Seen for sale on the street

Every Wednesday for the last few months, Beni and I get moving a bit earlier than usual to drive into town to attend a mommy and baby play group.  The drive into town is not far distance wise-not much more than 10-15km/6-9m .  However, the length of the drive can vary from an hour and 15 minutes to 2 and a half hours.  This city was not built for the amount of traffic is now has, and rush hour traffic can literally back up for miles and miles and miles and move at a snails pace for a long time. 

Luckily, this drive, while long, is rarely boring because there is so much going on just outside your car windows.  Beni would always nap during this drive, and I always looked forward to it as a quiet time to stare out the window.  I regret that I never kept an actual list, because fairly early on in my drives I started keeping a mental list of things I saw for sale on the street. 

When you're sitting in that bumper to bumper traffic three lanes wide on a two lane road, all of the spaces between cars are full of men carrying things for sale.  They just walk up and down the middle of the street, every once in a while taking a break on the side of the road, offering up their goods.  If you show interest, they run right up to your window and complete the transaction right there.  If traffic starts moving while you're in the middle of a transaction, they will run along side your car until they are done.   One thing that always makes me happy is that every time I have bought something (usually just a cold drink) the vendor always runs along, or even runs to catch up to my car WITH MY CHANGE.  In a country where the poor are as poor as they are, one might not expect this. Especially when the change is worth less than a dollar.


So I wish I had been keeping an actual list, but as it is, I didn't, so for this one post, I'm going to try to remember any and all of the things I ever saw for sale in the middle of the road. 

For sale on the street in Luanda

• cold drinks (Coke, Sprite, beer, bottled water and several kinds of canned juices- they carry them in huge plastic bags full of ice)
• Whole boxes of tissues
• small bags of popcorn- salted or sweet
• shoes- dress and casual for ladies, sport, casual and dress for men
• remote controls for every possible product that might need a remote
• batteries
• towels, blankets and sheets
• guitars
• screws, nuts and bolts
• electrical mumbo jumbo I can't even name (cords and stuff)
• extension cords
• newspapers
• phone credit cards
• mosquito nets for your bed, fly nets for food
• salt/pepper/oil and vinegar sets
• HUGE wall clocks
• toilet paper
• shirts
• sunglasses
• hat stand/coat racks
• carpets
• all manner of local fruit and veg (although to be fair, this is sold on the side of the street and you do have to pull over to buy it)
• mosquito zapping rackets
• belts
• children's toys
• blow dryers, irons, ironing boards
• cds and dvds

That's all I can think of right now... but rest assured there is more.  My husband, Joel, just added that as far as he is concerned, if you want to buy it, you can buy it on the street in Luanda.  I'm not so sure about that...but, you sure can find a whole lot of things. 


Unfortunately, the mommy and baby who lived in the city that we used to go visit on Wednesdays have now moved out of Angola, so we won't be making those weekly trips into the city again.  In fact, in the month we have left in Angola, I'm not sure how many times, if at all, I will have to venture into the city again.  If I do, however, I will be sure to keep an actual list of everything I see for sale on the street that day.