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Journal of African trips

Africa, spring 1999 part II

Agelasto
2004-05-21 18:00:16

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as possible. Poured over and over again. Anything under a meter
is considered bush league. This is done for each glass and then all the tea is poured back
into the pot, heated up and the process repeated. It is 5:45 p.m., the taxi has been waiting
presumably for three-quarters of an hour, and Abdou insists we each have a second cup.
We finish at about 6:15 and head back to the car. The driver and serpent are irate and
refuse to take us back at the agreed-upon price.

The argument continues for half an hour. Arguments in African bush taxis, in fact
arguments just about anywhere in West Africa, are not unusual. Ann Marie and the
French couple denounce the serpent and driver and vice-versa. Neither my marginal
fluency in French nor my temperament permit me to get involved in the rumpus. One of
the advantages of not speaking the language very well is that I can ignore it totally when I
so choose. Eventually, a businesswoman from the local village, who wants to ride back to
Ziguichor with us, agrees to pay a fare and we cram her and her wares into the Peugeot.
So I figure we are all happy. The driver and serpent get more money, but we don?t have
to pay any more. But the argument continues all the way back to Ziguichor. We arrive at
the roadblock with about five seconds to spare. If we had been late, we would have had
to negotiate a fine with the police, and then we would have had another argument with the
driver and serpent on who would have to pay the fine. I have never been anywhere in the
world where people argue as much as in West Africa. I am surprised the continent as a
whole is as peaceful as it is, at present with fewer than ten civil wars.

8. Charity in the Casamance

Our guide Abdou has arranged for us to take a trip to Karabane Island and to return by
way of the Casamance mangroves. This time, instead ...