Mthatha and a little bit of Superglue...

So I figured Mthatha deserves it’s own post on my blog…

I have now had a chance to explore the town and get to know where most things are – post office, supermarket, internet cafe etc, although I think by the end of the year, I will still be coming across the odd gem of a shop; maybe, just maybe one nearer the home that actually sells a lemon…we made pancakes the other night for tea and had to settle for an orange and sugar topping (tasted quite nice actually)!

Heading into the centre of town, we need to cross a bridge (the safest of the two in the town). If any of you lovely readers ever visits Mthatha, it’s the one with the massive lamppost that’s squished flat to the ground and which has become engrained as part of the landscape. Be careful not to trip over it – trust me, it’s very easy to do! That, and the massive potholes in the road and the drains with no covers of course. I can just see someone snapping their leg in one of those one day, eep!

So the bridge goes over the Mthatha River which I think is the dirtiest river I have ever seen. The banks leading down to it are just a pile of litter, and it’s quite sad to see the residents of the town polluting it with such disgusting rubbish – but then again, I’m here to accept how things are done and not to judge or change anything.

I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to the stares, the pointing and the “Helllllooooo Ladies!!!” from every second man we pass in the street. That along with the stroking of my arms as you walk past them and the fact I nearly got my phone pickpocketed at the taxi rank last week (don’t worry I realised in time and he ran off)! But we’re learning quickly and are stuffing our bra’s with all our possessions and not going out after dark when it really just isn’t safe to do so!

Combitaxi (Maya’s definition) – a minibus taxi that is pretty cheap to use and which basically picks you up and drops you off wherever you want, on route. Often rusted so much that the sliding door doesn’t close, and the person sitting nearest must barricade it so that no one falls out. The place where your fare is passed along the line of passengers to the front, and where your change is then passed back, by people who can’t believe you didn’t have the right change in the first place, oops! One of the bumpiest rides you will ever experience, but something you should have a go at, even though the taxi won’t leave until it’s full – this could be 3 hours or 30 seconds!

Now onto Superglue...I pass countless people sitting on the side of the road with their own little stall set up, selling Superglue. It just seems to be the thing here, although I haven’t actually seen anyone buy any yet! Superglue? Just why?! No idea, but if I ever find out, I’ll be sure to let you know. At least I know where to go if something breaks, which will no doubt happen, knowing me, haha!

When you are walking through the streets of Mthatha, you will come across people sleeping in the streets, and others peeing in the drains (you have to watch out for the many stains on the pavement – I’d hate to think what half of them are)! The only thing that has been successful at unblocking my nose from my cold is the smell of something dead which I can guarantee you will smell at least once during a trip to the shops…niiiiice… What is quite funny but also very worrying is the rather large number of A4 posters plastered on bins, walls, buildings (generally every surface the eye can see) that read “100% Safe, Painless Abortion” followed by “Penis enlargement” and then a phone number…very random!

But Mthatha is not all that bad. It’s nice to see the women dressed in traditional clothes who rely on their head and the strength of their neck to carry rather oversized items through the streets. There’s the good music blazing from the shops (you can’t go wrong with a bit of Reggae) and there’s the odd whiff of a fat cake or two (my new favourite food, for only R20 – that’s 20p…)!!!

Ohh, and I have finally conquered crossing the road! You simply walk out in front of the fast moving vehicles, and voila! You are now sprinting so as to not get knocked down. I swear the cars speed up when they see you. There really is no other way to get across though…

So that’s Mthatha…not the greatest place on earth, but I’m already learning to love it for what it is!