Maybe it was good at this time last year; today, not so great. I never would have guessed it was a main road. There were no lines on the road, and in most places there was barely enough room for opposing vehicles to pass. There were a great many washboard sections, sometimes in completely random places.
In that first half, there were no road signs telling you which road you were on, much less how far it was to anywhere.
The counter to the road conditions, which were much worse for the third quarter, was the scenery. We kept along the north coast, sometimes at sea level, sometimes climbing a couple of hundred feet. At times it felt similar to the climb up Anarchist Mountain, leaving Osoyoos. The hillsides were arid; the climbs sometimes long. Other times, we went through resting rice fields or villages stretched along the highway.
Close to Dili, all the river beds were dry. After the half way point, they had plenty of water. The livestock changed too. Initially, it was goats. Then we saw cows, sheep, a few horses and two water buffalo wallowing in the mud.
In every village that we passed by, we saw crowds of people. Initially, they were standing in line to vote in municipal elections. Later, the voters came out to witness the count. Ninety percent of the adults in the community gathered to watch the count!
Sorry, I can't tell you any results. I'm being a tourist this weekend, and don't have access to results in English.
One time when I opened my eyes after dozing off, we were in a bamboo forest. Another time, there were sheep trying to cross the road. most of the vegetation was deciduous trees that drop thei leaves throughout the year. There were coconut palm, windmill palm a sometimes banana. I saw a few patches of corn, but nothing significant.
Tomorrow, we'll take a trip around Jaco, an island off the east tip of East Timor. Check it out on google maps if you have a chance.
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