As a result of the national fuel-truck diver strike, which created a nationwide fuel shortage, we were very low on fuel. Luckily, we still had almost a half-tank of diesel from Western Sahara in the jerrycans on the roof, which we emptied into the Crusier before heading out of the park. Though we will probably return soon to Senegal, we headed down a dirt road towards the Guinea Bissau border, occasionally passed by teams in the racing class (who do not appear to always know where they are going), as the rally hits its home stretch.
Nate and Lee hand out more school supplies in a village on the side of the road, as we drove to the Guinea Bissau border.
When we arrived on the Senegalese side of the remote border crossing, there was a guy in a camouflage uniform madly chasing kids away from rally teams with a small tree branch, sometimes swatting them, but often missing. This seemed to amuse the kids, who enjoyed being daring and mischievous. Once we got to the Guinea Bissau side, it had gotten dark and the border post lacked any type of lighting, even a flashlight. A rally team from South Africa gave one of the immigration officials a headlamp just so he could continue to see what he was doing. Our visas (which were on slips of paper, separate from our passports) weren’t even asked for, instead, they simply stamped our passports and sent us on our way. The process was surprisingly quick and no one asked for a petit cadeau(other than a guy outside of the border post who had amassed quite a collection of gifts, but appeared to have no official position at the border).
A girl quietly listens, as the rhythm sweeps over the crowd.
As night fell, we drove along a dirt road with other teams in a hurry to get to the big Gabu School Party!, in the sprawling, sandy fields surrounding the school in the village of Sincem Boxe which the rally would be supporting—the village has about eight hundred children, but only thirty can attend school due to the cost of school supplies and teachers’ salaries. (Although not in Gabu, the party became known as the Gabu School Party!, since Gabu was the closest sizeable town.) The party was a chance for rally teams to donate school supplies to the school, for the village of Sincem Boxe to put on traditional drumming and dancing displays, and for everyone to have a great time. What followed was a bizarre experience.
Justin and Nate, above it all, at a late night Gabu School Party! drum session.
We arrived in Sincem Boxe well after dark, and the Gabu School Party! was already going strong. A city bus was parked in the middle of the main field, with strings of lights stretching from it to surrounding poles, casting a faint glow on only part of the area. The local people, numbering at least 500 (with the vast majority of them kids), had started impromptu drum circles, which could be heard, out in the darkness, from several parts of the main field. Few rally teams could actually communicate with the locals, since few spoke Portuguese, which most Guinea Bissauans can at least understand. Some rally teams handed out light sticks by throwing hundreds into the air, setting off a brief melee. Some of the rally teams set off fireworks, startling the villagers, many of whom may have never seen explosions in the sky before. Some of the rally teams got drunk and a bit rowdy, jumping into drum circles to dance and sing Hungarian folk songs. Local dancers joined in and competed for the drummers’ attention, and the rhythms increased in intensity. People milled about as the party went deep into the night. It was all in good spirit, though, and Sincem Boxe, and most of the foreigners present, may never see anything as pleasantly dysfunctional as the Gabu School Party! again.
A drummer pounds out the beat, late into the night.
During a break in the action, as teams started to set up camps (we were spending the night there, anywhere in the field where there was space), huge numbers of curious kids gathered around and asked for anything and everything. Many of the rally teams, soon to leave Africa, were unloading stuff anyway and obliged. Others, like a Romanian team, got a sleeping bag nicked from them while they weren’t looking. One rally team member handed out his business cards to everyone; kids would then come by the Cruiser, as we cooked our dinner, attempting to exchange these cards for stuff like our tents, flashlights, or, in particular, soccer ball.
Nate and Justin, the center of attention once again, the morning after the Gabu School Party!
Occasionally, guards would come by and chase the kids away, but the next morning when we woke up, a huge swell of them gathered around again. Nate brushing his teeth was witnessed by about 30 kids, who had circled around him to observe the momentous event. It was all a somewhat extreme version of a typical African experience of numerous, curious children gathering around to watch whatever the foreigner happens to be doing. We enjoyed interacting with these kids, who were always playful, smiling, and full of life.
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