Road Adventures

We had postponed our football club's training weekend from this weekend to next weekend, but apparently several of the parents/guardians didn't relay that message to their children. As I was coming home Friday I ran into several players who had travelled far to come for the weekend. It was getting late and the rain clouds were rapidly approaching so I couldn't just tell them to walk back home (10 miles away) or put them on the back of a motorbike which could get stuck in the mud. Instead, I ran home and got my vehicle and embarked on an adventure. We reached the first place with no problem, but on the way to the second place we found a bus stuck in the mud on the road. We were able to squeeze by it with my four wheel drive but I was worried that if another vehicle got stuck there, then nobody would be able to pass and I would be trapped and not able to reach home. Sure enough, after dropping the players, I returned to the same spot where there were now around ten vehicles waiting because a fuel tanker had joined the bus stuck in the mud.

I stopped and got out to assess the situation. The fuel tanker was sideways, but not stuck too deep and just needed a push to get out. There were over 40 villagers watching the "show" but all of them were refusing to help push because the driver wasn't offering any money. I passed the time by striking up conversations with some of the villagers and other drivers, including some German tourists.

Finally after about a half hour they helped to push the vehicle out just as it was getting dark. We passed through easily and as we approached Mbita the German tourists stopped us to ask directions to a certain guest house where they had reservations. I found a local boy to escort them, but on arrival they quickly realized it wasn't a safe or comfortable place to stay. They asked if I could help them find something better so I brought them to Safari Village, but the problem was they had shut down for the night because there were no guests and it was late. They had to call their employees back in and prepare for guests. We enjoyed a nice Fanta orange and good conversation while waiting. Finally after they were well taken care of, I reached home past 9:00 pm. Definitely not the afternoon I had planned, but a good adventure nonetheless.