Last Saturday I was on my way back from our field offices, 185 miles away. If the roads were paved all the way, it would take 3 or 4 hours. They aren’t though, so instead, in dry season, it takes 10 hours. Now that we have been in rainy season for months, the dirt roads have turned to mud. That means we have to go slower – driving in mud is like driving in snow. Plus, large trucks with heavy loads get stuck daily and block the way for everyone for hours. This last trip back from the county office took 16 HOURS.
A little before 8:00 we left the guesthouse where we were staying, happy to see it wasn’t raining. A colleague told us, “God is smiling on you.” The first few hours of the trip were bumpy but good, and then we came to a standstill. There were so many cars stopped that we couldn’t see the cause of the delay. People had gotten out of their cars and were sitting outside and walking up and down the road. The driver got out to see what the problem was. Sure enough, a large truck was stuck in the mud. We waited an hour. The truck was able to be pushed over enough for cars to pass. We didn’t even drive 5 minutes when there was another standstill. Two large trucks were stuck in opposing sides of traffic. There was a pretty steep mudbank on the side of the road, but the driver decided to go for it. He drove the pickup off to the right, trying to climb the mudbank – and didn’t make it. He tried again, the wheels started spinning. Some men from the nearby village came to help push him. They tried but couldn’t get the car out. A Bangladeshi man watching from the UN truck next to us shook his head and wagged his finger “no” at us.
It was a crazy scene. There were about 10 men yelling directions. “Go de!”, “Stop!”, “Go, go, go!” Finally one took the lead, told me and my colleague to get out of the car, told the driver to go back and then try again with the 10 men pushing him. They did it! They were covered in mud – I felt bad for them. We thanked them, paid them a little something, and were on our way.
We weren’t even halfway at that point. When we reached the half-way point, my colleague suggested we stop for lunch. I didn’t want to eat anything because I don’t really love the food in that town. I did however, stop at the one gas station that has a bathroom (yes, there is only one bathroom along the 10-12 hour route).After a half hour, food, gas, bathroom break, we were on our way. We reached Monrovia a little before 8:00 p.m. I was so glad! I couldn’t wait to drive the 15 minutes to my apartment, drink some water, eat some food and take a shower. We dropped off my colleague and the driver and I continued to our area. We live on the same road. Unfortunately, two minutes later, traffic came to a halt.
The cars in both directions were completely stopped. The driver got out to see what was happening. Presidential elections are next month, and the president’s party, the Unity Party, had kicked off their campaign that day. For the next 4 HOURS we inched our way along the route that should have taken 15 minutes. I got to my apartment around midnight. There is only one road that goes through the city so we all just drove, stopped, parked, drove small, stopped, parked for 4 hours.
Unfortunate. 16 HOURS later, I finally arrived in my apartment. I thanked God, went to turn on my water for the shower and nothing came out – there was no water. Oh, Liberia…Not my favorite day.
No comments:
Post a Comment