| We fixed our truck and set out again but didn't get far. The
road is winning; our
truck broke down again. Running low on water, we walked down the road to
find the next village.
We found it a few kilometers down the road, a small settlement of fifty
people in mud huts with conical
thatched roofs. We're lucky to find a place so close. The villagers,
smiling, curious, seemed eager to
help. We filled our water bottles at their well, trading old clothes for
the water. An overcast sky
shielded the sun and a stiff breeze blew dust in our faces but kept us
cool. By midafternoon the crew
had fixed the truck and after another four hours of jolting, bum-bruising
driving we reached the first
outpost of civilization. A town with a posted name, Diema, that had an
outdoor bar and market. The townspeople
stared at us, some smiled. One man tried to sell us a goat, obviously a
hot item in this town. We
took the goat for a test walk but didn't buy.
|
