My journey across West Africa Pt. 2

This is continuation of the last episode ‘My journey Across West Africa Pt. 1’. [insert link of previous article]

Dear readers,
You must be curious as to where the wind blew me from Abidjan. I hope you find the entries and experience bellow most enjoying.

Journal entry – Start

Date: 11/11/11

Time: 2:44PM

Currently at about 40km north of Yamoussoukro. We have come through Tiasale and Toumodi.

I am in the very middle belt of Lake Kossou, the largest lake in Ivory Coast. Bouake is our next stop.

Durable roads. Impressive attitude towards road safety.

Yamoussoukro - clean, decent, quiet. Loved it.

Cocoa revenue?

Entry conclusion

I will be a new person at all the places I’m heading to. No one would judge me because I don’t have any past there; only the future.

This is rewarding and I have to experience it in the best way I can.

Journal entry – end

Commentary

I arrived at the Adjame area by 7:30AM to catch up with the bus. It’s was a long distance bus; about 50-60 passenger seats. No, this was not a Yotong or KIA; it was a very large and long old Mercedes bus. The seats were metal covered in rubber leather.

As courtesy demands, I gave my two hosts some CFA franc as my form of appreciation and gratitude for the accommodation and kindness. This excited them greatly. I especially wished them well in their search for job.

Wish I could have stayed more in Ivory Coast but that was not possible. This was much of a window backpacking for me. It was my motive but not a firm plan that I would try to spend no more than 3 days in a country. Two or three days weren’t really enough to have great experience of a country. I wanted to do this as quickly as possible so I can return home and start planning and training for my Mt. Kilimanjaro climb bid, India and Southeast Asia travel.

To do this was a great eye opener for me. Most Ghanaians I know actually think that most of West Africa and large portion of the continent is drowned in political violence, poverty and extreme backwardness. It was my attempt to corroborate this perception. When I informed one of my friends about my plans to travel across West Africa, his response I recall was something like, “you can go anywhere else but not those areas. They would not only steal from you but would also harm you.” How did he know that when he has never stepped outside the borders of Ghana in his entire life? My guess is probably from what he has heard or read. But is everything we have heard or read true?

St. Augustine was right. The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.

I intend to offer my objective experience of each country and the people as I saw them and not to try to demean them in anyway

We left Abidjan by 10AM and headed up north. The bus was packed and over-loaded. There were 4 seats in every roll with passageway in between like the conventional bus seating arrangement. They used gallons to block the passageway making it 5 seats in every roll. This obstructed the passageway. They didn’t do this from the bus terminal so my guess was that the behavior wasn’t sanctioned. They picked extra passengers as we journeyed. I was in the second roll on the second seat from left so the gallon was right next to me. The passenger sitting on the gallon would sleep and fall right on me every now and then. Though I was uncomfortable, I thought that it was funny.

We continued through Sikinssi, Toumodi to Yamoussoukro in about 4 hours or so. We covered about 240km of distance. Yamoussoukro was a decent city; clean, quiet and refreshing. We stopped over for about an hour so I was able to take a quick leisurely walk and returned back right on time before the horn was blown for re-boarding.

The Ivorian roads were durable. I was most especially impressed with their attitude towards road safety. They would indicate with both tree branches and warning hazard reflectors more than 1km away from broken vehicles. This was contrast to the attitude in Ghana. In Ghana, you would only find the warning hazard reflectors about 50-100ft from the broken vehicle. The Ivorian attitude provides approaching vehicles with all angles of opportunity to avoid collision with a broken vehicle ahead. I suspect every car carries with it not less than 5 road hazard reflectors for this purpose.

We came across several French Military command cars on the road. It seems as though they were coming from some sort of drill because they came our way very often and in numbers. By this time I had began to understand what Michelle, Sherif and my two hosts lamented about the strong French Military presence in Ivory Coast.

My books and iPod provided me with so much entertainment and distraction as my co-passenger slept and fell on me often. I brought with me some of my favorite books; The Old Man and the Sea; Ernest Hemingway, Revised Edition- The Clash of Civilizations; Samuel Huntington and The Greatest Show On Earth; Richard Dawkins. My iPod was most enjoying. I made three long playlist of random tracks; one of rock and alternative, another of movie soundtracks and the last of world music. The following were the 15 most played tracks on my iPod in order at that time:

#1 Bed of Roses – Bon Jovi
#2 We weren’t Born to Follow – Bon Jovi
#3 Love’s the Only Rule – Bon Jovi
#4 I’m Forrest…Forest Gump – Soundtrack (Forrest Gump)
#5 The Living Years – Mike & The Mechanics
#6 Makoma Mo Toffee – Daddy Lumba
#7 Himalaya Trekking Song – Rosamm Phiriry
#8 Fix You – Coldplay
#9 Kro Kro Me – Amakye Dede
#10 In the Spider’s Web – Himalayan Folk tune
#11 You’re No Different – Soundtrack (Forrest Gump)
#12 This Afternoon - Nickelback
#13 Imagine – John Lennon
#14 Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry
#15 Bird On a Wire – Soundtrack (SOA)

Also on my iPod were my 5 favorite movies of all time.

Casablanca
Forrest Gump
The Shawshank Redemption
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
City of God

I can recite almost every line of dialogue involving Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca. I can watch the movies above forever and never get tired of them.

All of the above were my source of entertainment and distraction as I traveled along.

I didn’t have to be very much prepared for everything. All I needed to do was to adapt.

In the midst of all of this, I became very excited that I’m headed to Mali, one of the earliest African civilizations. Timbuktou for instance has always held my curiosity. It is one of those rare areas that still stand unaffected by any form of progress for thousands of years. Mansa Musa, Mari Djata, Sumanguru and Sundiata spring to mind. These are some names almost every Ghanaian student should be able to spill out about the ancient Mali Empire. I planned to go further up north to Timbuktou when I come through Mali later in my travel to see the ruins of our ancestral origin. Some musical legends such as Ali Farka, Boubacar Traore and Rokia Traore also sprung to mind. Would I chance upon any concert? I kept wondering to myself. I don’t understand any of the word in Ali Farka’s ‘Savane’ Album which was released after his death in 2006 for example, but it is so soothing and beautiful to listen to that I don’t even want to know whatever it is he sings about. That’s the beauty of good music.

Journal Entry – start

Date: 13/11/11

Time: 10:59AM
Location: Bamako, Mali

I feel so intense.

I have seen much. I find it so hard to sum up my feelings about Mali so far. Poverty is everywhere. Women and children seem to bear the responsibilities here. The men smoke all day, eat meat and drink sugar-filled soda in larger size. Oh to what end?


Entry conclusion

I’m the stranger in Mali but Mali itself is not strange it seems.

It is rare opportunity to experience any form of adversity because it cannot be reclaimed from you.

Journal entry – end

Commentary

My last entry was on the afternoon of 11/11/11 somewhere around Tiebiessou in Central Ivory Coast. I was too tired, sleepy and stressed to put down anything.

We came through Tiebiessou to Bouake from Yamoussoukro. We stopped in Bouake for a little while and continued towards Niakaramandougou through Katiola onwards to Korhogo. Korhogo is where Laurent Gbagbo was being held before his transfer to The Hague. It’s one of Alhassan Outtara’s strongholds. I suspect he was being held there to prevent his supporters from making attempt to break him away. We continued to Ferkessedougou where we had to spend the night for security reasons. By then we were about 150km away from Zegoua; the Ivory Coast - Mali border.

We arrived at Ferkessedougou around 8PM. At first I thought we were going to be transferred to a local hotel. A local hotel? I soon realized that was not the case. We weren’t even permitted to sleep on the bus. You have to come outside either to hang around or rent a mat to sleep in the open until when it is around 5AM when we are supposed to re-board. You sleep in the open throughout the night.

I wandered around and thought if it were possible to find my way back to Korhogo that evening, perhaps walk around a bit and then return back to the bus terminal at Ferkessedougou. This was not really possible. What if I could not find my way back to Ferkessedougou on time and the bus is forced to leave with my backpack? I abandoned this idea and continued touring Ferkessedougou most of the evening. I chanced upon a local traditional wear boutique where I bought a piece. Most people think I’m weird and crazy when I wear it in my area.

A fella saw me sat quiet at a tea seller’s joint and invited me to join him on his rented mat. He was called Armend. He could notice I’m a traveler; one full of curiosity. He’s a French citizen of Ivorian origin. He’s headed to some part of Southern Mali to repatriate his family back to Abidjan. His family fled to Mali during the war so he flew all the way from France to attend to them. He thought my adventure was interesting and that he wished he could do the same. We spent the night chatting and sharing experiences. In the end he concluded that I have made him realized all this while he had developed some sense of false security whilst living in Lion, France. He began to feel he is much safer and best suited to live his life going about the same routine all year long. He came back to Ivory Coast because he thought his family needed him most. He thought that our conversation made him realize how monotonous and boring his life has been. We ordered us some boiled eggs as continued communing. Why why why? He blared in a humorous way. He concluded that he is going to make some radical change to his life and unwind a bit to have more fun and try some adventures. It seems I have woken up the spirit of adventure in Armend. To know I have sparked the spirit of adventure in another person offered me great pleasure. He decided he’d come with me if he didn’t have to attend to his family but I reminded him perhaps going to Mali itself is an adventure since he has never come that far up North before.

The night went so fast and soon we had to re-board to continue towards the border. We came through Wangolodougou and finally to the border around 11AM on 12/11/11. To my surprise, the posts at the Ivorian side have been abandoned. There were no customs and immigration officers. This I found out was because of the war. The customs and immigration officers abandoned their post and formed part of the Outtara militia that fought against Laurant Gbagbo. But Gbagbo has been arrested and the war has ended…why aren’t they at post? I exited the Northern border without the exit stamp in my passport.

We went through the border crossing formalities on the Mali side and continued north to Sikasso. These formalities always include paying certain amount at different desks and barriers. I will be changing bus in Sikasso and Armend would also be changing to elsewhere. He was the only person I encountered who could speak English but he would be leaving me soon and I would not have any friend.

We made it to Sikasso later in the afternoon. I had to go for a transit ticket from the counter but the place was too crowded and jumbled up. To my surprise, a very beautiful young Ivorian lady in her mid twenties approached and asked in a very difficult to understand accent almost in these same words…”I help you to go for ticket for Bamako okay? ” It seems as though we are never lost in this world. Yvonne is young, attractive, fair and sweet looking. I had traveled with her from Abidjan. She sat about two rolls behind me. She might have heard me speak with Armend and thought that I might need further assistance with the language since Armend couldn’t any further. She was also headed to Bamako. Yvonne is so attractive that she seems to wield lots of influence around. You know how attractive women can easily wield influence on the opposite gender. It was quite a crowd but everyone paved the way for her to get the transit tickets for both of us. She came back and whisked me away into the new bus. She had become protective already. Women can be very kind. To have a new companion, and for it to be Yvonne was so refreshing. Though it was difficult, she could at least express herself in English. I didn’t mind just looking at her whilst she struggles to utter another word in English. She was smart and very funny.

By this time, I started to become sincerely intense about my new environment already. The level of poverty and adversity I witnessed in that area of Mali was difficult to bear. Children as young as 4 years would surround you with bowl begging for penny whilst grown up men sit on the tire eating meat and observing with great amazement. The women would be carrying heavy load going up and down and the teenage boys would be pulling donkeys with heavy loads. This was in direct contrast to the situation at everywhere else I have been to. That was my first real encounter with those conditions. It was truly difficult for me to watch.

Sitting next to Yvonne was a comfort. She was headed to Bamako to visit her sister for about a week or so. She offered to assist me to find accommodation when we get to Bamako. She found what I was doing interesting. She seems to have similar thoughts with Michelle and Sherif about the French establishment in Ivory Coast. The only Ivorian who seems indifferent to the French presence in Ivory Coast was Armend. Why would he? Armend himself is an Ivorian turned French. Technically he was also a foreigner in Ivory Coast.

The Malian forest and isolated villages were quiet and beautiful. The indigenous at the isolated villages would smile and wave at every passing car from their mud huts. They seemed very happy to me. So much quality of life can be obtained at isolated locations especially villages and countryside. We arrived in Bamako around 6PM finally. Yvonne called and asked if her sister knew any decent hotel around her area she could recommend to me. All the sister’s recommendations were beyond my budget. Where do I find a hostel in Bamako? There were no backpackers’ hostels in Bamako. Even when I considered her sister’s recommendations, all the inns were occupied. Places of accommodation were limited. It was already my idea that whenever I ‘m unable to find accommodation, I would go for my bus ticket and hang around the terminal until departure. Almost every taxi I sat inside was filled with smoke. Taxi driver in Bamako takes little notice of their passengers when they indulge in smoking in the car. I experienced this on several occasions. The sister suggested I stay with her and the family for the night and pay 10,000 CFA franc. She convinced me it was the most comfortable place I could stay at that moment since I couldn’t find any accommodation. I gave this thought and decided that it was a good deal for me. Yvonne has been very kind and extremely helpful and I would love to stay closer.

Yvonne suggested we take a walk and have a feel of the Bamako nightlife. There were limited things to do. There was nothing agreeable to eat that evening except fruits and snacks. Yvonne was the center of attention with her imposing appearance everywhere we went. She wore shorts and loose t-shirt. It seems like the Malians were not used to such views so she was able to light almost everywhere up with her curvy and athletic features. I would walk behind sometimes to gaze at her stylish way of walking. She was gorgeous and alluring even in her casual attire. I had thought the capital would be littered with live band stages with amateur singers but that was not the case. Yvonne provided me with laughter so it was equally an entertaining evening.

I will be heading to Kouremale; the Mali-Guinea border in the South-Western region in the following morning so it was time for me to try to get some sleep. I slept soundly that evening.

Yvonne came with me to the bus station in the morning to wish me farewell. She was sad I had to leave soon. She gave me a warm hug and warned me to be careful out there and return back to Mali safe. She told me she might try to extend her stay in Bamako to wait for my approach from West in the coming weeks. It seems we enjoyed each other’s company and would love to continue from where we left since I will be coming through Mali again. Yvonne was very kind and generous. My heart was heavy I had to leave her so soon but the thought of seeing her again would provide me with fond memories and thoughts about her in the coming days.

Next Episode

This would feature the experience from Mali-Guinea-Sierra Leone with photos.