Heading for Bamako (w/ public transit tips!)

Day: 21
Location: ?, Guinea
Weather: hot
Kilometers: 400
Hours: 10
Health: itchy (Adam), fine (Guillaume)
Accomodation: Peugeot 505
Price, room: 0K FG
price, water: 3.5K FG
Shower: no
Morale: 5
Total spend: 419K FG

AW: The next morning at 8AM, Aminata was hanging laundry to dry. When we returned from a session of failed ATM withdrawals and brutal change rates, she had already washed the sheets, made the bed with new ones, and stacked all the furniture in the living room to better clean the floor. Seko said she goes to school as well.

We said goodbye and headed for the bus station to go direct to Bamako. Contrary to claims, we didn't leave until almost 4PM, while the chauffeur waited for additional freight cargo to strap on top of the 505. He eventually succeeded in getting so much that the car could barely move, stop, or traverse a bump of any depth. The other passengers contributed: 4 fat mamas, 3 average to large dudes, Guillaume (should probably count as the 5th fat mama), and me. I think I had a strong case for deserving a discount given that my hip width is half of the nearest competitor, but I failed to galvanize the other passengers around this cause.

We heard some bizarre rumors about roads being closed for a visiting functionary and disregarded - it should be a minor delay at most. The chauffeur stopped at 2AM even though he promised to drive all night. The car broke 3 times. Guillaume and I slept in it.

With nothing further of interest, here is some filler:

Tips for using mid range public transit in West Africa:

Here are the seats

Senegalese Sept place (1988 peugeot 505)
Driver 1
2 3 4
5 6 7
= 8 / 8 = 1

Guinea, guinea bissau Sept place (1988 peugot 505)
Driver 1 2
3 4 5 6
7 8 9
= 10 / 8 = 1.25

Sierra Leone 4 seater (1984 Toyota carena 2)
Driver 1 2 3
4 5 6 7 (maybe 8 if a child)
= 8.5 / 5 = 1.7

In Senegal you are fine. In Guinea, avoid seats 1 and 5 above all. In Sierra Leone, you are screwed in general.

The following comments will focus on Guinea:

1. Remove everything from your pockets and encourage your fellow passengers to do the same. Put only the things that you need in your lap, and pack everything else in a completely inaccessible spot on the roof. For the record, these items are iPod, blackberry, money belt with passport and funds, and potentially a camera. Try desperately, against the odds, to avoid losing these things.
   
   
2. Wear the money belt a round a shoulder on your chest. If you wear it under the waistline, it will only exacerbate the swamp ass, and wearing it on your chest looks cooler than wearing it as a Fannie pack.
   
   
3. Favor big mamas over bony large dudes. They may be bigger and heavier in an absolute sense, but you can sink into their padding to an astounding extent, and it is very comforting on an emotional and psychological level. However, use judgment as going for too many (two in the same row) can easily result in asphyxiation / dehydration. In general, try to avoid sitting adjacent to people exhibiting symptoms of tuberculosis.
   
   
4. Take shifts laying back and bending forward to increase shoulder space. Don't elbow people.
   
   
5. Wear sandals, as long as your tetanus is up to date. You may get a rusty scrape, but that's a small price to pay for comfort.
   
   
6. Make immediate friends with the other passengers. The gall to place a hand on a shoulder, around a waist, or maybe even a head on a shoulder could mean the difference between agony and eventual amputation.
   
   
7. Bring a sheet or something long sleeved. During the day, you can use it to pad your hip from the metal bar jutting out of the upholstery. You may have to sleep outside, or in the car, and you won't have access to mosquito protection. Corollary: put a couple Malarone tablets in the money belt just in case your delay is measured in days as opposed to hours.
   
   
8. Show up filthy. You'll fit right in, and you avoid the unpleasant sense of getting dirtier over time as that would be impossible. At a minimum, you can count on getting blackened by the tailpipe during a push start, and stepping in something terrible.
   
   
9. Come to grips with the fact that you will be in control of a shockingly minimal part of your life for the next x hours. Instead, rest assured that the chauffeur is so cash strapped that he is operating on the edge at all times. Also, note that he pays no attention to delays, nor ETA nonsense, and will happily risk flipping the car to avoid a pothole. Whatever ETA you do receive, you should double it and then layer in time for the car breaking down repeatedly (not a rule of thumb, empirical fact). If the chauffeur does not swear by the perfect condition of his vehicle with absolute confidence, it probably won't make it out of the station so start looking for other options. Beyond this, check the front tires and then it is a crap shoot.
   
   
10. You will remain in control of just three things: how much water you drink, how dodgy you go with the street food during stops, and whether or not you cry. Don't cry. With the first two, strike a delicate balance.