He asked again the man

He didn’t speak English. Tony asked him in Kuri. The man sighed, looked to his compatriot in the back compartment for guidance. Apparently the man did not speak Kuri either. This was odd, since they had traveled to the capital and most Sankarese who had business in the capital were schooled or savvy enough to know English, Kuri, best vacuum cleaner reviews or both.

The man’s compatriot looked at Tony and said in pidgin English, Dem all for house. Kufyoo dey dey. Kufyoo? Tony asked, Do you mean there is a curfew? Yeah, vacuum cleaner reviews he nodded, Dem a gummint soliyah catch you dark, best vacuum cleaner reviews dem a go shoot ahm. Tony looked at Ciaran, who looked back inquisitively but said nothing. Did you know this? Tony asked him.

I had no idea there was a curfew. My batteries died on my shortwave about two months ago and I never could find any smaller than a D to replace them. Ciaran said. It was a long ride down from the north with no word, he went on, I guess you just kind of lose track… he let his train of thought trail off. Tony looked back to the northerner.

Where are we going now? he asked. Sankara Circle, he replied. All get down Sankara, he said and made the gesture for circle by pointing down with his index finger and spinning it. Tony and Ronny huddled together to discuss what to do. Apparently there was an after-dark curfew in the capital that could cause you to be shot by the dictator’s soldiers.

They were to be let out at Sankara Circle, vacuum cleaner reviews where they would normally change from one lot to the next and seek alternate transport to the Peace Corps office. Tonight it was unlikely that there would be any local transport out on the roads. The options they came up with were to find somewhere outside to hunker down for the night or to walk along the road to the office and beseech the security guards to let them in. They discussed the possibility of being recognized as foreigners in the dark. Though they had not yet reached Sankara Circle the sun had fallen below the horizon and full dark was not far off.

Their imaginations ran away with them and an infinite number of scenarios played out in their minds. They were still huddled together but were now dully silent when they wheeled around the final corner and came upon Sankara Circle. There was a large crowd that could barely be made out in the dancing light from a bonfire lit at the feet of the statue of Captain Thomas Sankara in the center of the rotary. They were surprised to see anyone out at all, vacuum cleaner reviews never mind a crowd. The noise of the chanting and shouting were such a stark contrast to the eerie silence of the ghost city that they were again taken aback.

The man at first

The fences were empty and no preachers belted their admonitions at passersby. For the first time ever, they cruised through Little Circle and sped on to Sankara Circle without so much as a single vehicle for traffic. Sankara’s capital city had started out as a large Kuri town, with most of the buildings clustered near the coast for fishing. Prior to the vacuum cleaner reviews arrival of Europeans there were no sailing vessels that were powered by wind, and the local dugouts did not draft enough to require deep harbors. It was only by chance that a deep harbor was present here.

When the Europeans came and established a presence, best vacuum cleaner reviews the location became the logical place to establish a European township because of the deepwater harbor. The Portuguese built the first castle right on the coast to load gold and slaves into their ships and then the Dutch raided here and took it over. The Dutch then moved most of the administrative buildings further inland to escape the cannons of the other European powers, and they stretched the vacuum cleaner reviews reach of the pacified area out in a circle. This established new village centers around the main center in a hub and spoke fashion. When the British took over Sankara lock, stock, and barrel they put a defensive berm and wall around the entire settlement to protect from the incessant tribal attacks.

This set the boundaries of what became the center of the modern city. Each of the centers became roundabouts, which the locals referred to as circles, and the original administrative center became the major, best vacuum cleaner reviews central roundabout which was referred to as Sankara Circle. In the modern era there were no real traffic laws, and getting from point A to point B in the city was no small endeavor. The fact that they were vacuum cleaner reviews able to get through Little Circle without seeing another vehicle was eerie, and the eeriness was not lost on Tony and Ciaran. They were in a Hiace tro-tro that left Sal-Rabas full with market women, laborers, and schoolboys returning from holiday.

As with any transport creeping across the West African map it stopped where it was bidden to stop, and many of the small towns and villages along the road from Sal-Rabas to the capital siphoned off one or two of the passengers. They were left now with the driver, the driver’s mate, and two muscular, mean looking men. The van sped on toward the lorry park at Sankara Circle with no comment from anyone in the vehicle. Tony shifted down the bench seat until he was across from one of the men and looked in his face. Where is everybody? he asked.