So - today we finished walking in the Dogon Country. It was the hottest day yet. Luckily we left a bit after 7:00 (we were supposed to leave at 6:30 but that's African time). We mostly walked along the flat at the bottom of the escarpment. Oh - I just remembered the market we went to yesterday in the town we stopped in. I bought another blanket (this one indigo) and I bought a head scarf type thing. The seller was shrewd!! I think it was 3 generations of a family selling the indigo stuff - granny was ready to sell to us at almost the local price but the youngest was having none of that and pushed her away!
Showing posts with label Mali - The Trans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mali - The Trans. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
The Trans - Final Day in Dogon
So - today we finished walking in the Dogon Country. It was the hottest day yet. Luckily we left a bit after 7:00 (we were supposed to leave at 6:30 but that's African time). We mostly walked along the flat at the bottom of the escarpment. Oh - I just remembered the market we went to yesterday in the town we stopped in. I bought another blanket (this one indigo) and I bought a head scarf type thing. The seller was shrewd!! I think it was 3 generations of a family selling the indigo stuff - granny was ready to sell to us at almost the local price but the youngest was having none of that and pushed her away!
The Trans - Dogon Country - Day 2
So I'm in love with Mali now!! And Mali loves me! Here I am a super model \ celebrity!! I walk through villages and the people flock to me! I am surrounded by children and the old ladies all pet me and tell me how beautiful I am. One even wanted me to bless one of the babies or something! Its amazing! My self-esteem has never been so high!! I am the ideal Malian woman apparently! LOL! And I've also learned I would make a great second wife. The first wife is chosen by the man's family and he doesn't really love her. She has to work hard and have lots of babies. The man then marries his second wife because she is really beautiful and she doesn't have to work hard and he likes her best. That's perfect for me! I like to be liked best and I don't want to work. Our guide (who seems to be looking for a second wife) was telling us all about Dogon men who have Dogon first wives and European wives for their second wives. These European wives come around 2-3 months a year and bring money and presents for the first wife and her children and the first wife does all the cooking and cleaning and work. Sounds amazing!!! Apparently I have 2 suitors already lined up because both the guide and the owner of the hotel here are looking for second wives and I got massages from both - and they were really sad I didn't want more massages after dinner. Ahh - it would be a hard life here in Mali!
The Trans - Day 1 in Dogon Country (or the day of goats)
So - I have survived my first day (well half day) in Dogon Country. Its been an adventure. There is no where to charge my mobile so I'll have to be succinct.
The day started out with an early departure from Djenne. We were out of the hotel at 6:30 and after rushing to get an omlette sandwich we were piling into our bus at 7:00. The "bus" turned out to be an old (old old old old) station wagon. They crammed 11 of us in there! 3 in the back (me, Eti and an old woman who bitched at us about taking up too much space while she was the only one with both ass cheeks on the seat!!) Then 4 men in the middle row and then the driver and a woman and her 2 children in the front!! No seat belts - hell the doors didn't even open from the inside. But it was only a 3 hour journey...so no worries. But about an hour into the journey a goat runs out into the road. The driver doesn't slow down because basically the brakes don't really work. So then the next goat runs out...he hesitates a minute, does a zigzag like he's gonna run back to the otherside then at the last second decides "No - I can make it across.". THUNK...nope - he didn't make it across. He was a goner. The driver didn't even flinch and we kept right on going. The old lady was upset that we didn't stop and put it on the roof!!
The day started out with an early departure from Djenne. We were out of the hotel at 6:30 and after rushing to get an omlette sandwich we were piling into our bus at 7:00. The "bus" turned out to be an old (old old old old) station wagon. They crammed 11 of us in there! 3 in the back (me, Eti and an old woman who bitched at us about taking up too much space while she was the only one with both ass cheeks on the seat!!) Then 4 men in the middle row and then the driver and a woman and her 2 children in the front!! No seat belts - hell the doors didn't even open from the inside. But it was only a 3 hour journey...so no worries. But about an hour into the journey a goat runs out into the road. The driver doesn't slow down because basically the brakes don't really work. So then the next goat runs out...he hesitates a minute, does a zigzag like he's gonna run back to the otherside then at the last second decides "No - I can make it across.". THUNK...nope - he didn't make it across. He was a goner. The driver didn't even flinch and we kept right on going. The old lady was upset that we didn't stop and put it on the roof!!
The Trans - Djenne Pictures
We just finished in Mali and have arrived in Burkina Faso. I'll try to update more soon!!
Saturday, January 7, 2012
The Trans - A Day in Djenne
So - today we toured Djenne. We had an awesome guide - Amadou who took us all around town and told us a lot of the history. Djenne is very different from the towns I've been in so far. Its all built of mud. Their mosque is a UNESCO site and is the largest mud building in the world. We were also able to go inside it. Only Muslims are supposed to be allowed inside because a few years ago a movie apparently got
filmed in it, which upset a lot of the locals, so now non-muslims are mostly forbidden. But for a price - if you are nice - you can get in. So that was really cool. The columns inside are all made of mud as well. Every year the whole town helps to redo the mud on the mosque before the rainy season.
The rest of Djenne is children and goats. These people have lots of children and they all run around the streets all day! Along with the goats :P We had a little girl following us all morning that had a sad look that matched mine. She was a cheeky little bugger trying to sell necklaces or something. Eti ended up buying from her. Then this evening I saw her again. She was just so cute (especially since she had washed and put on clean clothes). She was with all her little girlfriends and while Michael (the American guy we met yesterday) was looking for someone to let us into the library - I chatted (using that word lightly as I don't speak much more French than some numbers and hello) with all the little girls. Then they counted to me in English and it was super sweet. But sadly I couldn't buy something from all of them so I could only buy and over priced necklace and bracelet from the cheeky girl and her loudest friend. And actually - I had to make Michael pay because I didn't have any small notes - oops :P Then Michael found someone to let us into one of the libraries. Luckily that person spoke Arabic (which Michael is studying) since neither of us speak French. So we got an explanation of the library, including the mud models of the old Mosque and the old architectural style along with the books that were hundreds of years old. It was pretty cool! I'm glad I was able to go with Michael to see that. Geoff and Eti went with our guide to another village but I was too tired and it was too hot.
filmed in it, which upset a lot of the locals, so now non-muslims are mostly forbidden. But for a price - if you are nice - you can get in. So that was really cool. The columns inside are all made of mud as well. Every year the whole town helps to redo the mud on the mosque before the rainy season.
The rest of Djenne is children and goats. These people have lots of children and they all run around the streets all day! Along with the goats :P We had a little girl following us all morning that had a sad look that matched mine. She was a cheeky little bugger trying to sell necklaces or something. Eti ended up buying from her. Then this evening I saw her again. She was just so cute (especially since she had washed and put on clean clothes). She was with all her little girlfriends and while Michael (the American guy we met yesterday) was looking for someone to let us into the library - I chatted (using that word lightly as I don't speak much more French than some numbers and hello) with all the little girls. Then they counted to me in English and it was super sweet. But sadly I couldn't buy something from all of them so I could only buy and over priced necklace and bracelet from the cheeky girl and her loudest friend. And actually - I had to make Michael pay because I didn't have any small notes - oops :P Then Michael found someone to let us into one of the libraries. Luckily that person spoke Arabic (which Michael is studying) since neither of us speak French. So we got an explanation of the library, including the mud models of the old Mosque and the old architectural style along with the books that were hundreds of years old. It was pretty cool! I'm glad I was able to go with Michael to see that. Geoff and Eti went with our guide to another village but I was too tired and it was too hot.
The Trans - On the Road Again
Well-that was a LONG bus journey to Djenne! We got to the bus station before 7am and had a quick omelet sandwich and then began the fight to get our stuff and ourselves on the bus. There is no orderly English queuing system here!! But we managed to push our stuff on the bus and then while Geoff and Eti watched to make sure no one removed our bags - I pushed myself onto the bus to get us seats. I don't know why everyone feels the need to push and shove and fight though?!? We all thought it was because there wouldn't be enough seats for everyone but once everyone finally got settled there were enough seats and we were all sitting next to the people we were travelling with. I guess the pushing and shoving adds to the excitement?!?
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
The Trans - Off the Beaten Path
So - I've been a few days in Bamako. Its been interesting. Its a rather dirty city. But I bought another African dress thing - so that's a bonus.
Let me think - I believe the last thing I wrote about was New Years...but not much has happened since then. We arrived in Bamako and the campsite was super dreary after all the nice wild camps we had. Its just across the bridge from the main city (which is nice because its close) but that also means its noisy and its super crowded because this is where all the overland trucks stop! So there are a massive number of people here and the tents are all crowded on a piece of dirt. I was so depressed I immediately wanted to run away. But luckily they had 2 rooms available so I was able to snag one of those. Way better than sleeping in a dirt patch next to a bunch of people - most of whom I don't like!!!
Let me think - I believe the last thing I wrote about was New Years...but not much has happened since then. We arrived in Bamako and the campsite was super dreary after all the nice wild camps we had. Its just across the bridge from the main city (which is nice because its close) but that also means its noisy and its super crowded because this is where all the overland trucks stop! So there are a massive number of people here and the tents are all crowded on a piece of dirt. I was so depressed I immediately wanted to run away. But luckily they had 2 rooms available so I was able to snag one of those. Way better than sleeping in a dirt patch next to a bunch of people - most of whom I don't like!!!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
The Trans - pictures in Mali
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| 503 - Baobao tree (I think) |
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| 504 - a river (the Niger maybe) |
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| 505 - our approach to the river to cross over via ferry |
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| 506 - a Malian village |
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| 509 - Kris filling up the sippy cup with boxed wine |
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| 512 - the truck crossing a river sans-ferry |
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| 513 - my tent and mozzie net combo. 2 tents just for me. |
The Trans - happy new year!
So - News Years eve was surprisingly good fun! We parked in a quarry after a super long day of driving. We drove and drove on a shitty little road then we got a puncture in one of the tires so the driver had to sort that out. So we camped a bit later than planned - but we had lots of space and lots to drink to it was ok!
Oh we had to cross a ferry at one point too during the drive. That was interesting. Putting out big truck on the river on a shoddy Malian ferry. We survived and I have a few pictures.
Oh we had to cross a ferry at one point too during the drive. That was interesting. Putting out big truck on the river on a shoddy Malian ferry. We survived and I have a few pictures.
The Trans - Mali
We've arrived in Mali. We crossed the border from Senegal yesterday.
It was the easiest border crossing so far - they didn't even want to
see any of us...usually they like to come on the truck and have a look
around.
So anyways - we've apparently decided to take the more scenic route to
get to Bamako. Which is really nice - but apparently it doesn't
include getting to stop at any of the scenic areas (like the big
waterfall we are passing for the second time right now!). And we
didn't get to stop for a swim in the beautiful lake we passed
yesterday - which since we are filthy and dusty it would have been
nice to have a swim and some fun. But we just drive by fun and then we
drive and drive some more...its way more fun to travel independently
and stop whenever you want. Why do I forget this everytime I think its
a good idea to do a group tour. Please everyone remind me never to do
this again!!
Anyways - we are driving through very different scenery now. I feel like I'm even more in Africa with savannah all around me and little villages of huts with excited children that run out when we drive by! We are trying to find the road to Bamako and got really lost yesterday. So we passed lots of cute little villages way off the beaten path (of course we can't get out and talk to anyone...) We were actually following a dirt donkey path yesterday I think. Luckily they must have realized we weren't getting anywhere and we stopped reasonably early yesterday and setup camp. It was an adventure driving though. We had the sides up and trees were coming in because we were properly in the woods on a small path. So there was a lot of ducking and shrieking at the end of the drive.
It was the easiest border crossing so far - they didn't even want to
see any of us...usually they like to come on the truck and have a look
around.
So anyways - we've apparently decided to take the more scenic route to
get to Bamako. Which is really nice - but apparently it doesn't
include getting to stop at any of the scenic areas (like the big
waterfall we are passing for the second time right now!). And we
didn't get to stop for a swim in the beautiful lake we passed
yesterday - which since we are filthy and dusty it would have been
nice to have a swim and some fun. But we just drive by fun and then we
drive and drive some more...its way more fun to travel independently
and stop whenever you want. Why do I forget this everytime I think its
a good idea to do a group tour. Please everyone remind me never to do
this again!!
Anyways - we are driving through very different scenery now. I feel like I'm even more in Africa with savannah all around me and little villages of huts with excited children that run out when we drive by! We are trying to find the road to Bamako and got really lost yesterday. So we passed lots of cute little villages way off the beaten path (of course we can't get out and talk to anyone...) We were actually following a dirt donkey path yesterday I think. Luckily they must have realized we weren't getting anywhere and we stopped reasonably early yesterday and setup camp. It was an adventure driving though. We had the sides up and trees were coming in because we were properly in the woods on a small path. So there was a lot of ducking and shrieking at the end of the drive.
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