Opposite the hotel in Bobo was a bike repair shop so first thing I wandered across to ask about them helping do an oil change (they do the mucky bits of a service) we agreed a price and layer I came across with the bike. While he did the oil, I checked the plug, cleaned the air filter etc. Half hour later the bike was serviced.
I then headed East to the border with Mali, or so I thought. .. I was actually heading South East toward Ivory Coast. I realised my mistake about 60km later when I noticed the compass needle. Luckily there was a 40km dirt track heading North East from my position that joined the road I should have been on. It was actually a nice detour through rural farm villages and Mango trees.
Back on track I soon reached the Mali border. The paperwork for these things is relatively simple and the books they fill out have hundreds of completed pages. In fact there are often hundreds of these completed books piled up behind them in the office (unread?). So why does it take them 5 minutes looking at papers looming at the book, looking at the papers again, looking at the books again, before filling out the next column. And there are many columns to complete 😯
Another thing I never understand is there are long queues of local people, buses and trucks. Nobody seems to be doing anything and I can never see what they are queuing for.
I usually find the first person in a uniform or official looking office and ask where to go.