Trip to Benguela and Lubango

"Boa Viagem"--"Have a good trip!"

At the end of the kids’ first week of school break, Briant took Friday off so we could have a 3 day weekend road trip to explore more of Angola and celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary.  It was wonderful to get out of the house and see beyond the white concrete walls of our apartment.  Our primary goal this time was to see the cities of Benguela and Lubango, specifically the Serra da Leba.  We knew it would require a lot of driving, 24 hours in 3 days to be exact (with three kids), but we were up for it.  We armed ourselves with movies and audio books to help the kids.  They did amazingly!  I think they’re getting used to long road trips since we’ve been in Angola and I think they appreciate being out of the house as much as I do.  Unfortunately I am the sole driver because of my car sickness, but Briant is a patient passenger!  The trip started out cloudy but then within a few hours, turned rainy and dark.

I wouldn't mind the rainy weather except that the roads are full of potholes.  And there is only one lane in each direction so you have to pass a lot of large trucks and buses that like to hug the line and there's hardly ever a shoulder or "bike lane" to give extra driving room.  All the while you're trying to keep your windows wiped so you can see.  Oh, and you have to watch out for goats, people walking, and slow motorcycles on the road.  And when I say that there are potholes, these are not U.S. sized potholes.  Many times they were the length of the whole lane and if I had gotten out to look, I'm pretty sure we could have seen down to the core of the earth! I never exaggerate either.  :)  And it wasn't 2 or 3 the whole trip.  I literally felt as if I was playing a car racing game on an arcade where I had to be on my toes, ready to avoid a pothole at every turn, up every hill, on every stretch of land.  Unfortunately many times they crept up on me and I didn't dodge them in time.  We felt the bumps even with our 4x4.  I can't imagine making this trip without it!  The scariest part of the driving was passing other vehicles--many times after seeing that it was safe to pass, we would move into the next lane, only to be surprised to find a large pothole that we either had to drive through or swerve to avoid, possibly risking hitting the other car.   Or better yet, when the vehicle in the other lane didn't realize we were passing and swerved into our lane to avoid a pothole and nearly hit us if I had not swerved at the same time.  Needless to say, we started giving a little honk as we passed so that they were at least more cautious and aware of us passing.  Those drivers that were conscientious would actually give you blinker signals when it was safe to pass.  We came to really appreciate those blinkers and our prayers of safety were said with more feeling each day that we drove!  Luckily after about 8 hours of driving, the roads improved and I could breathe a little more easily the last four hours from Benguela to Lubango.

Here we are passing through Quicombo--everything had turned to mud with the rain.  I loved seeing the moms cover their babies up to protect them from the rain but still doing what they needed to do.

We were frequently amazed at the beauty.  We have really been deprived in the city. :)

 There were areas that reminded Briant and me of Hawaii and Brazil.

 Things cleared up for a few hours as we got closer to a large city called Lobito.

In Lobito, we drove by their outdoor market and got stuck in traffic for a while because of one functioning street light.  Note:  We survived the crazy drivers.

Fun statue, beautiful bridge, a sugar mill that used to provide Portugal all of its sugar, and a billion dollar soccer stadium that was used only one time.

Lobito was only 1/2 hour from Benguela where we stopped for the night.  It had been a total of 8 hours of driving up to this point.  We stayed the night at a hotel called Mil Cidades, translated as "1,000 Cities."  Briant had stayed there before on another trip with the RSO so we knew it would be what we needed.  And with the new exchange rate in favor of the dollar, it was only $150 a night for a 2 bedroom apartment with a kitchen, laundry room, and living space with complementary breakfast (it used to $375).  We loved the lobby with all of the flags of the world and the beautiful woodwork.  Wood is something you rarely see here!  

KFC!  There was a KFC right across the street from our hotel.  It was our 16th anniversary celebratory dinner with our children!  We could not have been happier!

After dinner the kids and Briant went swimming at the hotel pool while I snapped pics.  While there, I saw one of my English students, Eliane, and her two kids.  That far away from home, I didn't expect to see anyone we knew so it was nice to visit with her and meet her family!

 

After a restful night of sleep, we ate a nice breakfast and got back on the road to head to Lubango, a 4 hour drive.  The roads were much better so I got to appreciate this area of large rocks and lush greenery as I drove.

We pulled over to the side of the road for a little snack and potty break.  Here I am leading my girls to nature's toilet.  We were trying to be hidden from cars passing and a nearby village to the right of us.  I still laugh as I think about this experience of helping my girls to not pee on themselves or their clothes because they were so worried about people seeing them.  That job became even harder as we were all laughing!

Coming in to Lubango.  Some city and government buildings:

 This was our first time since we've been in Angola to see women from Namibe.  It's a province further south that we didn't have time to travel to.  They wear more of the traditional African dress with thick collared necklaces and hair attachments made from clay and mud.  I think the hair for a few of the Star Wars characters were inspired by these women.  :)  Fun to see.  I think they're amazing for holding that kind of weight on their heads!

After four hours of driving, we had worked up an appetite for lunch.  Briant knew of a buffet that he had gone to previously, so we went there.  We appreciated the meat, fruit, and even french fries.  We were surprised to see a little playground outside--it definitely helped to get some of the kids' energy out!

From the restaurant, we had about an hour to get to the Serra da Leba, one of the main attractions of southern Angola. On the way we saw more livestock, something you don't see until you're about 7 or 8 hours outside of Luanda.  We also saw this girl sitting by herself in a large field facing the mountains.  I feature this picture because it represents a lot of what we see as we drive around Angola.  We will see people just standing on the side of the road, empty handed, looking down, doing nothing.  Sitting under a tree, doing nothing.  Or like this girl, sitting in a chair, doing what appears to be nothing.  They seem so peaceful, thinking about whatever they're thinking--no distractions...just nature.  I'm pretty sure the stress level of these country people is a lot less than ours in the city!

Here is the reason we drove so far.  This is the Serra da Leba:

It's amazing.  The 6 mile road takes you from the top of the mountain in the Province of Huila, to the bottom of the mountain 4,500 feet down.  You transverse 4 different climate zones in the descent.  It is a very dangerous road but is the one western road that allows for travel between the upper and lower provinces in these drastically different altitudes.  It was built in the 1970's and has been well maintained. 

We drove much of the way down the Serra da Leba and then drove back up, to a lookout point across from it.  We got out of car and were greeted by some kids trying to sell these little plants. 

The views were amazing, not only of the Serra da Leba but of the whole valley and distant mountains.  Beautiful!  We're grateful for the chance we've had to appreciate Heavenly Father's handy-work in this part of the world. 

Thomas was actually freaked out by the height of everything so we could barely get a picture out of him.  He was definitely not going to go out on the rock with the girls to get a picture with dad.  :)

After our sightseeing of the Serra da Leba, we got back in the car, and drove back through Lubango. 

Here are a few hotels that sit on a high mountain in Lubango.  They're not finished even though they were built years ago by the government.  We have learned that in all major cities, these hotels, yellow and pink, sit atop a high area overlooking the city, unused and unfinished.  

We made it back despite having half of our 4 hour drive in the dark and almost hitting a cow in a half a dozen different areas of the drive.  To celebrate our safe return, we got KFC for dinner again. 

We headed home the next morning--another 8 hour drive, bringing the 24 hours in the car to an end.  We were happy to see our monkey friends by the bridge near the Kwanza River, almost to the Luanda city limits.  We park the car and wait, and eventually they come out to say hi.

We were grateful to have had the chance to travel and were grateful for our safety during the trip.  My heart returned to a normal level of beating and the tension in my neck finally dissipated as we entered our apartment.  We decided to put off another road trip we were planning, for another month entirely so we could recover first from this trip. :)