Hangover

Well, when you drink beer while reading The Economist and don't stop drinking until you stop reading, you have a lot to drink. So it should come as no surprise that the next day I nursed a hangover. I only got up to go to the bathroom which I did multiple times as I have consumed a lot of 1.5 liter bottles of water over the past few days as well.

So I didn't get a ticket to Pô as I intend. I didn't even go into the hotel common area for food or drink. I just slept and rested.

This morning I got up feeling much much better. I headed out at about 7 to get a ticket to Pô from STMB. On the way in, some guy started talking with me in French that was too fast for me to get it. He tried to help me get a ticket to Pô, but I knew what I was doing and didn't need or want his help. I got a ticket for the 7:30 Monday morning bus.

The reason I chose Pô is that there are 2 ways to get to Ghana: a bus straight to one of the big cities, or taxi hopping from Pô. And frankly, everything has been running too smoothly in Burkina Faso, so I want to do it the harder way. A ticket to Pô is CFA 3500 (US$7). Lonely Planet said that there are 5 busses per day to Pô from STMB, but in fact there are only 2--at7:30 and 16:00.

After that, I decided to upgrade my hotel for my last night. The Auberge de Mangieurs is pretty close to the Pavillon Vert but a bit nicer. So I got a room there for not much more--CFA 10000 vs. CFA 7000 (US$20 vs US$14). I get my own bathroom and shower and the beds are nicer and the rooms are bigger and better lit.

So once I was moved in, I decided to head to the Marina Market to see if they had yogurt. My stomach was uneasy from not eating anything, so I figured it would be good to start with yogurt. On the way there, though, you have to run the merchant gauntlet. And who was one of those merchants? The guy who tried to help me buy a ticket for Pô. He kept talking about taking me to the station for the bus to Pô. I told him "je déjà connais où se trouve la gare." I was annoyed that this guy was broadcasting my travel plans to everyone--like he was bragging that he helped me get a ticket to Pô. Finally as I was about to leave his territory, he asked "où vas tu?" I replied with a half annoyed/half angry "pour quoi?" And he wished me good bye. I don't get why these people always want to know where I'm going--it's frankly not their freaking business.
The Marina Market is nice. Most of the shoppers are expats. You could pretty easily be an expat in Ouagadougou with a market like this. The only thing it was missing is peanut butter. Oh well. Maybe in Ghana. I bought a Snicker's bar for CFA 800 (US$1.60), some Barbeque flavored Kracks which come in a Pringles like can and are shaped like Pingles but taste more like saddle shaped cardboard (actually they are made in China so they probably actually are cardboard since cardboard is cheaper than potatoes). I got a tub of strawberry yogurt, some little chocolate chip cookies, and 2 rounds of Laughing Cow. The total came to just under $10.
Then I headed back trying to keep the bag in my shadow so the yogurt would stay as cool as possible. When I was almost back to the hotel, a guy, Alex, stopped me and told me I had looked at his store but had promised to buy something or something like that. I'm not sure exactly. I told him I could look, but first I needed to eat. I entered the hotel and noticed something I would have to eventually deal with--a Tuareg merchant sitting on a blanket surrounded by jewelry. Oh when will it stop?!

I had my yogurt and some other stuff. After I ate that, I went out and had a Fanta and read a little of La route and The Road. While I was reading, the brother of the guy came and asked me to come out. I pointed at my cold drink and told him I had a cold drink. Like I want my drink to get warm while some merchant who isn't going to sell me anything anyway shows me all the stuff I'm not going to buy. Finally I finished and went out.

I started off by telling them "Je ne peux acheter rien." No problem--just look. So I told them "je peux regarder, mais je ne peux pas acheter rien." They tried to tell me I should something "to encourage l'artistes." They were clever. They weren't asking me to "buy" anything but rather do something to encourage the artists. LOL. I kept repeating that I can't buy anything. The Tuareg jewelry merchant was there watching. I finally told them "J'ai voyagé en Afrique depuis Juin. J'ai visité Maroc, Senegal, Gambie, Guinée-Bissau, Guinée-Conakry, Sierra Leone, Mali, et Burkina. J'ai déjà rencontré centaines et centaines des marchands. Chaque marchand me presse à acheter quelque chose. Je ne peux pas. Centaines et centaines des marchands. Je ne peux pas. Desolé." {For those who don't speak French, and those who do but think I don't, here is a translation: "I've been traveling in Africa since June. I've visited Morocco, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Mali and Burkina. I have already met hundreds and hundreds of merchants. Each merchant presses me to buy something. I can't. Hundreds and hundreds of merchants. I can't. I'm sorry. "} The guy seemed to understand. The Tuareg jewelry merchant was nodding like he understood as well. I wished the guy luck and headed back into the hotel. Then, as if he hadn't heard a thing, the Tuareg jewelry merchant invited me over to his blanket. I told him, "desolé mais j'ai rencontré centaines des Tuareg marchands de bijouterie en Mali et Maroc." I threw my hands up and refused to go look. One can only take so much.

I don't blame these guys. Most tourists come here for a couple weeks and then return home. They don't have to shlep the stuff they buy all across the entire length of West Africa. They'll stay in a few hotels in a few cities and only have a few moves. I move constantly. I'm not that short term tourist. They can't tell that my looking at me. Most of the tourists who come here can and do buy stuff. The prices are good once you figure out how to negotiate. But I simply cannot buy something from every high pressure merchant because there are just too many.

Sunday, October 12, 2008 13:08 Burkina Faso local time