Saturday, August 18, 2007
A Series of Unfortunate Events
My trip to Mozambique, in bullet point form, broken down by category.
The Bad:
-Getting pulled over by a police officer who threatened to arrest Tyler for driving illegally because he didn’t have an international driver’s license.
-Also getting harassed by this police officer for not having a triangle. Quote of the day from Tyler: “I know what a triangle is. The shape?”
-Said police officer asking that we just give him the 2000-meticais fine and “make this all go away real fast.”
-Subsequently bribing the police officer with 200 rand. Yes, I have now bribed a government official in a foreign country.
-Tyler’s cell phone not working outside of South Africa.
-Underestimating the distance to Tofo, resulting in a seemingly endless 16-hour drive that we thought was going to be a 7-8 hour drive.
-Getting our car stuck in the sand and needing local help to push the car back to stable ground...then not having enough Mozambican cash to adequately give them “Something? Just so we can buy a drink?” Quote of the night from Carissa, in response to their requests: “I have a Coke!”
-Our hostel being only accessible via 4x4. We were driving a Corolla.
-The above, in addition to fears over driving illegally in a foreign country (which was totally NOT TRUE), leading to us having to walk many kilometers down the beach in order to get anywhere.
-Me killing my ankles with said walking.
-Tyler and Carissa getting eaten by unidentified insects in the night.
-Katie and Tyler already suffering from colds at the beginning of the trip.
-Me catching Tyler’s cold.
-Much stress over the return trip to South Africa, due to the police officer incident.
-Getting caught by high tide and then rain while walking down the beach for dinner on our last night there.
-Losing a hubcap and what the car rental place called a “spotlight cover” on a badly potholed Mozambican road.
-Getting up early this morning in order to return the car on time, and finding that the car rental place was closed all day, even though I was there at the prearranged time.
-Having to drive downtown twice this morning to deal with the rental car, dodging taxis, getting lost, and feeling horrible due to the previously mentioned cold.
-Coming home to find several random new people staying at Pangani. I can’t deal with new people in my current state of body and mind and have been hiding in my room all day.
The Good:
-A beautiful beach
-Beautiful weather (for the most part)
-Eating baby clams and crab at our hostel
-Good friends in the midst of a crappy trip
Did I mention, however, that it’s good to be home?
The Bad:
-Getting pulled over by a police officer who threatened to arrest Tyler for driving illegally because he didn’t have an international driver’s license.
-Also getting harassed by this police officer for not having a triangle. Quote of the day from Tyler: “I know what a triangle is. The shape?”
-Said police officer asking that we just give him the 2000-meticais fine and “make this all go away real fast.”
-Subsequently bribing the police officer with 200 rand. Yes, I have now bribed a government official in a foreign country.
-Tyler’s cell phone not working outside of South Africa.
-Underestimating the distance to Tofo, resulting in a seemingly endless 16-hour drive that we thought was going to be a 7-8 hour drive.
-Getting our car stuck in the sand and needing local help to push the car back to stable ground...then not having enough Mozambican cash to adequately give them “Something? Just so we can buy a drink?” Quote of the night from Carissa, in response to their requests: “I have a Coke!”
-Our hostel being only accessible via 4x4. We were driving a Corolla.
-The above, in addition to fears over driving illegally in a foreign country (which was totally NOT TRUE), leading to us having to walk many kilometers down the beach in order to get anywhere.
-Me killing my ankles with said walking.
-Tyler and Carissa getting eaten by unidentified insects in the night.
-Katie and Tyler already suffering from colds at the beginning of the trip.
-Me catching Tyler’s cold.
-Much stress over the return trip to South Africa, due to the police officer incident.
-Getting caught by high tide and then rain while walking down the beach for dinner on our last night there.
-Losing a hubcap and what the car rental place called a “spotlight cover” on a badly potholed Mozambican road.
-Getting up early this morning in order to return the car on time, and finding that the car rental place was closed all day, even though I was there at the prearranged time.
-Having to drive downtown twice this morning to deal with the rental car, dodging taxis, getting lost, and feeling horrible due to the previously mentioned cold.
-Coming home to find several random new people staying at Pangani. I can’t deal with new people in my current state of body and mind and have been hiding in my room all day.
The Good:
-A beautiful beach
-Beautiful weather (for the most part)
-Eating baby clams and crab at our hostel
-Good friends in the midst of a crappy trip
Did I mention, however, that it’s good to be home?
Labels: travel
| posted by Barbara | 7:32 PM