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Journal of African trips

Africa, spring 1999 part II

Agelasto
2004-05-21 18:00:16

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Back on the street, while he insists on leading us toward the hotel of his choice, we scurry
(well scurry is not exactly what we do, I laden with a backpack and daypack and the
widow?s backpack being wheeled on a made-in-China trolley) into a place mentioned in
our guidebooks, a campment, which is the most basic and cheapest accommodation in
Africa (together we pay $6 for room with shower). The campment manager shoos away
the pest, who insists on getting a commission from both us and the manager (he gets
nothing from anyone).

So we are happy to latch onto Abdou, the guide, to save us from pesty touts. Abdou?s
first job is to find us a bush taxi so we can go cycling.

7. Pests and bush taxis in the Casamance II

Abdou is not really a professional guide. He is an unemployed lycee graduate, someone
who has finished his education and is looking, more or less, for a job. It seems that
serving as a guide, getting clients by word-of-mouth, is his means of livelihood. He will
arrange everything for the French couple we met on the ferry, and so the widow and I let
him do the same for us. There has been no discussion about fees. The arrangements are
so informal, in fact, that I am starting to believe that Abdou is doing this all as a favor to
the French couple. In any case, it is great to have someone to run interference for us,
keeping the touts at bay.

As we head off to a restaurant a tout slithers along side us. He is about six and a half feet
long, with big ears which have allowed him to overhear Abdou discussing with the French
couple how we will go about finding a bush taxi. By the time we get to the restaurant the
serpent (who just happens to have a taxi ready to take us tomorrow morning) has
persuaded Abdou to employ him; he sits down for a meal with us, but we tell him he is not
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