Funny stories

1. PRESSED IN THE TAXI DE BROUSSE

2. AIR MALI ROCKS!

3. FREAKING OUT IN MBOUR

PRESSED IN THE TAXI DE BROUSSE

In the way from Dakar to Tambacounda I decided to travel by taxi de brousse, I mean a pegeout 505 where 8 or, even, 9 people are " comfortably" sat in. Inside the car is just the frame, nothing softer than a steel bench to lean your butt. No more than two slim people can sit in each row, unbeliveble, but they manage to press  3 fat people. Of course there was no room for the legs, and I had to crouch till my jaw leant over my knees. What about the temperature? uhm....consider 8 sweating people in a small car without ventilation with an ambient temperature of about 40-45 degrees.....I would say pretty warm and stinking :-)) But the top of the top was when the woman in the front row began to eat some strange fruits, a kind of dirty apricots and thinking to throw the licked skin outside the window, was throwing them in the face of my girlfriend. After 8 hours travelling in such conditions I got in Tambacounda, it has been tough but funny!

AIR MALI ROCKS!

Leaving back from Bamako (Mali) to Dakar (Senegal) I decided to fly to skipp the endless, tiring, shocking travel by land I had in the opposite way. First of all which is the air company who runs this service? AIR MALI....uhm...should I trust? no choise I've to. One entire morning to buy the tickets and then ready for flying. The plane was an old airbus, not that bad, I've travelled on worse stuffs. After one hour during  the descend to Dakar, suddenly, maybe for a loss of pression in the cabin, the oxigens masks fell down and it was panic! I wore my mask and started breathing into, but it didn't work, the shitty plastic ballon in front of it didn't inflate. Everybody seemed not really aware of it and went on breathing in it. The most thrown into confusion was the stuart who was frozen by the panic and was trying to breath into a passenger mask, instead of taking his oxigen cylinder and help children. After one minutes I realised it was possible breathing without mask and then.....I started   getting pictures of the funny scene, don't miss them in the photos section. In ten minutes the plane landed at Dakar airport and the crew announced it had been an exercise!

FREAKING OUT IN MBOUR

I went to Pompič (la gare routič in Dakar) to find something to get in Joul-Fadiut. When my taxi entered the gare, as usual, lot of people start running back shouting.... I asked about a taxi de brousse to get in Joul and they said me that there were no taxi de brousse heading in such way and I had to take a minibus. A guy took me to it and said me it'd have been left shortly. Obviously I didn't trust him so I asked to the owner insisting about confirming the schedule. He confirmed me the minibus would have left immediately to Joul; I paid and I sat inside waiting. Ok I was happy, I was in the shittiest place in the world without having problems! I had been waiting  refusing continuosly the stuffs people tried to sell me, one hour, two hours...and after more then two hours I was still in that stinking "steel box" waiting like a dumb and sweating like a fountain. I get angry to the owner but he didn't mind about my complainings. It was hot and stinking and I was feeling swindled. Besides while sitting I realised I paid more than the double of the normal fare. At the end the "steel box" left slowly and while exiting Pompie' I saw there was a taxi de brousse under the destination sign where it was written "Joul"....shit...a triple cheating!!!!!!!!! "Ok, but at least I'm on the  way", I thought. After some   hours driving, the "steel box" arrived in Mbour (30 Km from Joul) and they pushed my luggages down. It was the end of the minibus trip!...WHAT !?!?!? I paid the double to take a mean of transport worse than the taxi, waiting hours and arriving in the wrong place!?!?  Many people were around us asking for some money for the other minibus to Joul. Me and my girlfriend were getting really nervous and started yelling.   My girlfriend freaked out throwing her bag against a car and shouting as   crazy. I was afraid the situation could turn in a riot, but a guy came (I think the owner of the first minibus) and gave us the money to prosecute our trip to Joul on the minibus that left immediately. At the end I arrived there but, my god, that effort!!!!