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Updated Information
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Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
270km |
Meals
Asian rice concoction a la Connie |
Weather |
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Near Segou, Mali
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06 March
2004 |
Bush Camp |
13°16.010’N
5°59.044’W |
Odometer:
9962km |
Windy & dusty 85(F) degrees
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After a nice air-conditioned sleep, we went to
the internet café, visited a supermarket, and headed out of town. We drove
a bit past Segou and made camp. |
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The laborious
task of keeping the website up to date |
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Updated Information
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Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
254km |
Meals
Lamb Potje |
Weather |
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Near D'Jenne, Mali |
07 March
2004 |
Bush Camp |
13°43.632’N
4°23.042’W |
Odometer: 10212km |
Less dusty, less windy, &
hotter 98(F) degrees |
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Last night was still cool, and
we were able to sleep very well. The morning was still hazy though. We
packed up and headed for D’Jenne, a town popular with tourists and
boasting the world’s largest mud brick structure (a mosque). We arrived at
the turnoff for the town at about noon, and decided to postpone our visit
until tomorrow so that we could enjoy “market day.” Each village of size
has one or two days per week where people from the surrounding areas come
to buy and sell goods. Driving through a town on market day is
fascinating, with loads of people milling about and goods for sale. There
are inevitably large numbers of donkey carts on the roads heading into or
leaving town (depending on the time of day). We pulled off the road and
found a baobab to camp under. Graham and Witt changed the oil in both
cars, and Witt repaired a puncture from yesterday. A local guy wandered
into camp as Graham was preparing dinner. We said hello, but he didn’t
seem to want to talk. He stood and watched us for a few minutes then got
bored and wandered off. We thought he had gone for good, but as we were
finishing up we realized that he apparently found us so interesting that
he went and got a friend to join him in watching us. We gave them a couple
of cookies, and they stood about 10 feet from our camp for about an hour
while we cleaned our dishes and stowed our gear. They didn’t speak any
French so we were not able to communicate; In any case they didn’t seem
interested in talking to us. We found the experience a bit unnerving, but
ultimately they were probably just curious about our habits and our
equipment. Chalk it up to a “cultural exchange.” |
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Updated Information
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Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
158km |
Meals
Leftover
chicken tikka masala |
Weather |
|
Near Mopti
Mali |
08 March
2004 |
Bush Camp |
14°55.888’N
3°43.112’W |
Odometer: 10370km |
Dusty & hot 95(F) degrees
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This morning after breakfast
we made the short drive to D’Jenne. The brand new bridge reported by
Expedition Overland (whose website,
www.expeditionoverland.com, has been invaluable for advice) has washed
out and they are back to using the ferry for the short water crossing.
While in line for the ferry we were once again besieged by vendors selling
stuff. One particularly interesting novelty was tiny cars, trucks, and
planes made from bits of tin, plastic, and assorted discarded items. We
hired a guide named Lassina Sininatao for 7000 CFA to show us around the
town. Lassina is the English teacher in town, but he is working as a guide
because the teachers in Mali haven’t been paid for three months. He is the
brother of a local artisan famous for making “mud cloth” (a form of dying
and decorating cotton) who has been filmed for a documentary and is named
in our guide book. Needless to say we visited her shop on our tour. We
were very impressed with Lassina and had a good day in D’Jenne. The market
was extremely busy with all of the sights, sounds, and smells (not
necessarily pleasant ones) you’d expect in such a market. We decided not
to spend the night there, opting instead to get back on the road in hopes
of reaching Niamey (where we need to get our Chad visas) before the
weekend. Based on reports by Lonely Planet and other travelers, we’ve
decided to give Timbuktu a miss, although it was with some regret that we
passed by the turn off for that city this afternoon. |
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Updated Information
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Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
509km |
Meals
Witt’s
Mexican quiche concoction |
Weather |
|
Gao, Mali |
09 March
2004 |
Camping Yugara |
16°15.135’N
0°3.137’W |
Odometer: 10879km |
Dusty & hot 85(F) degrees
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We headed east and a little north today toward
Gao, the last town on the paved road through Mali. The landscape became
drier and more Sahara-like as we neared the Niger River. We made the short
ferry crossing and drove into the town in search of the campground
recommended by Lonely Planet. Gao is like a town on the edge of nowhere,
and really it is. Historically it was a trading post at the end of the
trans-Sahara camel routes like Timbuktu. We are planning to take the dirt
road east of here along the north bank of the Niger toward the country of
Niger. We located the campground, but discovered that it has been taken
over by the US military. There have been reports that they have been
stationing troops in west African nations in hopes of securing otherwise
loose borders and of preventing Al Quieda from establishing training camps
and bases in the desert in the northern parts of Mali and Mauritania. We
haven’t decided if their presence is a good thing or not. In any case, we
have received no hostility whatsoever as a result of our being American.
In most cases the reaction is simple surprise, since very few Americans
venture into these areas, especially with their own vehicles. We located
an alternate campground and settled in for the evening. Jen noticed a lady
braiding a girl’s hair and went to watch the procedure. Jen decided to
have her hair braided and we had a great time watching the lady and about
3-5 young girls work on Jen’s hair for about thirty minutes. Connie took
video of this, which should be available the next time we have a good
enough internet connection. |
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Updated Information
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Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
267km |
Meals
Tuna salad sandwiches with fresh papaya
for lunch, Connie’s refried bean and mushroom Mexican for dinner |
Weather |
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Near Ayorou, Mali |
10 March
2004 |
Bush Camp |
14°38.737’N
0°57.467’E |
Odometer: 11146km |
Dusty & hot 98(F) degrees
|
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Today was long and tiring. We left the
campground at about 815 and went into town to get breakfast at a
patisserie recommended by Lonely Planet. It was closed (or maybe just
commandeered by the US military) so we went into a nearby restaurant
instead. Just parking our cars involves at least 10 minutes of negotiation
with the guardian to figure out how much it will cost to watch them. After
breakfast Witt went outside with an old Tuareg man (Witt thinks he was
Tuareg based on his blue robes) to see his wares displayed on a cloth on
the ground. He had lots of antique looking items including jewelry, coins
(Witt bought one that said “British West Africa” on it and was minted in
1952), leather goods, etc. Witt bought a sword that was obviously well
used with it’s leather scabbard dried, cracked, and torn. We headed out of
town on the dirt road leading to the border with Niger. The road was
corrugated and it took us until mid afternoon to reach the border post on
the Mali side. First was customs for the carnet, then the police shack to
have our passports stamped. While waiting for our passports we met a man
from Nigeria named Migel who was on his way home from trying out for the
Libian football team. He had been arrested in Libya for leaving his hotel
without his passport and deported. Because he was traveling with a letter
from his embassy in lieu of a passport (the Libians had thrown him out
without allowing him to retrieve it) customs formalities took longer than
usual and his bus left without him. We agreed to give him a lift to the
next town. On the way Graham and Connie got stuck in some deep sand ruts
and we did a quick recovery operation using Rafiki to pull him out. As
usual a crowd of locals gathered while we extracted the car. Even while
busy connecting tow straps, etc, the kids constantly repeat, “Donnes moi
un cadeaux!” It’s difficult to keep our cool at times and we are all
becoming weary of the constant pestering. Migel, clearly frustrated, was
trying to get the locals to help push the car. They were more interested
in watching than helping, and Migel shouted, “I’m stuck in your f**king
country and if you won’t help me get out then get out of the way!” When we
finally dropped him at his bus he gave us a Catholic holy card for good
luck. We got our carnets stamped at customs (customs on both sides of the
border was fairly efficient with only one half-hearted attempt to extract
a bogus tax) and thought we were home free. No such luck, as Niger has
toll roads. We soon came to a toll station where we were first asked to
pay 11,000 CFA for tolls all the way to Agadez. We said no, we’re not
going to Agadez and the price dropped to 2000 CFA to Niamey. We paid and
they gave us receipts totaling 1100 CFA. We complained and they gave us
two more receipts to Niamey (so now we had two per vehicle). Tired and
hungry we gave up and drove on in search of a camp site. We pulled off the
road after dark, made a quick (but good) dinner and went to sleep. |
The meridian monument in Gao (it’s a few minutes off)
A bus on the road from Gao to Niamey
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Let's go to Niger!
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