Libreville, Gabon - My father taught me that I should never put all my money in one pocket when I’m shopping in an area where I can negotiate the price. The trick, he said, is to put it in all your pockets but, importantly, know how much is where so that you don’t accidentally take out all of it after successfully negotiating a lower figure.
I made a rookie mistake in Libreville at a craft market where I was looking for a souvenir to bring back home. I had all my notes in the backpack I was carrying. But Sandile Luthuli from SuperSport, quickly put me in my place and told me that I shouldn’t pay the first price they ask.
I found this beautiful wine holder, carved in the image of a woman.
The initial price was CFA 25 000 (around R555). I, through Jonty Mark from The Citizen, who had the task of relaying my message in French, was prepared to pay that price, until Sandile told me to play hard-ball and negotiate a lower price.
I said I’ll pay CFA 10 000, he said CFA 20 000. It went back and forth until poor Jonty was tired. I pretended to leave. The salesperson ran after me with it and the price went down to CAF 17 000 (R377). I now had to sift through my notes to make sure I don’t take out more than I said I had.
I left that place happy that I got it down that much. Sandile looked at me as if I was a rookie... he would have gotten it down to CFA 10 000. I sighed and consoled myself that you win some, and lose some.
“Come, I’ll give you a good price,” are the words that greet you as you enter that market in Libreville’s city centre. It has a cool air-conditioner that tries to keep the heat at bay.
But I am used to it by now. I no longer shed buckets of sweat. What has been making me sweat is their crushed chilli pepper that’s super-hot, though.
As a Durbanite, I like my food spicy and hot. But at times it’s disappointing if you aren’t home and you want something that’s extra hot and they give you mild, because that’s their version of extra hot.
Here, extra hot is extra extra hot. It kicks the back of your throat to announce its arrival and makes you sweat. You sweat because of how potent it is.
Home comforts are important when you are away. I saw that from our pilot on the flight to Port-Gentil yesterday morning. After he heard that there was a group of South Africans aboard, he sneaked in a few words in Afrikaans. He probably doesn’t get to use his language that often in these parts.
Using his language reminded him of home. The chilli pepper did that for me. I was at home and for the better part of this week I have been getting my fix.
The giants in this Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) need a fix too. They haven’t brought the heat like they were expected to, with plucky underdogs fighting for dear life.
The picture of a member of the Guinea-Bissau technical team crying as he heard his country’s anthem being sung touched me. It was a moving moment that explains what it means for the small country to be in their first Afcon.