The other day I decided to take a trip to the local market for some bananas, bread and to try to find an internet cafe (They have wireless internet access at the base here but they don't let visitors on the network, instead the give us 2 hours every week at their 'internet cafe' for $2 / 20 minutes. They also ban access to facebook.). I was a little nervous walking out the gate because they very sternly warned me never to leave the base my myself and have repeatedly made it painfully clear that visitors are under no circumstances 'permitted' to ride the public transportation here. Walking out of the gate I bore undisguised intentions to commit both these crimes. I baulked when I first heard these rules (Which was the minute I stepped of the public transportation that had brought me to base, by myself) because for the last 5 months I had been traipsing about solo in far more dangerous places than Maputo (I subsequently broke both rules the next day when the 'hostpitality' team's promise to help me get my bags from Charles' house fell through.) I felt better once outside and past the Iris property although my chances of being seen were still as high as ever since there's only one road into town and very very few white I could have been confused for. A little ways down the road there was a flatbed truck temporarily pulled to the side of the road with a man and a boy sitting comfortably on a couch fastened to the bed of the truck. I smiled at them as I was walking past and just as they were about to hit the road again they beckoned me to join them, which I did. After engaging in niceties as far as my Portuguese would allow I tried to offer them the standard Chapa payment, but they refused adamantly. I was honored at having received my first ever free ride from strangers in Africa and I smiled to myself as I thought how this private get-up prevented me from having to acknowledge that I was guilty of taking 'public transportation'. I have since taken left the compound a number of times and taken a number of chapas. I'm sure God will punish me for the cavalier attitude with which flaunt my disregard but I'm willing to take my blows as He sees fit.