Sarah's posting for today is below... she has also sent some picures of Sunday's journey, scroll down to see. PaulaTorrential rain all night pelting against the tin roof, gushing down the pipes, a bleak reminder that our travels are in jeopardy. Not one to give up, rise at 5 and prepare for the day ahead! Pack blankets, food and water and set out for Worsaj, rain still cascading down from threatening skies. The bazaar is awash with mud, carts struggle through the sludge, women in sodden burkhas, bowed down and bedraggled, weave their way through the chaos of the morning.
Through the steamed up windows of our car, I see traffic at a standstill ahead. I get out and survey a scene of devastation. The road has become a river. From the hills a frantic torrent of mud stained water is racing down and across the road and is depositing rocks, silt, mud and boulders at its will. Cars and lorries are stuck in the debris and people are picking their way over large stones to cross to the other side. A man in striped Badakshani coat and drenched turban, leads his burkha-clad wife carefully across the floods. Men line up to push a stranded vehicle out of its abandoned position, its wheels spinning and sending muddy waters spraying into the rain-soaked air. It is hopeless. Our journey aborts just minutes from home and Worsaj will not be reached...so utterly disappointing.
You cannot hurry Afghanistan. Plans can never be set in stone and my Western approach of trying to jam everything into a short visit is proved stupid! So many times I manage it ....but this time it is not to be. In fact, we will be lucky to get back to Kabul if the rains continue like this, let alone manage all our school visits. So we will sit and wait and watch and hope!
FORCED INTO PATIENCE BY THE ELEMENTS!
No comments:
Post a Comment