Soyo - The Venison Capital of Northwest Angola

I woke up at 6am on Sunday morning to get ready for the trip to Soyo.  I packed my bags, ate some cornflakes, and showered (Pati would be so disappointed that I ate before showering).  The car arrived at 7 and me, Alex, Fila (CAE consultant), and Alvero (CAE driver) headed down the road to Soyo.  We were told that the trip would take 6-7 hours driving on good roads.  Of course, I didn’t believe that.  I no longer believe any estimates of time, distance, or quality of travel.  So I fully expected a long and arduous journey.  However, Alex was coming along for the ride so I expected large quantities of ridiculous and unpredictable entertainment.  My expectations were fully met in both regards.

            After 3 hours of traveling down the “good” road to Soyo, we came upon a blockade.  No signs ahead of time.  No warnings.  We were forced turn around and drive 2 hours back down the good road so that we could take the bad one.  After 6 hours we got hungry.  Completely lacking any skills in preparation or any ability to learn from previous mistakes, I brought no food and set out to eat roadside food from a shack.  I dined on a large, lovely, and unrecognizable piece of deer meat.  It tasted funny so, naturally, I proceeded to clean my plate.  Then I ate some peanuts.  Half were red and half were white(?) but all were delicious.

            After lunch we hopped right back on the dirt roads made of speed bumps and rock.  We apparently had no idea how to get to Soyo so we stopped at every fork or turn in the road and asked directions.   We weaved our way here and there through the Angolan countryside.  Just a hare over 14 ours after our departure from Luanda, we arrived in Soyo.  By this time we were hungry, so we ate a delicious dinner of bread rolls and canned anchovies.  

            For the next 3 days we visited businesses all day long.  We started at 8am each day and traveled from business to business until 6 or 7.  My ability to comprehend Portuguese improved more over those three days than during any time here in Angola.  By the end of the trip I found myself understanding 90% of what was said during meetings.  And these business guys didn’t talk slow.  However, the frustrating part of the trip was not being able to figure out how many of the businesses operate.  There are tons of mom and pop type sub-contractor businesses.  It remains unclear how any of them differentiate from each other.  I get an uneasy feeling like something just isn’t right when I look at many businesses in Soyo, and, for that matter, everywhere else in Angola.  I don’t see how many of them stay afloat.  Luanda and Soyo are two of the most expensive places in the world (seriously, look it up).  Businesses pay thousands of dollars a month to rent tiny offices.  And many of them look like they don’t do anything or sell much of anything.  I hate to think that its all corruption/kickbacks, but, as of now, I have no other explanation.  Of course, many of the businesses are legitimate.  I learned a ton from those businesses.   Overall, the trip was a great chance to learn how things work, “work”, and don’t work in this crazy setting.

            Oh yeah, I had a roommate in Soyo.  He was small, furry, had a long tail, lived in the wardrobe and his name rhymed with Matt.  I switched rooms shortly after he made an appearance while I was sitting on my bed.

            The ride back was punctuated by a repeat stop at the roadside store in which Fila bought two full dear hind legs.  Fur and hooves were still attached (picture below).  The lady took out a machete and cut the bones in half so it would fit in a sack to put in the back of our SUV.  It smelled terrific.  Alex provided the best moment of the trip shortly thereafter.  We were standing around drinking sodas and Alex, who doesn’t like bugs, found himself in a duel with a bee.  He began running around like a madman waving his arms.  It was awesome.  He actually ran up to me to try to transfer the bee to me, but was unsuccessful.  He finally sprinted to the car and locked himself inside.   At that point, I notice he had left his coke on the ground.  I picked it up, swatted a bee off, and handed it back to him.  He took a huge swallow and proceeded to yell/spit the contents back out, which included a little bee.  The entire trip was worth it just for that moment.

            The remainder of the trip was spent trying not to get poked in the head with a deer hoof, trying not to pass out from the fumes of the two leaking containers of gas in the back of the SUV, and trying not to get sick from the smell of the fish Fila picked up a few hours outside of Luanda.

            Another normal week in Angola comes to a close….

You gotta love the name of this resteraunt.  Ha Almoco means, "there is lunch"