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I want to tell you about my trip to Musto and Mat (towns have been renamed for internet use.) Traveling on a Market Truck
Traveling on a market truck is not as comfortable as Greyhound.
Everyone gets about 1 and a half square feet of space in which to put
their bottom, their legs and arms and their hand baggage. (All other
baggage is used for seating; merchandise is put into the truck first and
the Our trip began just before sundown and carried on through the night until about 11 pm, when we camped out on the road. By 4:30 am, we were on the road again, but 2 hours later, we ran out of gas. The chauffeur had bought some earlier that night but didn't buy enough. We sat by the side of the road until the chauffeur's assistant could run-walk to Mat and bring back fuel on another truck. (I heard this was almost standard procedure...) He returned with gas at 9:00 and we reached Mat at 9:30. Because a lot of the men had gotten out to walk the rest of the way, our driver flew, bounced, and slid the rest of the way to Mat. It was not a nice ride. I had a great time doing teacher training in Mat with 6 eager students. The two weeks passed rather quickly even though, since there wasn’t electricity, I didn’t have that much to do (compared to when I am home). Sept. 27th was the last day of our classes. The next morning some of the fellows went to the market to secure a return trip for me and Josue. The truck wouldn't go back to Nagor until evening but they wanted to get me a seat in the cabin (instead of on top) and if we paid in advance, we would be less likely to be kicked off in favor of a local man. Only 3 trucks go to Nagor (the closest town) and 3 go to our town (the largest town in the area) so all the people who are traveling that week have to get on one of those trucks. Though the trucks didn't leave until sundown, we had to sit next to our truck from about 2 pm on. Wouldn't the average American business man like such a schedule !? At about 5:30 pm we were finally ready to go. I wish you could see how, at the signal, everyone scrambles onto the truck in order to try to get a seat that is "good". Coming up to Mat we were “only” 26; on top of the truck going to Nagor, they were at least 30. We drove to the first little village and stopped for prayers at 5:45. I suppose it was a normal trip. We had a malfunction once, got stuck in the sand once, stopped for prayers twice, and stopped once again to collect the rest of the money from those who hadn't paid yet. We finally got to Nagor at about 10 pm. Josue and I picked up our baggage and started up the hill to the pastor's house where I would be spending the night. After a long trip, I was glad to stretch out on the grass mat and fall into a sound sleep. At dawn, we arose (like all good people) and had breakfast before the morning meal and a few hours later, my knight-in-shining-armor appeared to whisk me away in our very own truck. What luxury! |
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passengers’ baggage is put in a layer above the merchandise. It gets
tramped on and bounced on; I was pleasantly surprised that nothing got
broken in my suitcase -- except for my Bible binding. But I know not to
use a suitcase next time I go out; it is definitely better to roll
everything into a bedroll that you tie together tightly.) I traveled
with Ruth who told me that this time they had less passengers than they
usually had; I thought we were squeezed enough.