Traveling in Africa

Trip was an adventure for sure. Friday I really kind of thought I was supposed to leave Saturday morning with the fast car even though I thought it would be difficult at the station with my baggage and being alone. I should have gone with it. It took me an entire day to get back with the bus. The guard at Greg's house took me to the bus station two hours early because his shift was over and he was willing to take me. So I got to the bus station at 8 p.m. the bus was supposed to leave at 10 p.m. I sat around and at 10 pm they started to load the bus. We left around 11:30 pm. then they drove around the city for another hour trying to fill the empty seats. Now this is on a regular large bus with fifty seats similar to a greyhound. We finally left the city at around 1 p.m. Normally when you get to the Gambian border you pay $2 or 1,000 cfa when you enter and when you leave because we are in transit and don't have a visa's. There were two other french guys on the bus. When we got to the border at 4:30 a.m. the border guards demanded we give them 7,000 cfa but in Gambian money for visa's. The French men were adament that we shouldn't pay and for two hours they argued. The border guards wouldn't give. The driver of the bus threatened to throw our baggage off. All the Senegalese on the bus were talking or sleeping or smoking....arguing amongst themselves.

What happened was the bus took a different route than the trans gambian highway which is used for transit senegalese to get to dakar. Because we were trying to enter towards banjul they were going to try and get us for more money. The french guys walked back to the senegalese border guards who said you have to pay it. Meanwhile I am acting as a translator between the gambian border police and the french guys who are arguing. So we all ended up paying 7000 or $14 two hours later. Then the ferry was late at the banjul crossing. We waited another sleepy hour there. Then the road through the gambia as usual was HORRIBLE and it took us another five hours to get to Senegal. When we finally reached the border the french men practically kissed the senegalese border police. It had been such a horrible trip. I mentioned when people clap after arriving on American soil on the plane. I was ready to cheer also. It was horrible. But even after we got to Senegal we didn't arrive in Ziguinchor till 1 p.m. Then I had to go pick up my bicycle and the rest of my baggage and haggle for a taxi to take me and the baggage to Oussouye.

I finally arrived here around 3 p.m. The guy I hired to take care of the house no where to be seen. The house in complete funk. There must have been tons of rain over the last week because everything is moldy and wet. I spent the next four hours cleaning the entire house.

My dog and the guardian are still no where to be seen.