Arcab -is a very useful Arabic word that despite its nautical connotations is very useful in landlocked Chad. It means ‘get on board’ and can be used for all types of transport.
Boats- the pirogues, dug out canoes, that criss cross the river on the way to Cameroon ferrying people, motorbikes and the odd goat.- Arcab?
Camels- this one was grazing on the land outside the hospital yesterday. They are here for the dry season, but will all leave before the rains. Today we saw two men, heads and faces swathed with cloth against the dust, heading north to the desert. Each was riding one camel and leading another laden with sacks of millet.Arcab?
Donkeys- these seem to like it here and look very healthy, reminds us of the beach at Skegness when the tide has gone out. One lives nearby and brays all the time. I had rather expected to be awoken by the call to prayer from the mosque,no doubt that will come. For the moment it is the cockerel and the especially the donkey. Arcab?
Everything else on the road. Yellow taxi, minibus, UN landcruiser , or motorbike. But not either ‘Klando’ that is motorbike taxi or ‘Racksha’, motorcycle rickshaw. These have been banned in N’djamena by Presidential decree, to ease the congestion on the roads. ( so that’s 2 words of Arabic that we shouldn’t have bothered learning) Despite that motorbikes, presumably not for hire, are still plentiful and pass on the inside all the time which is especially hazardous at roundabouts. Often there are two people, often a 3rd, a child strapped on the mothers back, sometimes a horned sheep! Arcab?
Enjoy your ride,
Love Mark and Andrea
I like your new mode of transport, what is it's top speed. :-). Good to hear you are all OK and doing well. Wish I could swap some of our cold wet weather for some of your sun.
ReplyDeleteDavid, Val, Sammy & Caitlin