950 km, 3 days, 1 flu shot

We had to come down to Maputo this weekend so that Jonathan could get his required flu shot. A five minute visit with the doctor necessitated a three day trip. But, a trip to Maputo always seems to offer interesting hitchiking stories. Here's some highlights from this weekend's rides:
1. Maxixe to Inharrime - we rode with a Mozambican lawyer whose top speed was about 70 kilometers per hour and when we asked him if he has any kids he replied "I have 14. What can I say? I'm Mozambican."
2. Inharrime to Manica - we got picked up by an Italian missionary family (side note: this is the second time in two weeks that we've found ourselves stuffed in the back seat of a truck with little missionary kids). We spoke Portuguese with the parents but the kids only spoke Italian. Not to worry though, they were well-practiced in non-verbal instructions for playing games with them. The ride really peaked when the little 3 year old girl ate her banana snack a litle over-zealously and then got sick on the floor of the car.
3. Manica to Maputo - the only real extraordinary aspect of this leg was the turn around time in which we caught it - the Italians were still pulling away as we flagged down another car and were off on the last leg of our journey.
The journey back to maxixe has been actually very quick and painless after we got off the bus that dropped us outside Maputo. We made it home in record time, considering we had 4 different rides, all in the nicest sedans we've seen in Mozambique. One of the legs even included two young guys who blasted Celine Dion while they drove at speeds topping 90 miles per hour. We're just getting ready to pull into maxixe now, on the back of truck full of lumber, and thanks to the wonder of the iPhone, here's some pics for you too.