BY BUS TO LABASSA
12 September 2014 | SavuSavu
Penny
An early start today as we had to be at the bus station by 0700h to make sure of a seat on the bus to Labassa. All the buses are usually crowded and this one was no exception although by being early we bagged had a seat at the front. Like most of the buses this was fully air conditioned (no windows) with tarpaulins to pull down when it rained.
The half hour wait for departure was easily filled watching the world go by. Buses arriving with people laden with goods for the market or simply on route to school or work. A little boy of around 5 tried to get on our bus but was curtly told he had to go on the school bus, there were no other buses in so he wandered around looking very worried and lost and finally disappeared from view, I was quite relieved to see a school bus arrive and him running from down the road to catch it.
Men selling rotis (F$1) small bags of nibbles and drinks milled around the bus but did not seem to sell much. Not really surprised, a three hour journey and no loo stops!
At last we were off and everyone had a seat of sorts but we continued to pick up passengers at the frequent stops. If you wanted to stop the bus there was a bicycle bell at the front and a long piece of string running to the back. At some stops bread and other goods were loaded on for drop off further along. These were piled behind the driver or the steps.
The road was quite good, although the bus would have benefited from some springs and some padding on the seats. The inside was unlined so the support struts cut in a bit when you were thrown against them.
Slow progress on the steep uphill sections partly due to the age of the bus (driver still had to double declutch if any of you readers are old enough to remember that) and partly the heavy load. On the straight downhill sections we managed an amazing 60mph. This was a bit alarming when we came to the single track wooden bridges which seemed to have a number of loose planks!
We climbed higher and palms slowly gave way to Mediterranean style pine trees and then dense forests of the tall more northern pined. They must have been farmed for their resin as they all had an area of bark stripped off and a plastic bag attached. It was hot and windless here and the scent of pine was overpowering.
On the other side of the mountains there were small herds of cattle but still mostly tethered and increasingly large sugar cane fields. It was the end of the season so a lot had been cut and burning started. We passed (with a struggle) many small trucks laden with cane on their way to the mills in Labassa. The cane stuck out a couple of feet either side so passing involved going off road. At one point we shed some of the load at top of steps so bus had to wait while someone retrieved it.
Labassa was a dry dusty 'one street' town which grew up purely to process sugar cane. It was very busy with a constant stream of laden cane trucks arriving. A much more Indian town than SavuSavu with all the shops blaring out Indian music There were a few shops selling T shirts etc but more interesting were the Sari shops selling gorgeous wedding outfits, heavily embroidered and jewelled. We had lunch at an Indian snack bar and had a mixed plate with 2 of everything served with a spicy dip as we could not decide what to try
The market was much larger than SavuSavu and had more spices and dried food. You could also buy luridly coloured rush mats with crochet edges and wedding garlands. I bought some sweets for the journey back.
As everywhere else people were very friendly and wanted to know where we were from. Met a man on crutches who had lost his leg when he fell asleep drunk on the train track and the train ran over his leg.
The journey back was less pleasant, we had not found the bus in time and all seats were already full although everyone shunted up to make room. In the half hour before departure more people squeezed on and as all children had been moved to the floor and all laps were occupied that left a lot standing and made it very hot until the bus moved off. Numbers did not change much until Waisala when 20 more got on, luckily we were 2/3 way home by then. The fitter ones at the back exited through the windows at the stops as getting out through the door involved all the standing passengers filing out and the bags and boxes being moved.
I had a small giggly little girl on my lap for most of the journey, as her mum had a boy whose grandfather had to sit on the exit steps (no door),unfortunately she had itchy bites on her wrists which her mum said came from insects that came out of the sugar cane when it was cut, so I have been itching ever since (but no bites). They were on their way to SavuSavu for the weekend for grandfathers funeral. .
We enjoyed the trip but glad to get back, it had been a long day and we slept well.