I woke up with a slight headache, not sure why. Is it hangover – by I’d only had 3 small beers – or is it lack of sleep. It’s a bit too hot to sleep, there are already noises around the hotel compound and at 8:30 the power goes off and ventilator dies.
I walked out of the hotel. The first thing was to find another accommodation for the next night. I only had two addresses, one in Bradt Guide – Marhaba Hotel – a bit away, and another – The Addres – in iOverlander, where the person “checking in” didn’t record the price. One must always record the price!
The Addres hotel was just around the corner, the receptionist wasn’t there but the man who was around told me the cheapest rooms were 15000cfa. Too much. I walked back up the main street. I had a vague idea of where the hotel I tried the night before with the stranger on the motorbike was – Hotel Amitié.
I saw a coffee shop but there was no coffee because of no “current”. I saw another coffee shop and there the man also had no current – the whole town was off current – but he served coffee from thermos for half price – 50cfa. I took two cups, we chatted, I asked him about hotels and how to get to Sorobango – where the mud mosque was. Oh he’d find me a bike to Sorobango, otherwise he said the minibuses come from Sorobango in the morning and they come back from Bondoukou at night and I’d have to sleep there. Fine. Then he pointed to a big young man calling him mon petit and he said his younger brother can take me around hotels for the price of fuel (again!). Fine.
I went with Ahmed to a hotel that was quite a distance from town but it was on the way to Sorobango, right there by the road. I cannot remember its name but its rooms were 6000cfa for fan and 12000cfa and upwards for AC. I thought the hotel was a bit too far from the town so I asked Ahmed to go to Hotel Amitié. There only AC rooms were available, 10k and 12kcfa. Of course I took the one for 10k. But there was still no current. The caretaker could not understand my French and Ahmed had to translate all the time.
Ahmed was kind enough to take me back to my love hotel and with all the bags he carried me back to Hotel Amitié. I gave him 1000cfa, took his phone number for the later trip to Sorobango and he left. A few minutes later he called back and his older brother told me that yes if I wanted to go to Sorobango he’d find a transport for me.
There were motorbikes in Bondoukou but I was confused as to if they were private or taxis. The coffee shop owner said there are taxis but they don’t know what to do when they see a white man. There were also orange toyota taxi cars, taking passengers around town for 200cfa.
It was still morning and I thought I would go to the mosque in the afternoon when the light was better for photos.
I walked around trying to find food. The big maquis complex next to my hotel was not yet serving food. I walked on, looked at the bus departure hours to Abidjan, the price of the ticket was 6100Cfa. I had a ginger juice. Next to the bus station there was a stand serving toasted baguettes with omelette. I took three eggs and half baguette, 700cfa and walked on. There is a quite impressive mosque in town. I walked there trying to take a photo of it but unfortunately the trees, the surrounding buildings, the fence around the mosque didn’t allow to take a good shot.
Lunch I had in maquis next to the hotel – a rice with viande de brousse – a very tasty sauce with well cooked pieces of meat of a biche, which I understand is a forest deer, a doe. I also had a beer and all that cost 1500cfa.
Afternoon around 3pm I walked back to the coffee shop. I assumed finding transport to Sorobango will be easy, it’s 20kms away on a straight road. Oh man, how I was wrong.
The coffee shop owner – the power was back so I could enjoy a proper 100cfa espresso – called someone. The young man arrived. His first price was 30000cfa. That’s a little less than €50. !!!! I said my price – and being a motorbike passenger veteran I thought I had it well calibrated – 3000cfa. They just laughed. And we kept sitting and doing nothing. Then the young man said maybe I can pay 15000cfa. I told them than even 10000cfa is too much for me and for that price I’d be able to take a car. I mean it’s half way ride each way. And then there was the first time I heard about “permission” to go out of town and that there are police checkpoints on the way and they had to pay the police.
While I was sitting and waiting for the called up moto drivers a Chinese woman entered the shop, fully covered in red clothes complete with gloves and cap only showing her face. She was selling mobile phones, walking from shop to shop. After a lot of bargaining the shop owner bought a phone for 7000cfa, old style Nokia, the shop owner said not original. He told me the Chinese are travelling between towns and doing trade like this, that woman wasn’t alone. She did ask me where I was from, she barely spoke French, she didn’t understand either Poland or Pologne, I showed her the name on Google Translate. Then she took out her what seemed like iPhone and looked Poland on the map. “Oh it’s far!”
The coffee shop owner called up another man. The man wanted 10000cfa. And I was sitting there, the coffee shop owner assuring me he’d find someone but nothing was happening and I got frustrated and walked out trying to find transport on my own.
Few bikes even stopped for me when I waved at them. None of them had “permission” to go, the prices they were quoting were ridiculous or simply they didn’t want to go to Sorobango.
The taxi cars I saw on the streets always carried people. So I went to the bus station and tried to get a taxi there. Every time I asked the driver cannot go to Sorobango but he knows someone who can and he will call him up and the man would say no or wouldn’t answer. What’s wrong with that Sorobango?? I walked down the street from the bus station and at the corner someone stopped me, “I heard you wanted to go to Sorobango”. Yes. 5000cfa. Oh well. Fine. Does the bike have permission to go out of town? No but he will go around police checkpoints so they don’t see him. Fine. When do you want to go? Now. Where should the driver meet you?
I pointed to a bar next to which we were standing. The driver will be here in 10 minutes. Great!
I sat down, had a beer for 500cfa and half an hour later, when no moto driver showed up I left. I accepted I would not go to Sorobango. All that crazy bus drive for nothing.
I walked down to a pharmacy to stock up on gauze and plaster bandaid. They had no violet wound paint, whatever it’s called. I took the pharmacy shopping back to hotel. On my way back I think I saw a tourist. I mean a man of my posture, dressed in short sleeve, shorts and flip flops, waiting for Abidjan bus? Did he just cross from Ghana? With my frustration about the transport situation I only waved at him. But maybe he wasn’t a tourist, just a worker or a missionary, a volunteer?
In the hotel I saw the caretaker coming out on bike and I did ask him about Sorobango. No, he does not know anyone but he may ask. Since it was already too late to go the same day I told him that I’d like to go tomorrow morning early, 7am, and for 5000cfa. Fine.
I walked around, tried the impressive mosque photo from the other side, no luck. Then I saw Ahmed on his bike. Frustrated with me because I hadn’t called him to go to Sorobango. Well, but I was at his brother’s shop and I assumed they two work together so he’d call Ahmed up. No it’s not like that I should call Ahmed directly. Fine. But can we go to Sorobango for 5000cfa, early morning? Yes we can but I’d have to call him or he’d call me if he finds someone. At that point I got confused, I assumed Ahmed would drive not the “someone” but okay let it be. Ahmed pointed out to a Bondoukou landmark for me, a Samouer Touré house, essentially a mud ruin but a little picturesque and he left.
I walked back in the dark already, having stopped for espresso in yet another coffee house.
Back in the hotel, the caretaker told me he has someone who can take me to Sorobango, 5000cfa, 7am. Wow. Great!!
In my room, the current is back, the AC is working but it’s hotter than outside. The caretaker says current is not yet at its max power but if will come back.
Dinner I had in the maquis next door, outside a woman grilling chicken and fish. I somehow ask what fish it is, she says carp. Ugh. I don’t want carp! I took quarter of chicken with salad instead, 2000cfa. I took beer.
Back in the hotel the AC isn’t performing, it keeps switching off and on and when it’s on, it isn’t cooling the room. The caretaker says the current will come back. I say give me ventilator, he doesn’t have any left. Nothing works.
I take a late night beer in the maquis trying to wait till the current “comes back”. I go back to room around midnight, slowly the AC picks up its power.
Coming back to Maman 