While i was in Massangulo (Mozambique) recently i had the opportunity to experience some local public transportation by form of Chapa (portuguese for tin). This is a mini van used to transport people around Moz. The following is a glimpse into what that was like from my naiive perspective!
I woke up quickly- excited for what the day held ahead. There had been a bit of rain during the night, not uncommon during the rainy season here in Massangulu- a town about an hour an a half from the province capital, Lichinga. I was grateful it hadn't stormed too hard. When the dirt roads were wet they sure got muddy and i didn't want the journey i was going on today to take any longer than it had to. I silently prayed that any more rain would hold off for a few more hours and packed an overnight bag that contained everything i needed for the weekend. Today i was going to visit the Cowleys- a beautiful family who live in Chanika, a village close to the border of Mozambique and Malawi. I was going to spend the weekend with them, hoping to learn from their many years of experience with the Yao people. It was also going to be a chance for me to visit a new area and to relax and catch up with friends. I was really looking forward to it! We'd been planning this visit for weeks and discussed the best way to get to them. I didn't have access to a car at this point, and taking the advise of a well traveled peace corp volunteer, we'd decided the best option would be for me to take the chapa. A chapa is basically a mini van used as public transport for anyone who can pay to get from one place to another.
The sun was still rising as Bek and I gathered our things and headed off towards the main road. I had been staying with Bek and her family for the last week. Their house is on the base of a mountain in Massangulu and just off the main road that runs through the town. Apart from the people and their villages, there is not much more to the town, except for the beauty it offers by way of mountains and greenery. I had fallen in love with it quickly and as Bek and i set out on the road i couldn't help but smile at the 'small country town' vibe this place had. We stopped a few times as people came over from their morning activities to talk to us. Bek was going to visit the baby clinic today with a friend she had made since moving to the town. It had been very convenient that we both had to walk this way today at the same time and i enjoyed every opportunity i could get to hear more of the stories Bek had to tell of her time she had spent in Mozambique. Today i quizzed her on everything she knew about the chapa i was about to catch.
When we got to the place the chapa would stop we said our goodbyes and wished each other the best of luck in the adventures we both had planned for the day. After Bek had walked out of sight towards her friends house i turned around to take in the surroundings. It was about 6:45am but the day had started long ago for most of the people who passed me. I was standing in the middle of the road on an island by a T-junction. Two older men were standing there with me. On one side of the road a well dressed man sat on a closed shop verandah talking to a lady with a large suitcase. As i watched, a few more people came and stood nearby them, most wearing noticebly smart 'city' clothes, less common in the villages. It seemed travel required best attire. On the other side of the road people sat in front of their assortments of vegetables they were selling. There was nothing more than a few piles of tomatoes and onions. A few days ago when Bek and i had walked past we had found pineapples, but today it didn't seem like there were any treasures to be found.
More people joined me on the island, but never stayed there long. I wondered if this was the right place to be standing but remembered the Peace corp lady's instruction to wait on the island and decided it would be best to stay there. At around 7:30am after standing in the same place for 45 minutes and having only said greetings to people as they passed, i decided to try and strike up a bit of a longer conversation with the only other person who was now on the island with me. He was a young man, presumably yao and one of the few people wearing more casual clothing. Here, while the trade language is portuguese, the local (heart) language is ciyao. After making eye contact i greeted him in my best ciyao (which is poor at best!) and he returned the greeting quickly and asked me a question. I presumed this to be a question regarding where i was going, but having no more ciyao vocab left switched to portuguese and fumbled my way explaining that i was on my way to visit friends in Chanika. My portuguese is 100x better than my ciyao which says a lot about my ciyao and not so much about my portuguese. Needless to say we ran out of things to say (frustratingly because the conversation had turned more to him talking and me looking like i was playing the Charades game). Another lady joined the middle island ( the first lady other than my self!) and greeted me which began a new conversation of me acting everything out and throwing a few portuguese words in here and there to try and make more sense. In all that time, one blue mini bus passed us- at a rapid speed. It halted to a stop 50 mtres up the road and i saw a few people rushing over to it while others got out. I had still been talking to the young man at this point and had asked as best i could if that chapa was going to the border. He had nodded his head and i started running. I had only just crossed the road when the bus pulled away and drove off. In frustration and embarrassment i had hung my head and walked slowly back to my favourite spot on the small island. The man didn't even say a word. I had heard that only one chapa comes past at this time and hoped that my only chance to get to my friends wasn't disappearing around the bend leaving a cloud of dust behind it.
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It was a cool day thankfully but neverless when we saw the glistening roof of the chapa speeding down the hill towards us we shared the same excitement. At 8am it had been an hour of waiting, but this is not anything new for the people around me. The lady next to me started waving her closed umbrella in the air indicating the chapa to stop, so i joined in, waving my hands, more in relief than anything else. We quickly jumped off the island as, to my surprise, the chapa drove straight down the hill at full speed towards the island. It slammed to a halt as the front tyres collided with the curb and the side doors flew open. I stood in awe as hords of people scrambled out of the van. I turned to see how the lady with the umbrella was responding but she had gone, i turned back to the van and saw her already seated in the chapa ready to go. As quickly as people were exiting, more people were entering the chapa. I guessed after waiting an hour, people wanted to ensure they got a spot on this ride. As people pushed passed me i realised i had to fight my way in too. I quickly rushed to the doors and somehow made my way into the first row of seats and plonked myself down next to a man who was sitting by the window. Very quickly four more people joined me in the first row, and then two more crammed in between us and the driver and front passengers seats. The lady next to me looked very calm as she bounced her baby on her lap. I looked around and saw the 12 seater van packed to capacity with 28 people that i could count. The lady next to me asked where i was going, and i responded with Chanika. She told me this chapa didn't go there. I was hoping perhaps i'd mistaken her but moments later when the driver came to sit in his very pushed forwarded seat she told him i wasn't meant to be on this chapa. He asked me where i was going and i responded, again, with Chanika. He looked to the lady and explained something i couldn't understand and then nodded to me that this was ok. Feeling more at ease i settled into my seat- realising quickly my backseat was now much more angled towards me as more people had managed to squeeze in between our row and the one behind. As one more person leaped in and sat half out the window we made our way towards the border. We made it ten meters before getting stopped by the police check. It had quickly become obvious that this mini van had not the luxury of air conditioning, so windows that had been closed were open to let more air in. It had been quiet in the van until the stop. People started greeting those near them and so i did the same. Before too long we were on our way again, this time knowing one another a little bit better. This time we made at least a kilometre before stopping again. This time so the driver could talk to a driver of a truck that was pulled over on the side of the road. Our driver had to open his door to talk to his friend as his window was broken and couldn't be rolled down. The truck held fifteen or so men in the back and i heard a voice from the back of our chapa call out something. This got everyone in the van talking again to one another and laughing hysterically. The lady next to me explained in portuguese that a man was sleeping in the back of the truck. This was apparently very funny so i joined in on the laughter. We started up again and raced on down the road as it turned from gravel to the great african dirt. It had dried well from the rains the night before and looked reasonably smooth. The giant crater like potholes pushing us to the side of the road when it was gravel had been far more uncomfortable. As we built up speed i glanced over at the spedometer, it's needle unmoving next to the number 0. A man had positioned himself on the floor in front of me and with no room was using both my lap and the man's next to me as support for himself. The lady next to me was now breastfeeding her child and the people behind me were engaged in small conversation. I had a great view of the road as i was facing the front windowscreen and so fixed my eyes on the mountains ahead, thanking God i didn't suffer claustrophobia. It really wasn't too bad, the air fresh as it came through the windows and cooled me down as i sat wedged between two strangers who had now become friends (what else can we be when we're using one another to support ourselves at every corner and bump? The view was excellent, and i was getting closer and closer to my friend's house.
Once more, an hour later the van stopped. It was ironic how many people had fallen asleep, seeing as we'd all been laughing at the one who had fallen asleep on the truck before. The driver got out and i looked around to see where he was going. He disappeared behind the back of the van and came around the other side flinging open the door. The people next to me clambered out and stood by the door. I looked over waiting for the driver to slam the sliding door shut but instead he locked eyes with me and stared expectantly. I looked at the others in the van but no one else was moving. I felt a tap on my shoulder and the lady behind me laughed and pointed outside shouting "chanika chanika"! This was it! My destination!!! And it had been so quick. I got out of the van and thanked the driver. As i got my bearings i could see the school and a little road the Cowleys had told me about. Some men were sitting next to the van which hadn't left yet so i asked them if this road led to the white person's house. They gave me broad smiles and said that it was. I had really made it! I started walking and turned back once more to see the driver running towards me... My heart skipped a beat but then i realised what was still pressed hard into the ball of my hand- my 100mt note to pay for the ride. I apologised and handed the money over before watching him race back to the chapa and drive away.
I turned back towards the road and started towards my next adventure.
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