Amadu and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

DISCLAIMER: This blog states only the opinions of a Peace Corps volunteer and in no way states the opinions of the Peace Corps Organization or the US gov.

Well, I’m still in Kayes. I have no idea why I’m in a good mood considering the day I just had. I think I’m no longer surprised by anything that happens with the Malian transport system. So, I just roll with the punches.

On Thursday morning Billy and I walked down to the bus station to try and buy tickets for the afternoon bus that would take us from Kayes to Dialafara (Billy continues 80K down the same road).

The problem is that the bus starts in Bamako and of course was already full. So, we were told that we could not buy tickets. However, we could come back and see if there was any room on that bus. If not there were several buses after that, as well as mini-busses.

So, at about 2pm Billy and I got a ride to the gare routiere (bus station). We knew we would be waiting, but figured we’d be leaving at worst in a few hours.

The first bus came in, of course full to the brim. It was expected. We were told that the next one should be coming pretty soon after the first one.

In honor of PTI, one of my favorite shows, I like to play a game called over/under. Basically, you pick a number and the person has to guess if they think it will be more or less. So, at first it was 5 pm. But, that came and went so Billy then suggested sunset.

We now had tickets in hand at this point so we were cautiously optimistic. We both just read patiently hoping for a miracle.  I was reading Pete Sampras’s autobiography. It turns out that Pete Sampras really just is that vanilla.

Anyway, there we were eating dinner at sunset from a street vendor. It was a really good meal with beans, pasta, and meat. Might not sound like much, but here that’s near the top of the list here.

We both would’ve much rather be on a bus though. Finally at 8 pm the bus somehow made its way into the gare. It, however, was leaning just a bit to the left. How it was still going was nothing short of a miracle.

This however, ruled out yet another option as they set to trying to fix the crooked bus. We still had hope though as several mini-busses were still in the bus station. Of course, the one we were supposed to take wouldn’t start.

They then got behind a mini-bus and pushed to get it rolling and then managed to start the bus while it was moving. The bus kept right on going. It was empty, and left the station.

Apparently the few people left had expressed concern at taking a mini-bus that was already falling apart at night down the dirt road. So they had gotten their tickets refunded.

At this point it was about 9pm, we would have left in a Fred Flinstone vehicle. The ticket man called us over and offered us our money back.

Billy and I had opposite ways of dealing with the situation. Billy later told me that I was completely silent for over an hour. He was babbling away, thinking positive thoughts. I knew better. I had almost expected this. I had seen it coming.

Billy, told the man that we had been waiting for over 7 hours this point (not counting our morning visit) and we need to get back to our jobs and want to leave today. We were told this was not an option. We ended up having to grab a taxi back to our stage house in Kayes.

How, or why I remained calm, I have no idea. But, when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. The next bus isn’t until Monday. So, I get a couple more days here in Kayes. We also went to reggae concert on Saturday. And for you guys I can post some more pictures. These are from Dialafara. Our dugutigi (chief of the village) died, and 40 days after that day, his family holds a ceremony/party that the entire town goes to. Hopefully I can make it back to that town again sometime soon.

So, while you guys may not think much of Greyhound or Amtrak, my advice to you is to take advantage of those amazing companies.

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