure where or when this bus stop along the 8 hour drive, I figure that this was probably a good thing as all I had was a few granola bars in my bag.

Best fried chicken I've ever had! 

I get back to the bus and the driver ask, “Where is your friend?” Nunu boards right after me and I point. And the bus driver closes the doors shortly after. I’m not enjoying this trend of being the last ones on.

The bus stopped at least two if not three times for bathroom and food breaks. We also made a stop at the border. It was pretty confusing, I’ve never walked through a border before. I’m not even sure if I understood what was happening. But I think we got stamps from South Africa saying we were leaving and then stamps going into Mozambique. All I know is we kept waiting in lines. But we basically made it through without any problems.

The first stop our bus made. It's a gas station, note the parking spots all have canopies.  

South African farm house.

So now I’m in Mozambique! I’d like to say the most stressful situations are over, but on January 28 Nunu and I will be taking the 2-3 day bus ride up to Pemba. I’m excited to see more of Mozambique but just hoping we aren’t the last ones to get on the bus!

Prayer Requests:

- That I would get over my jet lag, for 2 nights in a row I’ve woken up around 1 am and I find myself not ready to fall back asleep until about 6 am (11 pm back home).

- A safe bus trip on January 28^th. Not only for Nunu and I but also for our luggage =)