Other methods of travel

Saturday night was spent packing to get ready for my next trip--Gorongosa and back. Gorongosa is a national park 400 km. from Quaelimane. The buses leave at 4 am for there. They gave me the front seat on a 16-person van, so I got an up-close view of our bus rocketing down the unlit road and swerving around the giant potholes. Our driver was extra enthusiastic about stopping for people flagging down the bus, so the journey took an extra long time. We had to cross the Zambeze River on a ferry, since the bridge still hasn't been completed. All foot passengers have to exit and stand behind the buses, trucks, and cars while the barge crosses the river. After the ferry crossing, we were almost halfway to Gorongosa. We kept stopping, this time for fruit, barbecued chicken, and fresh (i.e., live) chickens. (They sat in the back.)

After 7.5 hours, they told me to get out--we were at Gorongosa. Vodacom, my cellphone service, hasn't gotten to rural areas yet, so I found a payphone to call the group I was supposed to meet. While I was standing around waiting, a couple of Peace Corps volunteers walked up to me since I kind of stood out. They told me where to find the best bathroom in town while I waited. My ride came and recognized me (as I kind of stood out), and then, before we went back to the camp, we had a look around the local fish market. There were dried fish, fresh fish, salted fish of all sorts, and also charred, blackened mice. I'm not sure how exactly the charred mice are served.