Traveling in Liberia is interesting, to say the least. The roads here are few and beat up. Fifteen years of war can do that to a country. To travel anywhere is not easy. First of all the public transportation here needs a major overhaul. The auto taxi's here are clunkers. We were to travel last Sunday to Cote d'Ivoire from Ganta, Liberia.
Our experience started as we went the 'parking station' to get a vehicle. There they sign you up for a taxi. Imagine this... in one little car they will load three people in the front seat(this includes the driver) and four people in the back seat. We could wait for the car to fill up or we could pay for extra seats. This was a easy decision. We each bought two seats. Cost? Ten bucks per seat. No problem. Ok, now my partner asks "do you have a spare tire?" and "does it have brakes?"
So we loaded up...when the driver assured of us both. One women joins us with a little baby and we are off.
Just after going down the road, I realized something. This thing was one piece of junk. We had to push start it every time and everything creaked, squealed,and begged for mercy.
One and half hours into the trip ...it started falling apart. The passenger front tire brake pad was found in the red clay dirt road as the driver realized we had problems.
So not only was our driver, a chauffeur, he was also a roadside mechanic.
He pulls out his bag of parts and starts to fix this beater. Two hours later, he assures us that we will be going soon. (this is after another roadside mechanic jumps in to help)
But,one thing I have figured out in Africa, that while it might take time, it usually happens. We arrived safely at the Cote d'Ivoire border after leaving six hours before.
We said good bye to our driver and prayed for the next passengers to ride in the 'car'.
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