Clear as Mud

The morning of departure to Harper started at 8am. Leaving early means n'sync with the finals of the African Cup of Nations. Wishful thinking.

The first part we managed to pass after the truck was pushed away by a shovel. Our drivers assessed the situation and decided to move on. We saw, we took and we conquered. It was a muddy piece of cake.

The second part was destructive between Karloken and Pleebo, two of our three cars (mine included) got stuck and was sucked into the mud. No movement at all, the wheel kept on spinning, you can smell the burned rubber. In a fancy Spa customers pay a lot of money to be covered by mud. In Liberia being stuck in the mud for more than 2 hours is not the kind of mud treatment I like to pay for.

The road conditions covered our African Cup of Nations plans with MUD.

I was held "hostage" for 2 hours (okay I had AC, music, my Mac and enough food for another 4 hours) before a piece of timber released me from my comfortable air-conditioned "prison cell". A carpenter was passing by with a piece of timber. I persuade him to use the timber to bridge the distance from the car to the dry side of the road. Everybody advised me not to do it, the combination of me and the timber doesn't look too sturdy according to them, but there is no way I'm going to risk my white trousers in that mud. Just love my trousers too much. Indiana Jones eat your heart out, It was shaky but managed to cross.

We had to walk for another half an hour to pass another bad spot before getting rescued by another UNHCR and an UNMIL car (MOSS compliance). People are people and the creative ones use other people's "misery" to create income generating activities. Some women started a basic kitchen camp along the side of the road selling food to people who are stranded because of the horrific road conditions. If the road conditions are not improving in coming weeks than a whole new village will be established on that spot. Just mark my words!

We waited for our rescue vehicles in a nearby village. A woman hosted us in her front yard under the cool shade of a tree. I took some pictures of her kids in the backyard while they were preparing food. Bought the woman's home made fried banana chips and distributed among her children. News travels fast and in no-time other children came and there I was doing "small-small food-distribution" to cute little kids. So sweet!!

In the meantime the African Cup of Nations already started, we followed the game over the radio. I closed my eyes and took a nap. My colleagues woke me up when the rescue team came; I continued my nap in the vehicle.

We arrived in Harper in the dark. Egypt won the Cup of Nations and my co-stranded UNMIL colleague lost the bet, he owes me beer.

Glad to be home............

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