This is Barbara. (And a terrible unglam shot of me but whatever)
We met in Shoprite’s alcohol aisle (wine lovers unite!!) I was openly staring at her choice of wine (a promo of 3 bottles in a box – Portuguese imported wine). She caught me staring and said it was the best deal in store. And pointed to a dozen other wines from Portugal that she liked as well (I could not catch any of them from the rapid pointing). Needless to say I dumped all the wines i took back and picked up her suggestion of the promo box.
She’s from north Portugal. Lived in Mozambique for 13 years. Works for a big logistics company. In charge of 60 truck drivers who make huge trips (average 8,000 km per month) across Africa, namely Congo, Mozambique and Tanzania. SHE has a 16 ton license herself. Used to work in the ports as well moving containers. Speaks with much candor and wit. Feigns horror at my non-existent Portuguese.
We stood there chatting so long that even the supermarket security strolled over and tried to discretely check if all’s good by eyeballing us from a corner. She invites us to stay with her and Clementine, her talkative blond cat. In a night, we unpacked so much about life in Mozambique, trucks and shipping and culture and history over good wine, beer and tequila What can I say? The best of travels always happen when you leave space for the unexpected
Barbara vehemently denies it all “Social activities in the alcohol aisle!!? ” she says with greatly feigned incredulity.
Now you know where to find the best people while on travels.