Petit Dogon called me up at 6:30am. He was half an hour early. At least he was ready. I got out at 6:45am. And we crossed the city to get to the bus terminal behind the main market.
We waited three hours for the bus to be fully loaded with everyone and their mothers baggage and shipments. They even loaded three motorcycles on the roof.
Our bus is not a bus but rather a huge truck reconverted into a bus using the same frame. Only thing is, they call them France Au Revoir, because they date back from before Mali's independence in 1960! Yes, they cross the country like that, loaded like crazy, riding antiques. Uffff.....well it was the cheapest option we found, so what the hell!?
So it is three hours late that we finally departed, after watching the morning show of all the other buses in the street loading their own buses as well, while the market is slowly opening up and the street is quickly getting more and more crowded.
[...]
It is now 7:09pm, the bus stopped as the sun is almost all set. All the passengers got out in a hurry, spread all over the bushes and went to pee. Strangely enough, they also took advantage of the break to right away after peeing, wash hands, feet and face and pray. The funny part is that since they are not praying hidden by the bushes, as I am still sitting in the bus I can have an overall view of them praying...and they are not all praying toward the same direction. Like I said, the sun is almost set, so there should be absolutely no doubt as to which direction. I thought that north east would be the direction of Mecca from here. Not north, not east, but northeast. Oh well...
[...]
Since it is now night time, they started playing movies in the bus. Hmmm...at least it is not Korean martial art movie subtitled in Chinese blasting super loud. But am not sure if it is actually better. The first movie they are playing is called 2-headed shark attack.
[...]
It is now 9:07pm, we made another stop. Dinner time. I walked to a dark ditch in the back where it seems it is the official public toilet...and as I am doing my thing, I notice two steps away from me this woman, squatting down facing the ditch and doing her thing ad well. The fact that she did it right there near me already surprised me but the fact that she was peeing forward instead of the usual backward totally amazed me. Lol
And as I walked back to sit down with Petit Dogon, I realize that the bus parked next to ours has its lower baggage compartment filled with half a flock of sheeps while the other half is...on the roof of the bus!
What a country! Am telling you.
[...]
Now 4:45am, we are on the absolute middle of nowhere in the bus, close to our destination, but not yet. Some people are getting off here. Strange as there is like I said absolutely nothing. It is pitch black outside. The stars are as bright as can get. Not a could to pollute such beauty.
Because the bus staff is so experienced yet so uneducated, they are taking forever to unload the stuff that belongs to the people so are getting off here. It would have been so simple when loading everything up to ask people their destination and based on that arrange it all on the roof. But no. But I realized these people can't even read. So what can I expect. I just feel bad. No one on the bus is even complaining. Everyone is just used to it and perhaps just as uneducated. So no one realizes that there could be such easy solution.
Ah! Africa!
[...]
6:33am, we have finally arrived in Sanga. I am dead tired, covered in filth am so disgusting. I need a good shower and a long nap.
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