Dan H: the world traveling saxophone holder: 10 Month African Trails Epic Adventure: Week 6

Mali

Week 6 - Dec. 16th - 22nd

Day 36 - Day in Bamako
Day 37 - Day in Bamako
Day 38 - Day in Bamako
Day 39 - Bamako to Segou to bush-camp
Day 40 - bush camp San to Djenne
Day 41 - Djenne to bush-camp by boat along Niger River
Day 42 - bush-camp to Sofara to Mopti by boat then drive to Sevare

"Hey, want to go get some beers?"

How ordinary and innocuous those words sounded when suggested to me that night near Djenne on the river Niger! Who would have thought that mere hours later I would be wandering around the pitch dark back alleys of an unfamiliar town, wondering whether or not I was going to get mugged or possibly even kidnapped? After all the commonwealth travel advisory bureau had warned that Mali was a possible danger zone. I certainly wouldn't have guessed that, even later still, I would be lying in the back of a ramshackle donkey cart as our equine steed galloped along with us in tow under the bright starry African night. But let's come to that later, right now we're still in Bamako.

We spent several days in Bamako, enjoying the wonderful flush toilets, hot showers, cold beers, splendid food and the refreshing ceiling fans of the Sleeping Camel. The Oasis team was still present on the first night and a large group of us decided to venture out into the Bamako nightlife to find some live music. At first things didn't exactly go according to plan. Due to a miscommunication we wound up at a place that was reputed to have live musicians performing, but on another night! After a few random taxi rides we finally found a place where the beer flowed freely (well quite cheaply anyway) and the music was lively and very loud. As out of character it was for me I actually found myself dancing once again! Either it was the music or the booze that caused this, who knows, but it was a fun night nonetheless.

The next couple of nights in Bamako were relatively laid back. It was a chance to recharge our batteries and, other than some brief trips out into the city to explore, most of us spent our time lounging around enjoying the cold drinks and the comfy chairs located under the aforementioned ceiling fans, wonderful! After leaving Bamako (day 39) we bush-camped that night and the next day found ourselves at the bank of the river Niger, not too far from the town of Djenne. We arrived late in the day and the plan was, apparently, to camp next to the river and then head into town the next day to look around. However some of my fellow travelers were in the mood for some cold beers and so Phil, Jeremy and Dave asked me if I wanted to come along with them on their mission to procure some cold beers to bring back for the whole group. How could I refuse?!

After crossing the Niger on a small wooden boat we were off towards Djenne, which it turned out was a good hours walk away! By the time we arrived in town Dave had already split from the group to get his own beers so now it was just me, Phil and Jeremy. We did find some beers, as was our intent, but regrettably we weren't allowed to actually buy in bulk, or even take alcohol off the premises! At this point I was ready to give up but my fellow booze hounds weren't so fleeting in their determination. One of the local guides had promised to take us to a place that would sell us beer and so we set off, now under cover of nightfall, through the unlit pitch dark back alleys of Djenne, trying to keep up with our guide since we would never be seen again if we'd become lost in the maze of narrow streets. Predictably the attempt to find beer proved as futile as I had expected and we were once again only permitted to drink the much desired substance on the premises. Of course it was all rather splendid fun and we put our feet up and enjoyed it, amused by our staggering ineptitude at our original task. We chatted with a couple of the locals before organising transport, our most entertaining means of conveyance of the whole trip yet, a nighttime donkey & cart ride back to the shore of the Niger River. By the time we returned the others had given up hope that we would return bearing cold beers, or possibly that we would return at all, though they were thoughtful enough to leave some leftovers from the evening meal that we missed. It had evidently been a relatively uneventful evening for most of the rest of the group but certainly a fun little adventure for the small crew of beer-seekers!

The next day we parted from the truck and ventured out on a two day boat trip down the Niger River. The plan was for us to board a small river boat and leave the truck in Djenne. We would sail up the river Niger overnight and meet the truck in Mopti further north. First though we toured the city of Djenne. Although myself, along with Jeremy and Phil, had explored the town before, most of the group hadn't and, to be fair, we had only been there at night. So we wandered around exploring the sights, the most impressive being the mud mosque in the centre of town, the largest mud brick structure in the world, slap bang in the middle of a town that was made entirely of mud! The markets were exciting and vibrant and the mosque certainly was impressive. Later on in the day we boarded out boat, or to be more exact, our boats. It turned out that cramming all of us into one boat would have been a little bit too crowded so another boat was obtained and tethered to the first one! We set off in the late afternoon and spent the rest of the sunlight hours lounging around on the boat, either hiding in the shade or climbing up onto the roof and enjoying the hot evening sun just before it set, absolutely sublime. It wasn't long before the sun set and we found a pleasant spot on the river bank to set up camp.

The next day we resumed our journey along the river. Along the way we stopped at several places, the first being a small village where we were welcomed warmly by the locals. We were now truly of the beaten path, away from the regular tourists routes (which is saying something since Mali is hardly swamped by outsiders every year) and we were meeting people who had hardly any exposure to outsiders. We were treated like celebrities, the adults smiled and welcomed us whilst the children positively swarmed around us. Most of the kids were fascinated by our cameras and their favourite pastime was to pose for photos then, thanks to the wonders of digital cameras, immediately gaze upon the results. Every time it was the same, they would crowd around any cameras, noisily requesting a photo then fall silent when the photo was taken. Then, after a brief silence, they would look at the photo and a cacophony of excitement and laughter would burst forth as they admired the results. No matter how many photos were taken they never got fed up with this game.

We carried on along the river, stopping at another town, Sofara, to browse the markets and grab some lunch, before returning and spending the rest of the day lounging around, often alternating between the shade of the covered area and the hot sun up on the roof. Later we actually transferred to another larger boat where we enjoyed more social seating arrangements, instead of sitting facing forward we were arranged round very small tables in groups of around 5 or 6 allowing us to, amongst other things, engage in some card games together. Later in the day we stopped the boat so that those of us so inclined were able to enjoy a quick swim in the river. The water was lovely but I felt rather bad when all of the swimmers clambered onto the roof at the same time and broke it, evidently it was one too many on the roof at that time. Although to be fair we didn't really break the roof entirely, we just warped the support poles holding it up! Nonetheless the boat owner didn't look too pleased. The arrival in Mopti, and subsequent reunion with the truck, was perfectly timed as it coincided with a spectacular sunset, quite a beautiful sight. The few who had decided to eschew the boat trip had apparently arrived far earlier and were forced to endure hours of being pestered by salesmen whilst waiting for us. After piling into the truck we were off once again and after a short drive we found ourselves bush-camping immediately outside the town of Sevare.

I'd hoped that this wouldn't be the last time we would be living on the water, even if only briefly, but right now it was back to truck life once again.