L'hotel Sobo-Bade vol.1

I was leaving from Pompiers Bus Terminal by bush taxi. By the way, what kind of facility do you image on the word of "bus terminal"? It must have terminal buildings. And maybe big buses stop there and wait the people on board. I imaged something like that for the "bus terminal" Because in all countries which I'd ever visited, a bus terminal had been like that.

However the bus terminal in this country was not like that. I knew the fact when I checked the location of Pompier in advance. The main bus terminal of Senegal, capital city and one of the biggest city in West Africa, was something like .... like .... a grassy vacant lot.
Well certainly, the space was wide enough. But no terminal building was there. Many placards were placed here and there in the space. Each placard described each destination. And beside the placards was not beautiful mascot girl but very aggressive taxi operator. And of course, there were hundreds of bush taxies. I also found busses. However it's absolutely far from my image to a bus. They customized pick up truck and put benches on the deck and covered it with simple canopy. Now they got "bus".

I was waiting for departure in the bush taxi. Silence ... no body talked and Just waited the departure. The vendor stuck his nose in the slit of slightly opened window and offered variety of goods, orange, banana, juice in plastic bag, peanut, bread, boiled egg, watch, deck brush ... Then another boy came for begging. I remembered this country never let me alone.
Generally, a bush taxi was 7 seater. It never departed until being full. And usually it's over loaded when it departed. The taxi that I rode was not exception. It had 8 passengers. Add to that, I was on the 2nd row seat. I was pressed on the door by gigantic hip of the woman next to me. "Gosh, it's too dangerous" It could be easily happen that the door was flipped off. So I grasped grip on the side sill and supported all the weight of the woman with shaking arm. Of course it's for avoiding make me pushed out from the car with the door.

Once the taxi left from the city, it's speeding up. It's a madness of speed. (But I know it later that it's relatively safer driving in Senegal) On the long straight, the driver often tries passing. It's very hard to pass for the old car. So it took too much time. The heading car on the opposite lane is quickly reducing distance. When we are almost clashing, the bush taxi has done the passing. "Hue ... "
However the driver isn't just speeding madness. He knows the route very well. When the taxi comes to the poor tarmac area, he gets off the beaten truck. The taxi gets into the road side bush. He drives on the sandy road under the baobab trees. The driving looked like Safari Rally. The tail of the car drifts right and left widely. And the driver makes a beautiful counter steering for each tail slide. But even in the situation, the woman next to me isn't so surprised. She puts a toothpick on her mouth and fully weights on me on the corner. The old man behind me even takes a nap. Is it a normal for them? The taxi runs on the land fill, then in somebody's yard. We go through beside the tree in the play ground of elementary school and get big applauds of the pupils.
"By the way, are we going to right direction?" When I wonder it, the taxi comes out from bush on the road side to tarmac. We must be back to the main route.

"Here is the place you get off" After an hour and half drive, the driver and other passenger tell me. It sounds like transfer point to my destination, Toubab Dialao. "We are going on this main route. So get another taxi here" Huge baobab tree is there and the road is separated beside it. It looks so typical branch of the road. However ... I thought it's not so easy to find another car. Because there is no car to my direction. 11a.m. The bright sun of Africa is almost top of the sky and over exposed the scenery. I stands up blankly in the shade of the baobab tree. When I look back, I see a woman vending fruits. Our eyes meet. She grins. It makes me buying an orange.

However, what a rational country Senegal is! Shortly after, a car is passing by and pick me up. It's good timing indeed as if everything is written on the script. (Although it's not free ride.) Maybe they know the fact that they can get the customer with passing by the baobab point around 11 o'clock. But it doesn't matter to me at all whether the car passes by on purpose or accidentally. It's enough for me I find a car going for right direction.
The road condition is always poor. Basically the road is straight. However it's covered by hundreds of pit holes. So the driver swings the car right and left. He concentrated on the tarmac too much. So we are almost hitting the opposite car. I wanna drive by myself if it's possible.
The road gets into the hill top area. Some how the driver often tells me "Why not buy some house around here?" He goes on. "Italian, French ... lot of foreigner got houses here. It's cheap" Well, but house is expensive shopping compare to the orange of street vendor. (But I should had to ask for the exact price. How much was it that he meant "Cheap"? $10,000? No, it must not be.) For getting to Toubab Dialao, we pass 3 small villages. All villas was placed on the top of hill, looks comfortable and has grate ocean view. Looks not bad to live as the driver said.

On the tip of small cliff, the road is getting narrow and narrow. Finally the sandy alley is ended at a hotel. When I'm getting off, the driver asks me about my schedule from later on. I suppose he wanna pick me up for return trip too. "Tomorrow, after tomorrow or two days after tomorrow. In the morning or in the evening. I dunno" I say. I must get tired for his persistent question. But more than that, I don't like tighten up by schedule. It's my nature.