The cars approached the city from the north, from a bit of a height and you can already see the extent of the place from there. It has developed on both banks of the river, and is connected by two bridges, the said 'new' bridge and the Martyr's bridge. Traffic is hectic, there seem to be cars and motorbikes just about from all sides.
With the help of the GPS they started looking for this one place, Le Cactus, which is said to be a bit out of town but on the river. They had to ask the SA Embassy to kindly look up the phone number for them and then they followed the directions given by the owner. They got there but concluded it would not do for their purposes, and got onto the road to the Sleeping Camel.
They had a phone number for this establishment and eventually parked at a petrol station and a person from the place came to guide them. They booked a room while the others parked and settled to sleep in the cars. It was late afternoon, warm and humid. The managers of the place, two Brits who seem to have some experience living and traveling in Africa, are rather clued up on what is going on in the country and also about visas for the other countries around.
The Sleeping Camel is your average 'auberge' which you find in this neck of the woods: bit of camping, bit hotel, bar and restaurant and all manner of tourist arrangements. At least this place is better maintained than a few others they have had to stop at: there were seats on the toilets, the amenities were of a certain age but working. It is opposite the Egyptian embassy and next to the German one. There is some traffic noise but in general the place is quiet.
That evening, since the others went out to draw money and had chips on the way, Coen thought he's try local cuisine at the auberge. They had Haga Haga, an excellent sauce with pieces of meat in it. This kitchen also serves Toukassou (meat with dumplings), Poulet Yassa, Zoum Zoum and poulet sauce arachide (tiga degge).
Visas were a priority now. Obtain as many as possible and then move on. Hence, the men had all of them fill the visa forms for Burkina Faso and from there Coen said they would go to the South African Embassy for a courtesy call and see what help they could get from there. After the men departed on their errands, the girls hit the road for the market.
That was an experience. The sun had gone behind some clouds and walking was possible. First they had to tackle the traffic to cross the main road so they could be on the footpath of the bridge. It was quite a laborious affair to cross roads here; there are hundreds of motorbikes swarming through in the one direction or the other. But, when they see you hesitate on the side of the road, one of them would stop and let you cross and for the cars, it is a question of asking. And they would do so almost smilingly.
And they walked and walked. They reached a very 'market' area and very crowded too. They were looking for the craft market which was in the middle of the general market and the great mosque. They found the place when it was raining earnestly. There was all manner of typical craft from this region, some fascinating, some less. Then they looked at jewelry and bargained a bit but did not find their joy.
On the way they stopped to take shelter from the rain and it was at a spice stall but the old man there spoke no French. Despite that they did manage to get a kilo of hibiscus flowers to make tea. Further on, they talked to another spice stall vendor and learned about baobab powder, onion flakes, fermented onion mash etc, all wild and wonderful ingredients which they use in their cuisine.
One guy mentioned that he could show them 'karité' (shea butter) that Mariana has been talking about since Dakar. So they followed him to his shop. He had the refined quality made by the women's co-op but the ladies were looking for the raw stuff. So they walked further, through muddy and rather filthy roads and paths to a depot where they bought a kilo of that.
Then they looked at fabrics, and bogolan (fabric traditionally made by hand and originally dyed with earth). They were taken through the one market into the other and then back and through little lanes and between shops to what the locals call La Caverne d'Ali Baba. This is a place that sells much of the traditional art of this country. It was interesting to hear the stories they have about their products.
And they walked back. It was warmer, the traffic was slightly less hectic and they made it the whole way, on foot. They walked a bit further to a patisserie where they downed a bottle of water and bought chwarmas for a late lunch. The men were back from the one visa run, had some advice from the SA embassy consular assistant and were on their way to do another visa run. They seem to have been successful with their day.
That evening some people from the SA embassy were visiting them at the Auberge and were bringing other people to talk to them about their visits further. This was a jolly evening. Elismé and Mariana made snacks and the men looked after the drinks. The people came with their kids. They know the place and often come here to let the kids loose and have a relaxing time. There was a lot of exchange of information while the kids had a run around. The people were very friendly and knowledgeable.
Since she did not have 4 similar photos, she opted to go with Coen on the morning visa run. There she managed to see the 'new' bridge and that part of the city where the administrative complex is. She did her photos at a small shack not far from the SA embassy, then headed to the embassy of Ghana. The consular person there was helpful and understanding. The appointed taxi then took them back via Toyota agent and a pharmacy.
Coen had to go with Hans to the bank to sort out of ATM issues. Here and in many towns in the region, the atm's (when you can find them) only work with Visa cards and that only those that have a 4 digit pin code. It was getting very difficult to get money. They were told that in town there are bigger banks and they would have more luck there. But still Hans and Stephanus had problems.
Early afternoon was for another visa run, some resting and blogging. She, by then, had a full blown reaction from too much sun on her forearms and neck. It was nasty, itchy when hot and sweaty. She was taking a mild antihistamine that did not have any effect whatsoever. By the evening the arms were swollen and she had problems sleeping.
In the morning, when Coen went out with Stephanus to do some checking on the vehicles, she went with and popped into a pharmacy nearby to enquire about all these itches and scratches. She came out of there with antihistamine cream and tablets etc. Let us pray that these work because they are heading for more sun, desert and wetlands too.
That evening they had the meat with dumplings. It was tasty and interesting. One would assume that these people with their desert would have rather simple dishes. It is not so, for centuries caravans have been passing the place to and from the middle east and have brought with them spices from there. These together with what they have locally make up Mali cuisine. In her kitchen the cook of the auberge showed a few of her ingredients and explained how to prepare some of the food. A real eye opener. The spices for the sauce wtih dumplings has cloves in it and pounded toureg 'arachide'. This is not the usual ground nut but something that looks like it but very little is used in the dish.
They finished whatever packing they had to do that evening and sorted out the car in order to start off the next morning after breakfast.
With the help of the GPS they started looking for this one place, Le Cactus, which is said to be a bit out of town but on the river. They had to ask the SA Embassy to kindly look up the phone number for them and then they followed the directions given by the owner. They got there but concluded it would not do for their purposes, and got onto the road to the Sleeping Camel.
They had a phone number for this establishment and eventually parked at a petrol station and a person from the place came to guide them. They booked a room while the others parked and settled to sleep in the cars. It was late afternoon, warm and humid. The managers of the place, two Brits who seem to have some experience living and traveling in Africa, are rather clued up on what is going on in the country and also about visas for the other countries around.
The Sleeping Camel is your average 'auberge' which you find in this neck of the woods: bit of camping, bit hotel, bar and restaurant and all manner of tourist arrangements. At least this place is better maintained than a few others they have had to stop at: there were seats on the toilets, the amenities were of a certain age but working. It is opposite the Egyptian embassy and next to the German one. There is some traffic noise but in general the place is quiet.
That evening, since the others went out to draw money and had chips on the way, Coen thought he's try local cuisine at the auberge. They had Haga Haga, an excellent sauce with pieces of meat in it. This kitchen also serves Toukassou (meat with dumplings), Poulet Yassa, Zoum Zoum and poulet sauce arachide (tiga degge).
Visas were a priority now. Obtain as many as possible and then move on. Hence, the men had all of them fill the visa forms for Burkina Faso and from there Coen said they would go to the South African Embassy for a courtesy call and see what help they could get from there. After the men departed on their errands, the girls hit the road for the market.
That was an experience. The sun had gone behind some clouds and walking was possible. First they had to tackle the traffic to cross the main road so they could be on the footpath of the bridge. It was quite a laborious affair to cross roads here; there are hundreds of motorbikes swarming through in the one direction or the other. But, when they see you hesitate on the side of the road, one of them would stop and let you cross and for the cars, it is a question of asking. And they would do so almost smilingly.And they walked and walked. They reached a very 'market' area and very crowded too. They were looking for the craft market which was in the middle of the general market and the great mosque. They found the place when it was raining earnestly. There was all manner of typical craft from this region, some fascinating, some less. Then they looked at jewelry and bargained a bit but did not find their joy.
On the way they stopped to take shelter from the rain and it was at a spice stall but the old man there spoke no French. Despite that they did manage to get a kilo of hibiscus flowers to make tea. Further on, they talked to another spice stall vendor and learned about baobab powder, onion flakes, fermented onion mash etc, all wild and wonderful ingredients which they use in their cuisine.
One guy mentioned that he could show them 'karité' (shea butter) that Mariana has been talking about since Dakar. So they followed him to his shop. He had the refined quality made by the women's co-op but the ladies were looking for the raw stuff. So they walked further, through muddy and rather filthy roads and paths to a depot where they bought a kilo of that.
Then they looked at fabrics, and bogolan (fabric traditionally made by hand and originally dyed with earth). They were taken through the one market into the other and then back and through little lanes and between shops to what the locals call La Caverne d'Ali Baba. This is a place that sells much of the traditional art of this country. It was interesting to hear the stories they have about their products.
And they walked back. It was warmer, the traffic was slightly less hectic and they made it the whole way, on foot. They walked a bit further to a patisserie where they downed a bottle of water and bought chwarmas for a late lunch. The men were back from the one visa run, had some advice from the SA embassy consular assistant and were on their way to do another visa run. They seem to have been successful with their day.
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| Libya Hotels!!! |
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| Cité Ministerielle |
Coen had to go with Hans to the bank to sort out of ATM issues. Here and in many towns in the region, the atm's (when you can find them) only work with Visa cards and that only those that have a 4 digit pin code. It was getting very difficult to get money. They were told that in town there are bigger banks and they would have more luck there. But still Hans and Stephanus had problems.
Early afternoon was for another visa run, some resting and blogging. She, by then, had a full blown reaction from too much sun on her forearms and neck. It was nasty, itchy when hot and sweaty. She was taking a mild antihistamine that did not have any effect whatsoever. By the evening the arms were swollen and she had problems sleeping.
In the morning, when Coen went out with Stephanus to do some checking on the vehicles, she went with and popped into a pharmacy nearby to enquire about all these itches and scratches. She came out of there with antihistamine cream and tablets etc. Let us pray that these work because they are heading for more sun, desert and wetlands too.That evening they had the meat with dumplings. It was tasty and interesting. One would assume that these people with their desert would have rather simple dishes. It is not so, for centuries caravans have been passing the place to and from the middle east and have brought with them spices from there. These together with what they have locally make up Mali cuisine. In her kitchen the cook of the auberge showed a few of her ingredients and explained how to prepare some of the food. A real eye opener. The spices for the sauce wtih dumplings has cloves in it and pounded toureg 'arachide'. This is not the usual ground nut but something that looks like it but very little is used in the dish.
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| Monument on a roundabout |
They finished whatever packing they had to do that evening and sorted out the car in order to start off the next morning after breakfast.
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