TIMBUKTU AND ONWARD

(Wandering West Africa Part 4)

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Timbuktu, once a major trading city, key stopping point for salt caravans from the north and a 16th century center of Islamic studies was first successfully visited by a European – Rene Caillie in 1828. Prior to that all Europeans had either died trying to find Timbuktu or else been killed on arrival in the city. We had it a little easier! From Mopti/Sevare, we negotiated a shared ride in a 4 X 4 direct to Timbuktu. It was a long haul, 100 miles (160 km) on a two lane paved road, 125 miles (200 km) north through the desert on a dirt road, a ferry across the Niger and then a 10 mile (16 km) drive into town taking a total of about eight hours. After driving all these miles through semi-desert, crossing the Niger River seemed strange. At the ferry crossing the river is a couple of miles wide and the country was somewhat green. Of course, we drove with windows open, so we arrived in Timbuktu a bit dusty.

Timbuktu was another dusty, dry town with a lot of houses where various explorers slept. We took a walk around with the inevitable approaches by young men offering their services as guides every few minutes. Three major mosques remain, the biggest being Djingareiber Mosque which was undergoing major repairs. We preferred the smaller Sidi Yahia and Sankore Mosques. Besides that, there really wasn’t much reason to go to Timbuktu except, our next planned stop was Essakane for The Festival in the Desert. However, for a number of reasons including mixed reviews of the festival from previous years, uncomfortable lodging – in a tent with 10-15 other people, no showers, no toilets, sand in all the food, the feeling that the music we had seen to date was repetitious, four separate e-mails from the US State Department warning against travel to the festival and a desire to head on to Burkina Faso, we decided to skip it. So, now you know the truth, we are not very adventurous.

We tried a different route back to Mopti. A taxi brousse (bush taxi) brought us to the Niger River where we waited for a pinasse (cargo ship) heading upriver. In some ways, we were very lucky – two hours after we arrived we were told there was a boat departing. It was almost empty, meaning we would make good time and would not have to fight for sleeping space and the crew was very friendly. The down side was we were counting on some sacks of rice or millet to sleep on but instead; we slept on firewood – not the most comfortable mattress! The boat was about 100 feet long and 12 feet wide. A woman was constantly at work in the “kitchen” in the middle where she always had two pots cooking over wood fires on the floor of the boat. The “head” was all the way in the back. It was simply a hole in the bottom of the boat with a privacy wall around it. The problem was that to get there you had to work your way under or over the crossbeams, past the kitchen, climb over the twin diesel engines and then take care of business. This provided a definite disincentive to drinking too much on the trip! 

The trip itself took 45 hours which was relatively quick. The first night the crew anchored the boat for about six hours. The second night, they continually drank African tea, a seriously strong brew, and piloted the boat through the night. There seemed to be one boy whose only job was to make tea for everyone. The tea was brewed three times and offered up in a shot glass. Paul needed one sip to know he didn’t want more. Lois was a little smarter and declined altogether. We had lots of time to sit, watch the scenery, read and relax. Most of this part of the country is only accessable via river and it is sparsely populated. In this regard, the trip was somewhat like one Paul took many years ago on the Amazon river. It was a bit monotonous after a while, but we had some beautiful scenery. At times, the river was so still it acted like a perfect mirror, reflecting the sky. At night, there was no light pollution so we had fantastic views of the stars. Three hours before we arrived in Mopti, the boat stopped to pick up passengers. You heard of a chicken bus? Well we were on a goat boat. Four herders and their eight goats joined us for the final leg into Mopti.

From Mopti, we headed to Burkina Faso, via Koro. We didn't take the pictured taxi brousse, ours was a little better, but not much. Transport in Mali was slow, cramped and time consuming, It took us two days to get to Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso, a mere 167 miles (268 km) away. Half of the first day was spent waiting for the taxi brousse to fill up. Three fellow passengers were Cuban doctors working at rural health centers for two year assignments. Cuba has about 150 doctors in Mali, helping prevent or cure infectious diseases such as AIDS, malaria and yellow fever and other more mundane problems. We guess that is their method of winning the hearts and minds of the people. Talking with them seemed to quicken the journey, but by the time we got to Koro, it was too late to continue. Being the only two tourists in town had its advantages because the next morning we were awakened by a driver telling us a van was almost ready to leave. We crossed the border without any problems, but locals who were missing required Yellow Fever vacination certificates or proper citizenship documentation had to bribe the border guards which took a little extra time. So, the government is working to eliminate Yellow Fever by requiring vaccinations for travel, but that is all nullified by underpaid and on the take inspectors. Maybe this is why Yellow Fever remains a problem.

Before the final numbers, here are a few comments on Mali. For teenagers, foozball seems to be the game of choice, with tables that had probably seen 20 or 30 years of use in the first world before being shipped to Mali. Younger children have almost nothing in terms of toys. One particularly inventive and/or caring parent made his/her child the pictured car from a sardine can and screw tops to plastic coke bottles. The most common toy was an old tire which kids would push along with a stick.

Final Notes on Mali

$829

accommodation

$260

local transportation

$857

meals, museums, incidentals

$104

souvenirs

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$2050

Total for 26 days in Mali = $79/day

 

 

$31.80

average cost for a room in Mali

1125

miles traveled in Mali

 

 

We saw interesting sites, met friendly people and had enjoyable times. Having seen what Mali has to offer the casual traveler, we now have no reason to return. This brings our travelogue up to January 12th when we crossed into Burkina Faso...

Paul & Lois
Banfora, Burkina Faso
January 23, 2009

 

Wandering West Africa Part 3                 Wandering West Africa Part 5

 

All content is copyright © Paul Schneider, 2009.