No eggs! War?
This week I went into town to pick up some eggs as usual. My regular egg spot is at the "First of May Market" where the trucks unload trays of 30 eggs and people carry them off by the stacks all week long. In all our years in Tete, this is THE place to get eggs.
Until this week. Drive by, and no stacks of egg trays?
Other end of the market, same thing.
The guys selling boiled eggs are few and far between.
The grocery store still has eggs by the dozen, but not trays of 30.
Under the bridge the market stalls were selling eggs.
Each egg usually costs 5mt... except at Christmas when people crazily make lots of potato salad and seem to need lots of hard boiled eggs. At Christmas the price jumps to 180mt, then 200mt, then 240mt. Crazy!
The guy at the bridge stalls informed me that his precious last tray of eggs was going for 10mt/egg. That's 300mt for a tray of 30. This is a staple protein for us here. We go through a tray a week for sandwiches, cakes, pancakes and quiche or whatever. (Sometimes we even make potato salad when it isn't Christmas.)
"Why is the price of eggs up?" I asked innocently.
"War. These eggs come from Chimoio and there is a war on the highway. Haven't you heard about it?" he replies seriously.
"I thought the eggs came from Zimbabwe," I added.
"Don't you know they are from Chimoio?" he informs me.
There isn't a war between here and Chimoio!" I insist. "That trouble on the road isn't even close to the road to Chimoio!"
"It's not?" He replies, and I leave without buying extra expensive eggs.
It is now a few days later and I have bought eggs at "First of May Market" in Tete. The price is 220mt. The eggs are said to be from Maputo and there is trouble on the road to Maputo and it is harder to get eggs from there. It troubles me that the first egg-man carelessly spreads rumors of war. He so easily blames an egg shortage on what he calls "war" without even thinking about it. How many people are there like that, I wonder. Actually, there is some trouble on that long road from the south of the country towards the north... but we are pretty far off the track for that mess. Another reason to be thankful for our little corner of Mozambique. Keep Mozambique in your prayers - sometimes trouble is just a rumor away!
Until this week. Drive by, and no stacks of egg trays?
Other end of the market, same thing.
The guys selling boiled eggs are few and far between.
The grocery store still has eggs by the dozen, but not trays of 30.
Under the bridge the market stalls were selling eggs.
Each egg usually costs 5mt... except at Christmas when people crazily make lots of potato salad and seem to need lots of hard boiled eggs. At Christmas the price jumps to 180mt, then 200mt, then 240mt. Crazy!
The guy at the bridge stalls informed me that his precious last tray of eggs was going for 10mt/egg. That's 300mt for a tray of 30. This is a staple protein for us here. We go through a tray a week for sandwiches, cakes, pancakes and quiche or whatever. (Sometimes we even make potato salad when it isn't Christmas.)
"Why is the price of eggs up?" I asked innocently.
"War. These eggs come from Chimoio and there is a war on the highway. Haven't you heard about it?" he replies seriously.
"I thought the eggs came from Zimbabwe," I added.
"Don't you know they are from Chimoio?" he informs me.
There isn't a war between here and Chimoio!" I insist. "That trouble on the road isn't even close to the road to Chimoio!"
"It's not?" He replies, and I leave without buying extra expensive eggs.
It is now a few days later and I have bought eggs at "First of May Market" in Tete. The price is 220mt. The eggs are said to be from Maputo and there is trouble on the road to Maputo and it is harder to get eggs from there. It troubles me that the first egg-man carelessly spreads rumors of war. He so easily blames an egg shortage on what he calls "war" without even thinking about it. How many people are there like that, I wonder. Actually, there is some trouble on that long road from the south of the country towards the north... but we are pretty far off the track for that mess. Another reason to be thankful for our little corner of Mozambique. Keep Mozambique in your prayers - sometimes trouble is just a rumor away!
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