Stuck in the mud

After several days in Fataki, time to go back to Bunia. We're in the middle of the rainy season and the roads are deteriorating rapidly. We decide to leave early. It used to take us 5 hours to get there. Who knows how long it will take this time...

We leave Fataki at 8:30 am. On board are two handicapped women who can't walk. They went all the way from Bunia to Mahagi. With a motorbike! They attended a "world conference on handicapped people". I guess only people from Ituri attended this "world" conference. Anyways, our two guests of today saw their motorbike end their journey miserably as they are on their way back. So they asked us for a lift to Bunia.

It has been raining heavily those last two nights. The "road" is not good. Full of mud. We have quite a powerful 4WD so we're fine. The problem is that most other cars (there are not many around) are usually in a very (I mean a real genuine very here) bad condition. Since the tracks are not that wide, when one is stuck, everybody wait. In one hour, we encounter several cars and trucks stuck, but we manage (well we.... I should say 'the driver', a top class one today) to pass.

So all seems okay. Road is bad, we don't drive very fast but we're not stuck. After an hour, looks like my optimism was misplaced. A big truck (mmmh, a HUGE truck) is stopped, in the middle of the road. Stuck in the mud. On our right, four people are busy digging a hole. Why on earth those people are digging a hole on the side of the road, in the middle of their field? Well, it turns out they're fed up with cars passing through their field to avoid the trucks that often get stuck here. So they are digging two massive holes, at both ends of the side track. Okay, you're fed up with cars passing through your field, but isn't it a bit extreme? They look at us furiously as if they automatically understood what we have in mind. Yeah, for sure, we want to pass. So they redouble their efforts, and in barely 5 mns, a big hole prevents us from avoiding the truck.

We thus have no choice but to wait. In front of us are five people, busy getting their truck out of this mess. Two guys on the side are digging earth, and put this on the mud, hoping this will help. Two others are under the truck and digging. Actually removing the mud, so that the wheels do not slip. After an hour of digging and trying to move the truck, it has moved 2 metres. Not bad. But given the muddy part is about 10 metres long, looks like we're here for a long time. I sit, and keep myself busy taking photos, I have time to see life in Africa pass by. Woman walking back from the market, children coming back from school, and guys with their bike transporting goods from one village to another.

A truck stuck in the mud is already quite an attraction. But having a muzungu waiting for the truck to move, is something that becomes truly interesting, and certainly worth observing. And if on top of that the muzungu takes photos, that's just wonderful. A bigger crowd thus observes with me how this whole thing evolves. People observe, make comments, and of course give their very precious advices how to do this and that. Since there's a white person around, maybe it's a possibility to get some cash. Some propose to dig with the truck people, so that it gets out faster. (you'll be interested to know that it is not rare that people deteriorate roads, so that cars/trucks get stuck, and then sell their help. An interesting way to get a job!)

It's been now two hours we're waiting. I am fine, though I start wondering when we'll be out of this. Our driver looses patience. He feels we're gonna wait for ages. So he decides to find his way on the top left of the truck's path. There's obviously no space for his car to pass through. Forget it. Just another driver's lunacy. But he really wants to do it. Okay, it's not my car, it's not my driver. I ask the girl accompanying me how she feels about it. She agrees there's no space. But she tells me she trusts the driver. If he says it's possible, then it must be. Okay, let it be then. As the driver goes back to his car, ready for his first attempt, I get a place of choice, just in front of the place where THERE IS NO WAY HE CAN PASS. The car will slip, and I will get the photo of the year.

He tries. He fails.

No way he can pass.

Goes back. Tries again.

Now he's stuck.

Needless to say everyone around is really excited. Everybody waits to see what happens. Even the guys from the truck stop working for a while to see what happens. I guess if all those people around would have money, they'd have started betting. The car is stuck. It can't go back, it can't move forward. The driver picks a shovel and starts digging. Not easy here, since a wheel is in between mud and .... nothing. So the car can only fall in the hole. The driver tries again. No way it can pass.

It passed.

I can't believe it. The driver just managed to remove enough mud to pass, without removing too much so that the wheel still has something to go over. Well, when I say it passed, I mean it moved one metre. But one of the main problems is sorted. The car is still stuck in the mud though. People around me - who 5 mns ago were making fun of the driver - now realise there's a way out. But it requires serious digging. So they start harassing me: hey muzungu, give me the money, and we'll help him out.

I am not gonna hand out money. I have decided to be real patient today and not fall into the easiest solution. A guy starts helping the driver. I feel it's gonna take some time. My beloved mp3 player with me, I go for a walk and find a nice river closeby. I sit, listen to some lovely songs, catching the sun. An hour later, I hear some screaming. All people cheer. The car is IN FRONT of the truck. The whole thing worked. That's one thing I like with Congo. It always has something to surprise me. When it comes to drivers, one can find people who will tell you 'yeah, it's possible' and actually most of time, it isn't. But you also have some geniuses of the road. Genius this? Well, yeah, given what happens afterwards, I have to say this driver truly impressed me.

...  to be continued...

Comments

[Michael]

Great story!