Heading home from school

At the moment we are experiencing a long spell of very hot (lows of 27C, and highs of 33C - indoors!), and very dry weather here in Brazil, and it is making sleeping very uncomfortable. I have table fans, but no air-conditioning as the normal method of house construction here is not really suitable for AC - single skin walls, no insulation in the loft space - which would make it very expensive to run, and most of the cool air would dissipate without really being effective.
It reminded me of a trip home from boarding school in Rhodesia to our home in Mozambique, and the most unpleasant night I have ever spent. I used to travel by plane from the sugar estate on the banks of the Zambezi River to Beira, and then catch a train to Rhodesia - the total journey taking around 21 hours, and occurring three times a year (three school terms), but was quite an adventure! On occasion my parents would time a holiday and collect me from school by car, and we would then drive back, usually after spending a few days on holiday as a family first. On this occasion, however, we were going straight back to Mozambique.
I had invited a school-friend to come and spend some time with me - he lived in Ethiopia at the time, where his father was a banker, and his trip home used to take close to three days! My father had a soft-top Toyota Land Cruiser at the time, and though not the most comfortable of vehicles, especially in the back which had hard benches with thin cushions, and no padded backrests, it did have a 4 litre straight 6 petrol engine and ate up the miles (and the fuel!), though the off-road tyres were a little noisy on the tarmac.

Land Cruiser, with doors removed for use on the sugar estate

Of course, back then there were also no seat-belts in such a vehicle, but on the tarred sections, with towels and a blanket to lean on, the journey was comfortable enough. It was decided we would make the trip in two stages - the first 450 kms, crossing the Rhodesia/Mozambique border and then on to Beira, and then the following day we would tackle the dirt.
The first day was uneventful - the Land Cruiser hummed along up and down the hills and valleys without missing a beat, and the border crossing was routine, taking almost no time. We had stopped for lunch in Umtali, where the Rhodesia border was, and continued on towards Beira. Dad was getting a little tired after about 7 hours driving so it was decided that instead of going through to Beira for the night, and then back-tracking the 40 kms to where the turning to home was, that we would look for a hotel and spend the night closer to the turning. In a small town called Dondo, very close to the start of the dirt road, we spotted a likely looking place and pulled in.
We booked two rooms, one for Mum and Dad, and one for Pete and I (two single beds), and after a pleasant meal in their restaurant, settled down for the night, planning an early start at first light. The place was more like a truck-stop motel, with the rooms in blocks of four in separate buildings, and very basic. They had bathrooms with showers, but no fans or air-conditioning - and it was very hot! There was one small window, but keeping that open just filled the room with mosquitoes, and though we had spray the relief was temporary so we decided to keep the window closed!
Sleep was fleeting, as the heat was so oppressive, and Pete and I spent the night taking cold (well, lukewarm, as the water was not that cold) showers and then lying on a towel to allow evaporation to cool us down a little. It gave us a little relief, but we got very little sleep, and eventually at about 03.30 we decided to go for a walk rather than stay in the room. It was cooler outside, and there was also a slight breeze, so we just wandered around for a short while, before heading back. As we passed my parents' room we noticed their light was on, so tapped on the door - they too had not got much sleep due to the heat, so we decided to leave then and continue the journey home.
The Land Cruiser is built for dirt roads, and handled everything the road threw at it. Much of this road is just two deep ruts that all traffic follows, and a previous trip in a car was extremely unpleasant, however the impressive ground clearance of the Toyota meant that even when we had to move aside when we met oncoming traffic, it was no big deal. What was a big deal, though, was that it was really uncomfortable in the back! The makeshift blanket backrests wouldn't stay in place as we bounced along no matter how hard we tried to brace against the bumps. Added to this the soft-top was no protection from the dust, and it was being sucked in through the rear flap, even when closed, and coating everything!
About halfway along the dirt we stopped for a break, at a small place called Inhaminga, and we must have been quite a sight as we climbed out completely covered in dust! We had a bit to eat and then pressed on, though it was decided that at Chupanga, where we met the Zambezi, we would complete the final 50 kms of the journey by railcar since we were all suffering the effects of sleep deprivation, dust inhalation and sore backs from the bouncing!

Railcar - a large flatbed was attacked to carry the Land Cruiser

At Chupanga we had a short delay while waiting for the railcar - they are operated by the sugar company my Dad worked for - and went for a wander round. We discovered the grave of Mary Moffat, wife of explorer David Livingstone, who had come out to join him but died from Malaria.

Gravestone of Mary Moffat, wife of David Livingstone, at Chupanga

The railcar arrived and we loaded up the Land Cruiser and set off again. It was only around 50 kms to Marromeu, on the South bank of the Zambezi, where we would make to crossing, and I was lucky enough to get the front seat alongside the driver so had beautiful fresh air in my face, and a great view of the journey. I looked back at one stage to say something to the others and was alarmed to see the Land Cruiser swaying vigorously from side to side on the flat-bed, but the driver assured me this was normal and no cause for concern! At Marromeu we had to take another form of transport to cross the river - paddle steamer!
The sugar estate used low-draught paddle steamers, with barges attached either side, to transport the sugar from Luabo, our home and the Northern plantations of the sugar estate, to Marromeu and the rail-head that then took them to Beira for distribution - and these paddle steamers were, in fact, the most common form of freight transport too. There was space between the holds for a vehicle, and it was here that the Land Cruiser was loaded - though driving aboard on flimsy-looking planks was always nerve wracking!

One of the paddle steamers belonging to the sugar estate - the Land Cruiser was loaded onto one of the barges.

The trip down and across river, with the current, takes under an hour, and soon we were in Luabo and heading home, after a trip that took the best part of two days, but was also an incredible adventure!