I was eased from a deep and dreamless slumber by the bleating of a goat outside my window. It was nine-thirty. Itried persuading my aching body to leave the bed but gave up for another hour. Eventually I made it to the local cyber cafe to check in with "the Boss" before retiring to my room once more (I was actually so sore the WAW 17 report took 3 days to finish). The damp coastal airs of Dakar are assisting the breakdown of the clinker that has accumulated in my lungs and I am coughing like a consumptive, causing peculiar looks from tourists.
In the evening I took a taxi to the nearby suburb of N'gor. At the Sao Brasil bar/restaurant (a little bit of expat heaven where Tu Bapus can enjoy their liaisons with Senegaloises without attracting adverse attention) I met the second Lonely Planet traveller within this week. Taharqa and I chatted, drank beer, ate pizza until the night was no longer young. The driver of my return taxi tried to demand 50% over the odds, I refused, we got to pushing and shoving and name-calling, me demanding Police presence, before the rapid intervention of two more drivers saved the day, allowing me to trudge through the sand to my auberge as they dragged my little friend away. For a second night I slept oh-so soundly.
Simple things are never easy in Africa. A taxi to the port to buy three tickets for Tuesday's sailing for Ziguinchor. Nothing difficult there?
"Passports please!" the girl smiled behind her ticket window.
"My family arrive Sunday. Can I buy the tickets now if you have their names?", handing over my own passport.
"I'm sorry sir, without the passport information I can do nothing. It's the rule."
Luckily I keep copies of all our documents in my email inbox;
"No problem, I'll get them printed and return."
A fair bit of driving around the city centre and I found an internet cafe. But they couldn't print. I eventually located one that could and altogether I had to log on with 4 different terminals before the right combination of working keyboard, legible screen, compatible computer/printer interface could be achieved. This messing about took over 2 hours. The girl at the ferry office was suitably impressed.
Buiding, especially of roads, is going on feverishly all over town, with great gangs of workers hard at it, 24/7. The big Arab Economic Community's Conference which takes place here next March, is the touchpaper for such an explosion of frenetic energy - the money for the work is coming from the Middle East. Once complete, Dakar will have been impressively transformed. Until then, getting around will remain a frustrating, time-consuming and dusty business.
You can tell I HAVE let the end go and entered "Relax" mode - I left my room key in a taxi. No problem, there is a "Minute Key" just down the road and he had a new one cut within the hour.
Dave
trusted partner
