border crossing the easy way

When I was in Niamey, I ran out of time to write some of my experiences, so I will attempt to catch up. The connection speed is really slow right now so I will try and come back later to upload some photos.

As I was nearing the Niger border, I suddenly got very nervous. I have never crossed a border on a bike before, and had no ideas what documents they might ask me for. I had thought ahead a little and made up a bill of sale before I left Ouagadougou, but who knows what kind of trouble they could give me if "they" decide to be ornery. "They" is the police or the army on each side of the border. Four check-points and any one of them could be having a "bad day".

Of course, I shouldn't have worried, at all 4 stops, they asked to see my passport, asked me lots of questions not related to border crossing (like what do I eat when I ride?) and then laughingly send me on my way with huge smiles, waves, and shouts of "Good Luck" or "You're Crazy!".

What I should have worried about was the distance between the posts. The police check on the Burkina side was 41km from the police check on the Niger side! Wow. That is a lot of no-man's land. And it really was no-man's land. No villages, no people, nothing, just a straight, hot road. Fortunately I had filled up my water just before going across and made it through that long lonely stretch with no problems.

About half way in between, the road suddenly turned into gorgeously smooth Tarmac. The road in Burkina was very good, and I was very happy with it, but it was a chipped road-surface. The Niger road was a smooth Asphalt that felt really downright cushy! I excaimed loudly (to myself) "Sweet Mother of Tarmac!" I thought I was floating on the moon.

20km later I came across the Niger police post. I had almost forgotten that I needed to check in. We joked around for a few minutes and they gave me a Niger name "Seydou" (pronounced say-doo). Then, I was off again, speeding zipping along the blacktop towards the next town where I could replenish my water. Soooooo easy. What was I worried about. We'll see what happens at the next border that I will need to cross (Nigeria) when I get there in about 10 days!