kousseri chaos: a photographer's descent into heat madness

just stumbled into this dusty border town called kousseri after a bus ride that felt like it lasted a decade. i'm a freelance photographer, here to chase the brutal desert light that everyone raves about on instagram. spoiler: it's just hot and makes your camera overheating like it's about to die. i've been here three hours and i'm already covered in sweat and sand, and my lens is fogging up every time i switch from aircon to the oven outside.

anyway, i'm writing this from a cracked plastic chair at the only café with a semblance of Wi‑Fi. the owner, ali, says the internet works best at night when the power generator isn't straining. i just checked and it's a solid 33°C out there, but the feels‑like is 30.6 because of a faint breeze. humidity's at 7%, which means my skin feels like parchment and my throat's drier than the dirt road. i tried to wipe my sensor with a microfiber cloth and it just smeared the dust around - thanks, desert.

i'm basically here to get that golden hour shot over the lake chad basin, but the haze is weird today. i heard from a trucker who stops here that the lake is shrinking faster than ever, and the fisherman's market is a ghost of what it used to be. someone told me that the best light is actually at sunrise, not sunset, because the dust in the air diffuses the afternoon sun. i'll believe it when i see it.

the town itself is a collection of mud-brick compounds, a few concrete government buildings, and a market that sprawls like a spilled bag of rice. you haven't seen chaos until you've tried to navigate a marketplace with a camera bag and a tripod while goats wander through. i tried to set up my tripod near the mosque for a symmetry shot and a kid started pulling the legs - not sure if it was curiosity or a scam for a candy bribe. i ended up paying him 100 francs just to leave me alone. lesson learned.

if you're planning to come, bring water. i mean, duh. but seriously, i ran out by noon and had to buy a warm bottle from a street vendor for 200 francs. the thing tasted like plastic. i also learned the hard way that my laptop battery dies in this heat after about an hour. i'm now running off a dodgy power bank that i'm not sure is even working.

i'm crashing at a place called auberge sarkin yamma - the chief's lodge - because it was the only thing listed on the little tourism board website (which looks like it hasn't been updated since 2009). the room has a mosquito net (redundant, there are no mosquitos, but it catches dust), a standing fan that sounds like a tractor, and a bathroom that's basically a bucket in a cement room. the price? 8,000 cfa a night. not bad, but the booking code they gave me is 2427123 - i'm still not sure what that's for, maybe an IRS thing? i'm scared to ask.

as for connectivity, my sim card from next works in patches. i've been using it to check the weather: the forecast says this heatwave will stick around for days. the heat index is a joke; 33°C feels like 45 once you're in direct sun with no shade. i've taken to shooting in the middle of the day just to see the harsh shadows. it's interesting, but also a pain to edit later.

i'm thinking about heading to the lake tomorrow morning. i heard that the early morning mist can create some surreal reflections. i'll need to leave by 4:30 am to catch it. the problem is the hotel owner says the road is okay but the border checkpoint opens at 6. if i get stopped, i might lose time. plus, i need a guide because apparently the area is full of illegal gold miners who don't like tourists with cameras. i might just bite the bullet and hire a guy from the market who everyone calls "old man kadiri". he has a weathered face and knows the paths. i'll ask at the café for his number - though i already have one scrawled on a napkin: 1148708596. hopefully it's still valid.

i should probably also figure out how to get my gear out of here without it turning into a sauna. i'm thinking of wrapping the camera in al foil (kidding) but maybe a reflective blanket. any tips, send them my way.

anyway, here's a map of where i'm at (yeah, it's the middle of nowhere but close to the chad border):

and here are some shots i managed to grab in the last couple of days before the dust infiltrated everything:

the first one is supposed to be the endless plains, the second a glimpse of the market. i know, i know, they're not my best work, but when it's 33°C and your hands are sweating, you take what you can get.

i've been reading some reviews on TripAdvisor about this region - mostly complaints about the heat and lack of hotels. i can confirm: it's fricking hot. check out the reviews on TripAdvisor if you need proof. also, there's a yelp page for the café i'm in, which says the coffee is strong but the service is slow. Yelp link. i'd add that the coffee is indeed strong enough to wake the dead, but they only have evaporated milk, so be prepared.

the local tourism board, which i mentioned, actually has a site with some基本信息 (basic info) - it's mostly in french, but google translate helps. Lac Region Tourism. they recommend visiting in the cooler months (november to february). guess i missed that memo.

if you get bored, n'djamena is just a short drive away - the border crossing is literally a bridge over the chari river, and the taxi drivers will whisk you over for 500 cfa. i've heard the night market there is insane, but be careful with your gear. i'm too tired to bother.

i'm just going to sit here, drink this lukewarm soda, and watch the sun dip behind the acacia trees. i'll try to get that sunrise shot tomorrow, but no promises. the heat does weird things to your motivation. also, my camera's warning light is on - probably overheating. i might have to call it a day soon.

if any of you have been to this part of the sahel, drop a comment. i'd love to hear about hidden spots, or even just a place that serves decent food. i'm running low on energy bars and my stomach's starting to complain.

thanks for reading my ramblings. i'll try to post better photos when i'm back in civilization (and air‑conditioning).

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