Holiday Road

Here in Mozambique, most people do not drive a car, so chapas are all the rage. Chapas, like bush taxis in Niger (so I hear J), go pretty much everywhere and are very common. How it works is: you have to find a chapa marked with the name of your final destination or a chapa that you know passes by your destination, you pay the money collector, and then you board the chapa. It’s an easy three step method, I know…

What is a chapa and what exactly is this ‘chapa experience’ you might still be asking?

Well, the chapa is usually a sliding door van (not too dissimilar to the kind of vans high school sports or community centers utilize… although there are differences) that can fit… well… should fit 12-15 people (It depends on the size of course). That said, chapa workers usually like to cram the vans to make as much cash as possible and so… it’s not uncommon to have 20-25 in there. Often you’ll see a chapa drive by that is so packed that a few people are standing by the sliding door with their butts pressed to the window.

Also common in chapas: livestock. People like to bring chickens, which does make sense in a society where people often kill their own food. The chickens are relatively well behaved though, which they should be since they are usually being held upside down by their feet to keep the shuffling and moving to a minimal. Goats are another thing. I haven’t seen a goat inside a chapa yet (maybe I need to give it time), but I have seen them tied to the tops of larger than van sized chapas. Just today I saw a large truck with like 25 or 30 goats tied to the top… and yes I worry one is going to fall down every time. It’s just going to take a while for me to get used to seeing that I suppose.

Finally, there are three things that so far I have encountered I think every time I’ve been on a chapa. The first is that on a chapa, there are always a few children crunched together on at least one seat. Since they are so small they are expected to cram in together to take up as much room as an adult would. Second, there is always either the crying baby and/or the baby being breastfed. On the latter point I think people in the states are a bit more private, but here it’s very much ok to do in public. Last (but not least)… there’s the smell. People might bring fish on the chapa from time to time whether fresh or not. My friend Rabiah actually had quite the experience in a ten hour chapa ride with really smelly fish in the back seat… not too fun. J Also, in any given group of people, there’s always going to be at least one person who woke up and just really didn’t feel like really showering that day. Add heat and a cramped space and you get a somewhat smelly chapa…

That all aside, one of the best parts of the chapa experience is just sitting back and going with the flow. There have been a handful of times at least thus far when I’ve just stopped to think: ‘oh my gosh I’m living in another country on the other side of the world.’ Mozambique is beautiful, especially around where I live, so the view is often breathtaking outside that crowded chapa’s windows. Of course, it’s also been interesting to people watch on the inside: hearing Mozambican jokes, arguments, and stories. Sometimes just sitting there in silence I like to take it all in. Just another day on a chapa…