A failed attempt to return to Dakar

Day: 40
Location: ?, Mali
Weather: hot, partly cloudy
Kilometers: 100
Hours: 16
Health: pissed
Accomodation: Sangue Bus, mat in village
Price, room: 0 CFA
Price, water: 500 CFA
Shower: no
Morale: 2
Total spend: 3K CFA

AW: We arrived at the bus station as requested at 7am, expecting the bus to leave at 8:30. It did! 25K CFA each in a massive "aircon" bus - what could go wrong? We planned to arrive in Dakar a full day before our flight anyway.

The AC turned out to be more myth than reality; a way to describe the frame of the bus more than anything. We did get lucky with the seats though - it wasn't totally full so we had 2 each. Despite a few hang ups and one 45 minute stop, we were moving and happy until the bus ground to a halt at 10:30 AM.

While the pump caused the bus to stop the passengers couldn't help but notice the oil dripping out of the gearbox - it was spattered all over the left side of the bus. The driver says it isn't a big deal, we will just refill it later. He tried to start it one last time, and the radiator exploded and then the battery died (both of them). The mechanic eventually arrived and swapped out the spark plugs and fuel pump. Gasoline was spurting everywhere while they worked out the kinks, yet he continued to chain smoke. We told them it was insane to be lighting matches and smoking while dripping in gasoline, but did not manage to influence behavior.

The complete inability to control or influence anything is now a familiar feeling, but it never gets easier.

The mechanic was pretty efficient in fixing his piece, but he did exhibit a classic single minded, blinkered approach. He didn't look at the oil or the radiator. We had specifically discussed concerns about the border crossing and he told us he would be escorting the bus all the way just in case. As soon as we were moving he was gone.

15 minutes after that the bus was broken down once again with oil pouring out of somewhere new. The driver explained that he had sent his helper back to Bamako and he would return with a new bus because this one was shot. He would be back tonight and we would do the 350 km to the border at night to make up lost time.

By 11 PM we were pretty sure he wasn't coming back that night, so expected him in the morning. By the morning the whole situation sounded rotten after the company hung up on a call after we inquired after the new bus and then the answering machines were on. We made the choice to bail.

With ground options rapidly evaporating, we decided to head towards Bamako in a minibus, and would flag the new bus if we encountered it on the way. We didn't. When we got to Bamako they hadn't sent a bus, nor had they sent a mechanic until mid-morning. They took so long to find 50K CFA for our refund as we fumed outside that the last viable bus option left without us. I guess we will be flying.

The following is a summary of the timetable for a fairly typical west African mechanical problem:
08:30 departure
08:45 stop
08:55 leave again
09:50 stop
10:30 start
10:50 stop - engine problem
15:30 mechanic arrives in Mercedes
18:50 bus starts, mechanic drives off
19:07 bus breaks down with massive oil leak
06:30 wake up and harass driver
07:20 jump ship and head back to Bamako
08:30 2nd car with mechanic leaves Bamako to meet bus
09:25 we changed minibus for Sept place
09:45 we arrive Bamako
09:50 reach bus company office, ask for refund, boss is called
10:15 last chance bus with another company leaves while we wait for boss to get cash back
10:45 we extracted our refund

We will take an Air Burkina a flight for 102.5K CFA each out of necessity to reach Dakar in time for our flight to Paris.

We have no idea what happened to all the other people in our bus - good luck to them. Aside from physically threatening driver (satisfying, but not helpful), none of the passengers (ourselves included) could come up with any viable plan to put pressure on the bus company to deliver some form of customer service.

http://www.adamwibleprinceton.com/a-failed-attempt-to-return-to-dakar/