| Okay, never mind. We sent the middleman on his way and ducked through a narrow passageway into the market's interior. We would wander the stalls and hope to spot a mosquito net.
Shopkeepers grabbed my arms, pulling, offering up every sort of random item I didn't need or want. We quickly picked up an entourage of wannabe middlemen and were followed by a chorus of "change money?, change money?".
Finally, somehow someone got it and we were shown a fine, handcrafted mosquito net. Such an accomplishment! Now the fun part—determing the price.
These nets were made one at a time right there in the market. But labor is cheap. How much could the materials be? We hadn't a clue.
In order to learn the fair price, you've got to walk away a few times; visit multiple shops. We were now in the sewing area of the market and were able to find three or four shops with mosquito nets. A new middleman helped with this.
Eventually an agreement is reached and we fork over 2200 ooguiya ($10). The transaction done, the middleman asks "change money?". I shake my head—no, no, how many times no. "Sell car?" he tries. |
MAURITANIA
