Well, I made it to the beach to celebrate the end of training, but the transport is always interesting in West Africa! :)
First, the 27 trainees rented two buses from Alepe to Abidjan. Yes, that means 27 bicycles, 54 pieces of luggage, and 27 fans all strapped to the top of two small buses. Inside were 27 tired, cranky, excited new volunteers and 2 kittens. Most of us (not the kittens) were teary-eyed from saying good-bye to our Alepe host families.
We arrived in Abidjan and took over the hostel, which has about 20 beds. Having done the math on the bed situation, my 2 friends and I had lunch in Abidjan and headed for the beach. The way transport to the beach works (no buses) is via station wagons, most of them over 20 years old. We taxied to the "station" and found a station wagon going to Bonoua. At Bonoua, we would take another car to the beach.
We dicker with the driver to get a 600cfa price (just under a dollar each), and then we wait until he has sold all the places in his car (total of 8 + driver). When there are six of us, he leaves the station and drives to the gas station (stop #1). Then, since the car is not full, he pulls over everytime someone signals from the side of the road to see if he can fill the car (stops #2-9). Finally, we have 8 passengers, including the poor guy sitting between the front seats. On to the beach!
We pass a woman selling sugar cane, and the woman in back wants some. Stop #10. We stop (#11) to let the first guy off (opening a free seat - you know what that means!). We are stopped three times (#12-14), for ID checks. At stop #15 the drive tells us this is where we get the next car for the beach. But the man in back says there is a better stop ahead, so we get back in. Stop #16 is our stop now, but since the driver took us further, he now wants 800cfa. Megan argues with him and a crowd gathers. The crowd includes four women trying to sell us fresh pineapples. I can't yet listen to two conversations in French, so I miss most of Megan's arguments while telling the women we don't want pineapples. We agree to the 800cfa price.
We are ushered to another car and the driver asks 1000cfa each to take us to the beach. We have been told the price is 500-700cfa each, by other volunteers. He agrees to 600cfa each, but then assumes we will buy all the places in his car (5) rather than just three. Ha! What does he think we are, tourists? We tell him we will wait for two others. Stops #1 and a 20-minute wait yields no passengers. Stop #2 is better, and we pick up 2 women selling bananas in the market. The trunk is repacked as we load their 5 stalks of bananas, two buckets of tomatoes, and 50 lbs. of rice. Stop #3 comes when we see manioc (a root vegetable) for sale and the women want it. The trunk is beyond full, so it is loaded into the front seat on the floor. Stops #4 & 5 are dropping off the women, manioc, bananas, tomatoes, and rice in their respective villages.
I am now car sick because of so much swerving on dirt roads to avoid potholes. We arrive at the beach (stop #6) after me telling the driver to take it easy about 5 times. I'm feeling especially trapped because my door has no handle to roll down the window or open the door. If I'm going to gak, it will have to be on the only pair of shorts I brought and on my bed pillow, which is in my lap. What's a girl to do? It was hellish!
Then, to make it all worse, when we got to the hotel, Sarah asked if we were going home the next day or staying two days. I don't think I can take that journey again for A WEEK! But here we are -- after 1400cfa each ($2), 21 stops, and 4 hours, all covering perhaps 50 miles -- AT THE BEACH! I am now convinced it was worth it! :)
A quick word on the hotel -- 50 feet from the waves; simple concrete floors and bamboo walls; shared shower, toilet, and sink only a short walk away. My room has 2 single beds, a plastic chair, and a fan. The window is cut out of the bamboo -- no screen or anything! All that, lounge chairs, and a canopy for shade -- for about $11 a night. Except for the memory of yesterday's ride, I'm in heaven!
Last night on my way here, a man asked me to marry him. I decided on humor and said "Good! I've been looking for a third husband! You cook and clean, don't you? My other two husbands are very lazy and I need one who will work." My friends were cracking up. Megan throws in that I also need someone to have the babies. The guy said he would come to the beach today to talk about it, since if I can afford three husbands, he's interested! Besides, I'll give up the other two when he gets there, and I'll learn to cook eventually. This is a conversation I have three times a week! Argh!!!