Elephant hunt

We had some enough time to squeeze in a bit of a safari. We stopped in Douentza and hired a Land Cruiser for a day, heading to Boni and then southward for a chance to spot some of the last of the wild desert elephants on the planet. It had rained the night before and ended up being a bit sloppy on a number of levels, to say the least.

Apparently, the only thing that could match up to our driver’s surliness was his ability to get his vehicle stuck through his own ineptitude. We drove around for two and a half hours without seeing any elephants, only large piles poo that made it clear that there were elephants around (or we were in Jurassic Park).










Then we got a flat. No problem. This was unsurprising as a road simply did not exist, we were bushwacking. Unfortunately, while we might have expected a flat outfitter clearly did not, or we should say he was not sufficiently worried enough to have checked his gear before departure. Changing your tire in the heat of the Sahel is never pleasing but when the spare that is put on is just as flat as the original one must simply shake one’s head. There was nothing else to do, not for the four hours this issue took to be resolved (by our guide walking to a village and getting a bicycle pump).

As we packed up and drove out we happened to come across a lone bull elephant. It was actually quite breathtaking. It was huge, bigger than expected, a really cool experience. As far as our driver was concerned, it was a done deal, we disagreed. We headed back and, during a heated argument about a revised price which we felt we were entitled to, we ended up going to see his boss. The Malian who owned the car honestly did not see the problem: you saw an elephant and you didn’t sleep outside, what’s the problem? It took Mark a bit of time to try and calmly explain that we did want to pay, it was simply that we did not feel it was just to pay the full amount when 30% of the time was spent marooned and not accomplishing our goals due to the ill-preparedness of the outfitters we were to pay. This is where the Western sensibilities and those of the African fail to see eye to eye. While we could see his point that we were paying to go see elephants, he could not understand that we were paying a guide separately for the elephants and his car was for driving (i.e. moving on inflated tires) towards that goal. « Je ne veux pas payer pour sortir en brousse et de lire mon livre dans votre mobili cassée ! » “I don’t want to pay to go out in the countryside and read my book in your broken car!” Mark said. This discussion with the grand patron turned out to be the most exciting part of the day.

(tracking the bull)

Gao

After Dogon, we were back in Mopti for just long enough to convince Susan that she needed to cross Gao off “the list,” so it was the five of us that headed out for a night trip “up north”. This is the furthest east town you would really ever want to go to in Mali. That is, until you get there and then you realize that you probably passed the most eastern town you would ever want to go hundreds of miles back to the west (maybe it was Mopti or Segou, could be Bamako or was it Dakar or Philadelphia, hard to be sure) and just didn’t know it at the time.

There is little to draw one to Gao except for the bragging rights of saying you have gone all the way out there. Sites and activities are slightly limited per square mile. We actually had to pass through Timbuktu Region on our way there and back, stopping on the return leg during a horrific sandstorm followed immediately by a rainstorm during which it arguably rained harder inside the bus than outside (but only on one side of the bus, the side that Mark and Sam happened to be sitting on).


There is a sweet view from the Rose Dune which involves a great pirogue ride out to it, during which Mike did a nice little photo essay of the dead animals we passed on the riverside.







There is another World Heritage Site at Askia’s Tomb and there is the unlabeled marker of the prime meridian which, of course, can actually be enjoyed much closer to civilization (but when it is out in the Sahara that’s pretty cool).





Which brings us to a hilarious topic of conversation during our travels - the notion of tourist vs. traveler. We often had a good laugh when we would come across other toubabs (white people) because more often than not they would simply ignore us, trying not to make eye contact or in any way acknowledge that there might be another toubab present. This amused the hell out of us. If you really want to go to Africa and think you are the first and only white person to ever have been to the region go ahead, just know that you are an idiot. We spent a good bit of our time ridiculing each other in the manner of the “real travelers” who sneer at mere “tourists” and are put off their lunch even knowing they have to share the planet with such posers. These are the folks who define their personal worth by how long they’ve been out (whatever they think is longer than you have been), how many places they’ve been that no one else has (zero) and how much more they can endure than anybody else (usually just the insufferable pissing contests that are each others’ conversations). It would have been so great to see one of these “real travelers” as we descended the Rose Dune outside of Gao and tell them, “Golly, that’s a whopper of a view up there! What a great picnic spot.” Of course we did not see any of these hardcores since “real travelers” wouldn’t be caught dead on the Rose Dune, that’s for tourists...


(pictured: tourists on the Rose Dune)

Dogon

After checking out Mopti (which has a mud mosque to rival Djenne’s if you don’t have the time or the inclination towards uncomfortable transport to go to Djenne itself), we headed to the true “Crown Jewel of West Africa”, as far as we could tell, Dogon Country.

The Dogon people live among the cliffs that stretch for 200km more or less from Douentza to Bankass. They retreated there with the coming of Islam in an attempt to avoid conversion. They moved into hard to reach crannies in the cliff face, replacing the earlier Tellum people who had lived in such ridiculously inaccessible spots among the cliffs that the Dogons believe to this day that the Tellum could fly. Without the vines that likely made those higher cliff dwellings possible in more lush times, it is easy to see where they would get that idea. Most of the Dogon now live atop or bellow the actual cliff. We spent a few days hiking in the area and never got tired of the amazing landscape.


Our days went like this: eat, walk, eat, nap, walk, eat, sleep. On our very first day we were pinned down by a fantastic sandstorm. Luckily, we were already up in a deserted cliff dwelling and took shelter there. Not surprisingly, four kids from New England had never hidden from a sandstorm in an abandoned cliff dwelling before. You don’t get much more foreign than that. Before and after the storm were fantastic views and during the storm had an eerie quality all its own.



The striking vistas and freakish Dogon architecture could have kept us enthralled for weeks, not just days.







There were some spots that were a little dicey for anyone afraid of heights.






During rains we had to hide until it was dry enough to scramble up the slick rocks of the cliff. Often, the rains were so heavy we had to ford streams that would not have been there at any other time of the year. In one of the most surreal moments of the trip, the four of us forded a small river only to be approached by a crocodile as we put our footwear back on. It swam right up to the edge of the water where we had just exited. Had we known beforehand that there were crocs we’d probably still be standing on the other side waiting for dry season! A few moments later another crocodile swam towards us, this one albino. Very cool.

(Click on the photo and try to spot the white croc)

Djenne

The Lonely Planet guide to West Africa opens up its description of this town with, “One of the premier sites in West Africa…is worth as much time as you can give it.” This says a lot about West Africa. While definitely a cool town with the world’s largest mud building, the giant mosque at the center of town, we feel we may have to disagree with LP on this one. Since it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, nobody can construct a building in town out of anything but mud, making it definitely interesting and visually striking: but an extended stay hardly seemed necessary.

The highlight for us was visiting with our friend Stacy. How she lives among the constant harassment of the omnipresent touts is at once a mystery and a testament to her fortitude.
Here's Sam being approached by one of Djenne's smallest and cutest touts. We’d had enough of them after a few hours. Wandering the streets during the days and hanging at her house at night was great. Stacy had just returned from the States and so, while Sarah and Mike might not have been as awestruck, Sam and Mark were completely captivated by her stories of good beer and cheese!


We then headed to Mopti. Using Susan’s house as a home base, we explored the eastern (known as “north”, although I am sure Mike Cahill, the sole remaining member of Peace Corps Malitania, bristles at the mention of a location being “north” when it is really just east) part of the country. Here’s Sam and Susan, looking giddy as schoolgirls at a slumber party to be reunited. In point of fact, looking way too much like giddy school girls at a slumber party, way too much. More from Mopti later…

Mike & Sarah Visit (East of Bamako)

In certain circles, Mali is known as “the Crown Jewel of West Africa” for the amazingly cool stuff that can’t be found anywhere else. We took this designation with a grain of salt both because we had never been out east, where the amazing stuff is supposed to be, and because we had not seen anything for which it was worth coming all the way to Mali on a vacation yet. Considering each “Paris of West Africa” that we had visited along the coast of Africa was progressively worse than the one before (there were a number of claimants to this title, from Dakar to Conakry to Freetown), we harbored some doubts as to the veracity of this latest claim. Since the family was in from America and since we had already visited the touristically underwhelming west, we headed out east to see if those who travel in the dubious “Crown Jewel of West Africa” crowd have ever actually travelled to Mali.

Team photo:
Let's break this up into managable pieces...

Postcards galore!

Thanks for all the responses to our call for postcards. They are great. Our collection has tripled in the last month. To those who have sent some, we say well done. Some of you have not. You are reading this thinking you have been to lazy to send us one. Shame on you. Now you are reading this thinking, “Oh my god, how do they know I am reading this thinking I need to send one but have been too lazy!” Don’t ask scary questions, just send the postcard.

The postcards are an interesting way for us to see who is reading our blog. For instance, our friends Missy and Bryce reacted quite rapidly after being called out for not sending us one from Jamaica and dispatched a postcard from Sweet Briar College tout suite. We also got a nice one from their dog with the typical dog greetings, although we suspect she just looks at the pictures and doesn't read it at all! Interesting note: dogs do not sign with a paw-print as one might expect but rather prefer to spell out their whole name and title. This tagline read, “Bananas the Dog.” She was apparently worried we would confuse her with all the other “Bananas” with which we hang out.

Mark’s brother Brian lives in Scotland and has been the best so far at updating us on his travels, having sent the first and most postcards to date, even if he has only been to Manchester, England. Actually, he really has been to some cool places from Glencoe in the highlands of Scotland to the picturesque town of Zadar on the Adriatic Sea. All you folks out there who were going to be the first to send us greetings from Croatia just got scooped! Strangely, we have not received one from him since publically requesting them. His roommate, Katherine, is on the ball, however. It looks like she was back stateside and visited Disneyland. How do we know? You guessed it…postcard. She must have read about our, “If you could be anywhere in Disney right now where would it be?” game (Mark’s answer, by the by, is nearly always Mexico at Epcot Center with a frozen margarita in hand while Sam’s changes daily).

We got two from Mary Jones, Kelly’s mom. One card was from Chico Hot Springs, where Sam and I got our first taste of Montana and one a picture of the ubiquitous Mickey Mouse. This brings up a sad point. Kelly has been sent home from Mali for medical reasons. While we are saddened by this development, at least we’ll get a postcard from her. Hardly much of a silver lining. This goes for Natalie and Steve too, who left us last month (by their own decision, fortunately), as well as our friends in France, Washington, etc. You know who you are: get those postcards in the mail.

Speaking of parents, we got one from our old roommate Jon Schiebel’s parents. They are some of the nicest and most giving people we know (our family west of the Mississippi) and are so happy to hear from them. They could not have raised a child who would not send a simple postcard to some old friends. Jon’s must be in the mail on its way to Africa right now!

Our friend Marie Venner’s mom Nancy has been following our blog. She has been trying to glean a bit of what life is like from our writings since Marie does not give her adequate updates on her own. Bad Marie, bad! She sent us an envelope filled with propaganda postcards designed, it would seem, to make us take a second honeymoon in Hawaii and then make us live in California after we return from Mali. While we may not be relocating that far west, she has foolishly invited us for a meal and a place to stay. Careful what you wish for Nancy, especially when you are making offers to poor souls in the Peace Corps, as they may never leave.

Sam’s old roommate Kysa sent out a card. She tragically mentions looking forward to Boston College football this year. It looks as if Kysa may be the only person in for a longer year than us!

Kevin Coughlin, the technology adverse buddy from Wyoming of leather tele-boot fame, is in his element. He gets to send things through the mail again! Who are we kidding, we know he still hand writes checks to the electric company and worries about getting them postmarked on time.

One final card came from the lift operations department at Jackson Hole. This one made us both laugh out loud. The new tram with the old “King of the Tram” driving it was hilarious (thanks to everyone for throwing in your two cents on the back.). That tradition is hanging on like the old “Andre the Giant has a Posse” stickers!

As for you, you could not be reading this and not have sent us out a postcard, could you? No, that’s crazy talk…

Mike & Sarah Visit (West of Bamako)

Mark’s cousin Mike and his wife Sarah are teachers. While they love the youth of our nation and want to help them improve themselves, blah, blah, they really do this job to support their world travel habit. Each summer they pack up their gear and hit the road to some of the coolest travel spots on the planet, from Central America, to Southeast Asia, to India and a bunch of places in between. Therefore, Sam and Mark were surprised to hear Mike and Sarah’s desire to visit Mali, one of the world’s least cool places on a number of levels. We attempted to dissuade them but they insisted. So, in the middle of the night at the beginning of August, they stepped off the Royal Air Moroc flight (often an adventure in itself) and into the West African night for a month.

They had already spent three weeks in Morocco and so were ready for the heat. The filth may have been a different case.

We started off with a trip to the zoo because everyone needs to see the decaying manatee, right? Here they are in front of the rotting carcass which, during the rainy season, sits in a pool of standing water that acts as a sort of racid stew, marinating in its own putrefaction. See if you can imagine the smell just by the forced smiles on their faces:




We spent a good deal of time at the zoo, more than intended actually owing to the turtle sex show we were mesmerized by. How long would it last? Turns out turtles copulate much longer than we would have guessed. So long that we had to give up on it. A later check of the internet (the most authoritative news source ever devised) revealed that we well might have been there until dark watching those two. There is video but you will be spared.

After the zoo we headed northwest, to the tourist hotspot of West Africa, Yelimane. People line up to see the sites, which include but are not limited to: Sam and Mark’s old house, Mauritania, the millet and peanut fields and the egg sandwich seller with the most flies in the region to name a few attractions.

We had a great time. Mike and Sarah got to experience the same feeling Indiana Jones feels when he enters a small village as they entered the house and connected mosque of the Imam AdoulayeAziz Ly. They got to have kids climb all over them and probably held more babies than they had ever expected to in such a short time span. They got to hang out with the famous Ablo, Kadja and their family as well as eat and drink plenty of tea with Django and his clan.

One day we went out to the fields to “work” so they could experience a real day in an African millet field. They got the whole experience, all right. It started with a five kilometer walk to the fields, followed by a snack, some actual backbreaking work (mercifully little) and then it was on to tea and nap time.











At one point, we all had a good laugh as Ablo pooped in a hole he had dug with his daba and then scooted his butt along the grass like a puppy for lack of water to wipe himself. We all walked back except for Ablo, whom we left sleeping alone under the tree out in the field.







On our last day in Yelimane Sarah and Mike made an absolutely unbelievable proclamation. Mark came over to them with a kid named Solo, who they declared the most beautiful kid ever.



(Bear in mind that, at this point, Sam and Mark had agreed for months already that Solo was the ugliest kid in Mali so they were dumbfounded by this.) For the rest of the trip they made allusions to Solo as the best looking child in Africa. Not sure if there are any Muppet fans out there but if there are let us say we had always thought Solo looked like a Doozer from Fraggle Rock. Suffice it to say he is not the cutest kid in Mali*. We think they know they got it wrong but just stuck to their guns out of stubborness.

We headed to Kayes next and got out of town the next day after a pre-dawn pirogue ride across the Senegal river. It was certainly a different experience than the average Boston morning commute they do. It was a fun trip out west, where tourists only go when they are completely lost.



* Mark pictured with the actual cutest kid in Mali...