Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Under Mike's Car, Southern Angola 2.20.2006
Last night, Nate and I slept under a truck. We had been traveling with Mike, a young Angolan who had founded his own small village in the south of the country. He took us to a club in a nearby town were I witnessed one of the most impressive displays of martial arts street fighting I have ever seen, complete with roundhouse kicks and punishing head butts straight out of a Jackie Chan movie. Not long after, we hit the road and headed in the direction of Mike's village.
However, less than a kilometer from the club, we hit some sand, Mike stalled the engine, and because of battery problems couldn't restart it. For the next hour, Nate and I pushed his truck back and forth down a small hill while he failed to get the car restarted. Finally, at around 4am, we threw in the towel and told Mike that we needed to sleep. He ran about, trying to work out some kind of sleeping arrangements, but nothing was possible at this hour. Tuuli had already claimed the mattress in the back of the truck so Nate and I climbed underneath the truck and slept in the sand.
This wasn't a problem until it started raining. I was on the outside and couldn't fully escape the rain. My head and feet were sticking out just enough to make me shiver with cold. Tuuli had already moved into the only dry place available, the cabin of the truck. This left Nate and I with no way to escape the freezing rain; with no other alternative, I curled up alongside the warm body of my completely platonic friend Nate. He was also shaking with cold.
It wasn't long before the sand underneath us turned wet and I found myself laying in a puddle of water. This wouldn't work. I got up, crawled out from underneath the car, and staggered around aimlessly, trying to keep warm while the rain ensured that I would stay wet. As the sun rose, I woke Nate up and convinced him that sleeping in a puddle wasn't a good idea. Mike was MIA and Tuuli was dead asleep, so Nate and I started walking back to Mike's village.
We had no idea how far it was. After a couple of hours it stopped raining and got hot. We continued walking until we had put at least 30 kilometers behind us. I knew we were still far. Both of us were exhausted, hungry and very dehydrated. There were very few cars on the road. We walked and waited. Finally, we flagged down a passing truck, jumped in the back, and caught a ride for the last 15 kilometers or so to Mike's village and our car. At last, we could get some water, role a couple of mats underneath a tree and get some sleep.
Last night, Nate and I slept under a truck. We had been traveling with Mike, a young Angolan who had founded his own small village in the south of the country. He took us to a club in a nearby town were I witnessed one of the most impressive displays of martial arts street fighting I have ever seen, complete with roundhouse kicks and punishing head butts straight out of a Jackie Chan movie. Not long after, we hit the road and headed in the direction of Mike's village.
However, less than a kilometer from the club, we hit some sand, Mike stalled the engine, and because of battery problems couldn't restart it. For the next hour, Nate and I pushed his truck back and forth down a small hill while he failed to get the car restarted. Finally, at around 4am, we threw in the towel and told Mike that we needed to sleep. He ran about, trying to work out some kind of sleeping arrangements, but nothing was possible at this hour. Tuuli had already claimed the mattress in the back of the truck so Nate and I climbed underneath the truck and slept in the sand.
This wasn't a problem until it started raining. I was on the outside and couldn't fully escape the rain. My head and feet were sticking out just enough to make me shiver with cold. Tuuli had already moved into the only dry place available, the cabin of the truck. This left Nate and I with no way to escape the freezing rain; with no other alternative, I curled up alongside the warm body of my completely platonic friend Nate. He was also shaking with cold.
It wasn't long before the sand underneath us turned wet and I found myself laying in a puddle of water. This wouldn't work. I got up, crawled out from underneath the car, and staggered around aimlessly, trying to keep warm while the rain ensured that I would stay wet. As the sun rose, I woke Nate up and convinced him that sleeping in a puddle wasn't a good idea. Mike was MIA and Tuuli was dead asleep, so Nate and I started walking back to Mike's village.
We had no idea how far it was. After a couple of hours it stopped raining and got hot. We continued walking until we had put at least 30 kilometers behind us. I knew we were still far. Both of us were exhausted, hungry and very dehydrated. There were very few cars on the road. We walked and waited. Finally, we flagged down a passing truck, jumped in the back, and caught a ride for the last 15 kilometers or so to Mike's village and our car. At last, we could get some water, role a couple of mats underneath a tree and get some sleep.
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