My train was to leave at 5:15 pm and the hotel clerk said I could hang around until then, s I had a lot of time for my last tour of the modern paradise of Abidjan. I’ve made a pact with myself to try as many unfamiliar foods as I can, so I went to the market at lunch time—a chaotic place at its most chaotic time—and had a sandwich of some green mush I’ve been looking at for days. Went looking for the American Cultural Center bookstore, but it had moved since my map had been made, so I settled for a Daphne de Maurier mystery from another store. By early afternoon, it had rained three times, once violently like last night.I found myself pigging out a lot again today. I find that the women vendors are almost always honest, while the men, boys and girls will try to get whatever they can. For example, I thought that a big banana cost 25 CFA (11¢), so I took one from a woman and gave her 30 CFA. Instead of 5 CFA change, she gave me two more bananas. This is one fruit they don’t lack around here—fresh, fried or broiled and very cheap.
I’d heard that I should be at the station two hours early, but I was surprised to see the gates already open and a few people on the train. Fearing a pile-up like on the last trip, I took a seat right away and waited there for two hours n the heat, before we pulled out. It was not as crowded as last week— only two people per seat— and more fun because of lots of young women with babies, though one baby was a real screamer. It got dark soon, but I kept the light on and read as long as I could. After a while, some people got off and I had the seat to myself.
Unfortunately, the guy across from me must have had some kind of business scheme, because in addition to the four big suitcases he came with, he bought about 200 bananas at one stop and crammed them into every possible nook. Then he bought three big bags of cola nuts— enough to keep you awake for a year. Slept off and on, uncomfortably.
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