I made it

After a wonderful flight from Dakar to Bamako (capital of Mali) to Ouagadougou, I had an equally wonderful surprise waiting for me: my passport was promptly confiscated by customs. At first, it was confiscated because I didn't have enough money to pay the visa (I was told it was $20. It was $188). Fair enough. But when I returned ten minutes later with lots o' cash, I was told that they had run out of receipts. Meaning that I still could not have my passport, even though I had just forked over enough money for approximately one million bananas. I seriously, seriously hope that my passport does not get lost or stolen, as they placed it in a pile of several dozen other passports in an unlocked cabinet.

So, I may not be able to leave this country come Sunday, but at least I can drive safely while I am here--because Ouagadougou has traffic lights! Real ones! With reds and greens (and maybe yellows I didn't see)! Dakar does not have traffic lights. Dakar does not have yield signs. Dakar's traffic does not run on gasoline. It runs on testosterone.

I also had a lovely dinner companion tonight. I didn't expect him to join, and in fact I was quite frightened to see him there at first, but he was quiet and polite and let me read my book.

It was actually very nice that he was there to protect me, as I may have accidentally agreed to marry my waiter.