The Bus trip
I bought a ticket for an 18-hour bus trip from Dakar to Bamako, Mali on an air conditioned bus.
How naive can I be! The bus looked like an AC bus with large no-open windows, and when the trip started there was a nice flow of cool air moving through the bus. VERY nice, I thought, until I heard the front and middle doors close! In a few moments I knew .... there was no AC, and it was going to be a long night.
I never dreamed, however, that it would be a long two nights .... that it was the beginning of a 38- hour trip. First, we had a flat tire - nothing major, but we stopped often to tighten up fan belts, or add fluids, or for the driver to visit his friends; and a myriad of other things that I could only guess at.
Then the border crossing into Mali. At first it seemed it would be easy, because there was almost no traffic on the highway; therefore, no crowds at the immigration passport office. And that was true. It was easy. It was laid back. It was unbelievably SLOW. It took us hours to go thru Senegal departure and Mali entry. I began to wonder how we could possibly get to Bamako in just one more hour - making it a trip of 18 hours.
Then it became dark, we were on the highway, and the bus started dying! After a while we puttered into a town and to a bus station. Now, that is not a bus station in the US, that's an African bus station.
I found out as everyone was getting off that we were changing buses, getting on another bus in good running condition to complete our trip.
Well, three hours later, after clouds of dust followed by rain, then rain and dust together, the new bus arrives just as the rain is getting harder. Everyone is crowded up around the door trying to get on, but the bus company is calling the roster, and only lets you on when your name is called.
I was able to get to my piece of plastic sheeting and cover up a little, as I knew I was near the end of the list.
Finally - everyone aboard, all windows UP because it is raining and the inside temperature rising rapidly, the driver cuts off the engine, and leaves the bus. I check my handy thermometer and it really gets no hotter than 88 degrees. I was surprised, I thought it would have been 110 degrees. But we sit. Then later we start up, travel 15 minutes, and this time we pull over for the night!
When I had asked fellow travelers about when we would arrive in Bamako, they always said tomorrow, now I knew why. This is not an 18-hour trip at its best. This is always a 30 hour minimum trip with two nights spent sleeping/not sleeping in your seat.
When we did stop, there were often little stalls with food, but it all looked ugly and appetizing to me. Generally, I find the food in these places to be good but not on this trip. I was beginning to get a little hungry but could not find anything that I thought I COULD eat, until I saw a man at one stall slice a baguette and put mayo on it. I thought , okay, this could be good. Then he folded it up and gave it to a fellow traveler .... a mayonnaise sandwich! So I ordered one and found it to be rather good when put in its proper place. I also ate a packet of salted biscuits (Ritz style crackers) and drank a lot of water.
We arrived in Bamako about 3:30 in the afternoon on Saturday. I had slept in a bed in Atlanta on Tuesday night and not again until Saturday night in Bamako. QUITE A TRIP!
I like to travel, so I got a lot of that in a hurry.
I am staying at a Catholic Mission house in a room that has 5 bunks. The price is the lowest in town, and it is safe and secure. Today my dorm mates are from Spain and Japan.
Much more to tell later? come on back, I`ll be around.
Johnny
How naive can I be! The bus looked like an AC bus with large no-open windows, and when the trip started there was a nice flow of cool air moving through the bus. VERY nice, I thought, until I heard the front and middle doors close! In a few moments I knew .... there was no AC, and it was going to be a long night.
I never dreamed, however, that it would be a long two nights .... that it was the beginning of a 38- hour trip. First, we had a flat tire - nothing major, but we stopped often to tighten up fan belts, or add fluids, or for the driver to visit his friends; and a myriad of other things that I could only guess at.
Then the border crossing into Mali. At first it seemed it would be easy, because there was almost no traffic on the highway; therefore, no crowds at the immigration passport office. And that was true. It was easy. It was laid back. It was unbelievably SLOW. It took us hours to go thru Senegal departure and Mali entry. I began to wonder how we could possibly get to Bamako in just one more hour - making it a trip of 18 hours.
Then it became dark, we were on the highway, and the bus started dying! After a while we puttered into a town and to a bus station. Now, that is not a bus station in the US, that's an African bus station.
I found out as everyone was getting off that we were changing buses, getting on another bus in good running condition to complete our trip.
Well, three hours later, after clouds of dust followed by rain, then rain and dust together, the new bus arrives just as the rain is getting harder. Everyone is crowded up around the door trying to get on, but the bus company is calling the roster, and only lets you on when your name is called.
I was able to get to my piece of plastic sheeting and cover up a little, as I knew I was near the end of the list.
Finally - everyone aboard, all windows UP because it is raining and the inside temperature rising rapidly, the driver cuts off the engine, and leaves the bus. I check my handy thermometer and it really gets no hotter than 88 degrees. I was surprised, I thought it would have been 110 degrees. But we sit. Then later we start up, travel 15 minutes, and this time we pull over for the night!
When I had asked fellow travelers about when we would arrive in Bamako, they always said tomorrow, now I knew why. This is not an 18-hour trip at its best. This is always a 30 hour minimum trip with two nights spent sleeping/not sleeping in your seat.
When we did stop, there were often little stalls with food, but it all looked ugly and appetizing to me. Generally, I find the food in these places to be good but not on this trip. I was beginning to get a little hungry but could not find anything that I thought I COULD eat, until I saw a man at one stall slice a baguette and put mayo on it. I thought , okay, this could be good. Then he folded it up and gave it to a fellow traveler .... a mayonnaise sandwich! So I ordered one and found it to be rather good when put in its proper place. I also ate a packet of salted biscuits (Ritz style crackers) and drank a lot of water.
We arrived in Bamako about 3:30 in the afternoon on Saturday. I had slept in a bed in Atlanta on Tuesday night and not again until Saturday night in Bamako. QUITE A TRIP!
I like to travel, so I got a lot of that in a hurry.
I am staying at a Catholic Mission house in a room that has 5 bunks. The price is the lowest in town, and it is safe and secure. Today my dorm mates are from Spain and Japan.
Much more to tell later? come on back, I`ll be around.
Johnny
posted by Johnny at
9:47 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home