Road trip!

So, sorry about my absence but it’s all explainable! We took a road trip! Now, I thought about writing this all in a chronological order, but screw it! I’ll go straight to the excitement and adventure (and those of you who know my last track record for travelling incidents were already waiting for scandal):

OUR CAR BROKE DOWN!!! In the middle of no mans land!!!

So, please see map below, we left early and drove on roads that are no roads for hours on end to Malanje. There were slept in a hell hole and paid $160 for that pleasure. (Yes, I will come back to the hell hole later on)

Malanje seemed like a little town under construction. Buildings that have not been repaired after the destruction of the war, but a lot of new things coming up. But no surprise to learn that it’s the Chinese who are building the roads and the hospitals. (more about Chinese influence later)

The following morning we left for the waterfalls in Kalandula- worse roads…

We saw absolutely amazing waterfalls! I can not justify them on pictures, but please see pictures! We spent the day there basking in the sun, eating our snacks and watching locals wash their laundry in shallow waters and little boys swimming and bathing.

On our way back, we noticed the car started heating up really quickly, we stopped and saw the waterfall under our car: the cooling liquid was flushing down… Now, I’ve broken a few cars in my lifetime, and I kind of thought that we can just take it easy, drive slowly and stop to cool the car once in a while, right?

It wasn’t until I saw the worried look on Kamene’s face when looking at the car, then looking at the sun that was beautifully changing its light while slowly descending, and then looking at me and trying to smile confidently. OMG! That’s the way I’m finally going: in the midst of nothing, in the desert somewhere in Africa I will be eaten to death by chromosome coyotes that have the taste for (well toned) flesh!!!

So, to make our survival story short, we did manage to make it to back to Malanje, had some friends of a friend to come and meet us while stopping a few more times to add water to cool it down. Incidentally, one time we stopped in front of a village and after a while, the little girls started rounding up and asking zillions of questions, (in Portuguese of course, that I don’t speak). But they seemed mesmerised by my black toe nails and while skin, that they kept touching. I’m sure had they reached, they would have gone for my hair… Unfortunately, when I took my camera out, they refused pictures, so I have none to show.

The following morning our new friends helped us to take the car to the only mechanic. We finally left Malanje at 17.00 which is about the time for sun set… Bummer to drive in the darkness especially since the roads seemed to be full of Chinese trucks, and we know how considerate they are towards fellow drivers… But it was a glorious night with the moon eclipse at sight- one doesn't see so many stars in Beijing..