Return to Bamako, fight with Keita

Day: 37
Location: Bamako, Mali
Weather: cloudy and cool in the morning, hot and clear by Bamako
Kilometers: 550
Hours: 7
Health: very tired, not clear why exactly
Accomodation: Auberge Lafia
Price, room: 10K CFA
Price, petrol: 550 CFA / lt
Price, water: 500 CFA
Shower: yes
Morale: 6
Total spend: 91K CFA

AW: The interesting part of the trip is now behind us - we will now simply work our way to Dakar for the flight out.

A brief review of mileage:

• Mopti - Timbuktu - Mopti: 817 km @ 49K CFA = 11.9 lt (6K CFA) per 100km
• Mopti - Dourou - Ouagadougou - Gorom Gorom: 870 km @ 63K CFA = 12.9 lt (7.2K CFA) per 100km
• Gorom Gorom - Fada N'Gourma: 430 km @ 28.3K CFA = 11.0 lt (6.6K CFA) per 100km
• Fada N'Gourma - Ouagadougou: 231 @ 15.3 = 11.5 lt (6.6K CFA) per 100 km
• Ouagadougou - Bobo Dioullassi: 361 km @ 29K CFA = 14.4 lt (8.0K CFA) per 100km
• Bobo – Bamako: 646 km @ 41.5K CFA = 12.6 lt (6.6K CFA) per 100 km

The 14.4 comes from our partial use of the AC, in conjunction with straight 120 kmph between Ouaga and Bobo. This indicates at least a 1.8 lt/100km impact, which is about a 14% degradation in performance, so it is about as expensive as we always thought. Diesel averaged 500 CFA/lt in Mali, and 600 CFA/lt in Burkina. This was a 6 cylinder 1.8 lt truck, so you can imagine that this would be even more painful with a V8 Landcruiser (maybe 15 lt/100 km).

We left Bobo at a leisurely pace in the morning, paid a 2K CFA fine at the border due to the expired papers, and continued on to reach Bamako at 4PM. After dropping off Modibo's gear at his place in the northwest of the city, we washed the car to help the stink and hope to make a favorable impression on Keita, the owner.

We were preparing for conflict, given that we were returning the truck 2 days early (there just isn't anything left to see!), and thus were hoping to save 90K CFA in addition to the 16K we should be reimbursed for bribes due to his bogus paperwork. At a rental agency, this is standard customer service, but we knew that we would be presenting Mahamadou Keita (the guy who rented to us) with significantly less revenue than expected. We didn't anticipate the intensity of the fight ensued.

Keita wouldn't hear anything of it, telling us to take the car and drive it around for 2 more days, despite our veiled threats (what if something happens to the car? No really, let's say something happens to it, then you'll feel stupid right?). Tempers started to flare with neither of us gaining any ground.

• Against us: the hand written contract promising the 435K CFA remaining - we had negotiated on a per day basis, but totaled it at 13 days to make sure he understood and would accept far less than half up front.
• Against him: the decent, logical, and precedented concept that renters pay the agreed amount by the day, regardless of the exact number of days.

We finally offered to pay the chauffeur for 2 extra days, while he asked for only one of the 2 days. Still not good enough, we offered 15K extra and paid it.

Then, in what would prove a terrible decision, Guillaume followed my lead and walked out, expecting Keita to suck it up and leave us be. Plus I had secretly nicked the contract with the copy of Guillaumes passport, which he tore up as we walked away. Instead, Keita emerged a minute later, screaming that he needed the paper, and that he was calling the police.

We talked to the commissioner to call his bluff, and the guy sounded reasonable, but suggested we come into the station to solve this. Keita was infuriated (the shredded contract didn't help), yelling that we thought we were dealing with savages. We got in the car to go to the police. I apologized for the walk out, and he immediately called off the trip, eager to cancel his bluff and demonstrating the extent to which this was a matter of personal pride more than business.

He dropped us off at our hotel (no doubt to continue the battle, claiming that it was supposed to be 14 days so we had shorted him two. Guillaume eventually got it through that there are 24 hours in a day, and he finally gave up. We didn't trust him and would remain a little paranoid that he would be back for some reason or another.

In the end, we had to pay our own bribes, and we gave Modibo a 12K CFA tip, but we did wiggle out of the 90K.

GB: Not fun. I mean we have enjoyed the tough bargains here and there, and learned a lot in general, but this was just bad. Keita is essentially a nice guy, but a completely irrational businessman. As a result, the conversation leading to the walkout was among the most frustrating that I have ever had. No arguments, but in the end though, once he caved on the police threat, he became a benign opponent.

I guess the one lesson learned is that if you bring in a 3rd party to rule on a conflict, you want to make sure that your version is the first that makes it through. As I started explaining the situation on the phone to the commissioner I could hear him warming up to the poor tourist being coaxed into overpaying for 2 days of rental he does not need (story was of course conveniently sprayed with positive comments about our behavior, the car's status etc. Which in some cases may have been slightly optimistic). Keita heard him warm up too, which brought him to yank the phone from me to begin explaining his view of the situation.

So the trip comes down to this. It wasn't graceful and we aren't proud of it exactly, but we did free up 90K CFA to blow in Bamako. If that's not a noble cause, I don't know what is.

http://www.adamwibleprinceton.com/return-to-bamako-spat-with-keita/