taxi-brousse

Unable to finish everything in the city with respect to my visa we decided i should go back to the country (Betafo) and Sr Germana would proceed without me and i shall return to the city in a few weeks.

5AM, i reluctantly wake up gather my things and we're off to the taxi-brousse station.

25 mins later we get there.

-Madame! Madame où vous allez??? 20 000Ar pour vous....

I negotiated a trip to Betafo down from 20 000Ar (about 13CAD) to 15 000 (10CAD). I have no negotiating skills so i was very proud of myself until i noticed that everyone else was paying 9000Ar..... Whatever, i'll knbow for next time. I grab the window seat in the hope that i might be a little more comfortable and catch a few Z's on the way.

6:30 the van which holds 12 passengers has 16 and we're still not leaving?
What are we waiting for?
For the van to be full!
Full how could any more people fit in here?

Sure enough, somehow, 8 more people came on board. People were giving me looks to indicate that i should squish myself more against the window. As I paid double what everyone else was paying I didn't budge.

So we're off when I suddenly remembered how easily i get sick in the back of a bus.... It's a 200km ride which takes about 4Hours! The roads are nice but very winding.

So i try to rest my head against the glass to sleep...and we curve to the left...to the right.....to the left again.... we accelerate....we slow down because there's a cow in the middle of the road...blah.

Ok! Ok they say motion sickness is all in your head, something about my brain not understanding the motions of what's happening to my body. Stupid brain, I'm in a bus thats what's happening!!!!!

So maybe if i try not to sleep it'll be better. So i raise my head and look out the window. Oh god! Looking at the window is not better.

This went on for about 2 hours then we stopped for a pee break and of course even though i hadn't had anything to drink in preparation for this trip in the last 14hours, i obviously still had to go. So i get out, no one seems too shy about just wizzing it out in front of everyone and peeing whereas I tend to need a little privacy. I make my way a little further in the bushes, the gras is wet from the mist and just about as i am ready to relieve myself, I see not ONE but TWO rats running in front of me!!!!!

They're wet and dirty from the soil and OH GOD!! Fearing a Delta team attack like the health inspector in Ratatouille I run away. I try not to scream because all eyes are on me anyway. So what to do? No pee and have to hold in not only volit but pee for the next 2 hours?

So i cross the street because as everyone knows rats don't cross the street and i go behind a little house. Still traumatized I realize i'm actually peeing in someone's house! There's nothing i cad do, i'm mid-stream..... So i finish, sanitize my hands and run back the bus.

Soon after the bus stars i'm too preoccupied with not getting sick that i forget all about the rats. The following 2 hours are spent in the same fashion only the motion sickness tends to get better. Passengers start getting off and I ask if i can take the front seat. 2 mins later I'm riding in the front seat with the window open, i feel much better.

As I'm enjoying the beautiful scenery the driver pulls over and goes to one of the meat stands to buy a bag of meet which he carefully places on the sunny dash board in front of me. Small drops of blood spill over on the dashboard. Again I find myself sick while the driver tries to make small talk with me.

30 mins later I'm in Betafo, very happy to find my old friends and ly old room.

I plan a trip to Majunga over the Easter holiday, it's 12 hours of taxi-brousse......

Comments

  1. This story kinda reminds me a a certain boat trip I once took. Except there was a lot more vomit. and no rats. and I didn't pee on someone's house!

    ReplyDelete
  2. La prochaine fois, prend la place en avant au début trip, vu que tu paye plus que les autres... mange du salé avant... genre Carpaccio de dashboard!
    A+

    ReplyDelete
  3. OMG! I wanted to pee just reading it. Your good but what the hell are you going to do on a 12hr taxi ride LMAO.... Drugs I say!!!! good ones!!!! I miss you and really love reading your posts DON'T STOP.

    Nothing new here, Emma sick, Liam great Stef is Stef and leaving for Utah W/Seb for a week and I'm.....Love you

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh gawd... I can just picture you mid-pee and seeing rats around you. LOL
    Mais seriously, where's your rifle? hehehe You're gonna have to start packing a broom in your backpack.

    ReplyDelete
  5. So I looked up taxi-brousse online, and this interesting little clip came up:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zByBmbpcO4
    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    o_o
    You won't have to cross any bridges like these right... ??? MAHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

    ReplyDelete

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