Mursi woman inserting lip plate

Trans Africa expedition 12


The next day we were off to visit Djenné, the oldest and most impressive of the trading towns on the Trans-Saharan caravan routes. We arrived at the stand to catch a pickup at 9.00am and finally caught a ride at 2.00pm - apparently a reasonable wait in Mali! After four hours of a bumpy road sitting on hard wooden benches we finally arrived in Djenné. Mamoud led us directly to the house of another relative where we would spend the night. The Grand Mosque here was even more impressive than the one in Mopti and Mamoud explained how after the rainy season the local people repaired the mud structure.
Next was our highlight of Mali, a 3 day trek to the Dogon villages around the Bandiagara cliff. The Dogon people have lived in this area since 500 BC and have retained their original animalist culture. Their mythology is the source of an abundance of sacred wood carvings, sculptures, masks and ancestral figures.
First we had a 12km trek through scrub to the Dogon village of Teli. The village was built on the flat at the foot of the Bandiagara cliffs. Just above the village perching on the cliff face were the original houses that had been used to hide from enemies. We took a rest to avoid the heat of the midday sun and had some millet beer with the villagers. As normal we spent the night sleeping on a flat roof under the stars. Despite the blistering heat of the day the nights were surprisingly cold, and Paula and I had to huddle together to keep warm. The food was extremely basic but we managed to get some extra calories by downing large amounts of sickly sweet condensed milk!
(to be continued)

Trans Africa 11 - Niger

First Mamoud took us to see the Bella village built on the banks of the Niger river. The village consisted of small round mud huts that are washed away each year in the rainy season. The semi-nomadic, mostly Tuareg, inhabitants migrate back to the Timbuktu region at this time of year. Next we visited the impressive Grand Mosque. The large structure was built of mud and termite resistant Palm wood. The river seemed to be the center of activity with the trading boats, the dugout canoe ferry operators, and the people washing themselves and their goats.

We hired a pirogue, dugout canoe, to visit the Bozo village down river. The pirogue was punted across the huge river by the young owner who proudly called himself 'Captain'. The Bozo village was very picturesque with the mud built houses, the mosque in the center on a hill and the palm trees. As we landed at the village we were swamped by excited children buzzing around us like bees around honey. We really couldn't imagine how the village could have been any more primitive. Just as we had finished our tour of the village and were climbing back aboard our pirogue, one of the children came running up to me with my wallet that I must of dropped. I checked the contents of my wallet and was amazed that not a penny was missing!
(to be continued)

Trans Africa expedition 10

In Bamako we met a friendly guy called Mamoud, who enthusiastically guided us around the town for a few days. After considering our schedule carefully, we decided to invite him to be our guide for a week or so to visit the more interesting north of Mali. We drew up a little contract with Mamoud so that all parties would know what was included in his fee. We were due to leave for Mopti at 11.00am - the bus finally pulled out at 18.00! Transport in Mali is a real challenge to everyone's patients, especially when it is 40 degrees in the shade! After a long night with numerous prayer stops we finally pulled in to Mopti at 6.00am. Mopti, the 'Venice of Mali', is built on three islands at the confluence of the Niger and Bani rivers.

 Mamoud immediately led us to the house of his relatives where we would stay. The family lived in a simple adobe house and were warm and friendly to us. Our washing facilities consisted of a kettle of water on the roof! At the evening meal we all sat down together on the floor and ate with our hands out of a communal bowl - I just prayed that my immune system was at 100%! For the night the family gave us a couple of millet mats to bed down on the roof under the stars. The family despite their obvious poverty oozed with generosity and enthusiasm to make our stay pleasant.
(to be continued)

Trans Africa 9 - Mali

On Monday 9th March Paula an I flew from Algiers to Bamako, the capital of Mali. We had arranged to keep in touch with the progress of the overland tour via telex, with the aim  of rejoining the group in Nigeria. We both felt pretty nervous as the plane touched down in Bamako, we were on our own now! Mali is one of the poorest nations in the world. It was dark as we rode a cab into the city center, all we could see were small groups of people huddled around fires lit beside the road. There seemed to be no high rise blocks in this city only shanty type buildings. We managed to find a very basic hotel which was quite obviously a local brothel - but still it was expensive!

The prices in Mali seemed to be a complete anomaly, as the people were exceptionally poor but the prices seemed to be at an international level. The unrealistic prices were the product of the artificial   pegging of the currency to the French Franc, also many people seemed not to be using currency but instead a bartering system! We had now left behind the Arab world of North Africa and were beginning our exploration of Black Africa. The saleswomen of the Grand Marché were a blaze of color with their coordinated body wraps and head scarves, the atmosphere at the market was very different to the souks of Morocco and Algeria. The climate here was also quite a contrast reaching a scorching 40 degrees almost everyday!
(to be continued)

Trans Africa expedition 8

To me the trip seemed to be getting bogged down with the logistics of getting the truck down to Mali, so my plan was to fly. I worked out that flying to Mali would meant that I would be able to complete the trip and only miss the stretch of dessert from Tamanrasset in southern Algeria to Mopti in northern Mali - this loss would be insignificant. I realized that I would have to leave the trip and go it alone, but that seemed all the more exciting. Paula came to the same conclusion which was lucky as I probably wouldn't have left her - things were getting a little more serious between us!

Against the instructions of the trip leader Paula and I headed into the city to try an organize flights down to Mali. There was a definite tension in the air with a significant army presence and tanks on some streets. Paula, however, was intent on photographing the architecture and for this we ended up getting arrested for suspected espionage! Apparently there were army snipers etc. in some of the building that Paula had decided to photograph. We were hauled into a police station and questioned about our motives, luckily they believed us and we even got to keep the role of film!
(to be continued)

Trans Africa 7 - Algeria

The general security situation in Algeria was slowly worsening and the next stretch of desert across the border into Mali was now supposed to be plagued with bandits. After much deliberation the trip leader finally decided it was too dangerous to attempt the crossing and we would have to find another way around! With heavy hearts we began to retrace a footsteps and head north to the Algerian capital of Algiers.

After a couple of days driving we arrived at the town of Ghardaia, which is famous for its Mozabite people who follow an extreme Islamic culture. The Mozabite women are totally veiled in black and are only permitted to show one eye! The town was fairly untouched by tourism and we enjoyed browsing through the authentic medina without the usual persistent 'guides'. The people seemed to take us in their stride which made the whole experience far more rewarding. After another long day on the road we arrived in the capital, Algiers, which was in a "State of Emergency". The political unrest had led to the situation, but overall the city seemed quite calm. Our trip leader forbid the group to enter the city, but I had other plans!
(to be continued)
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