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Kelebek - Jessica Weiss | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 1 Comment(s) | 7 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=235942] | 2008-01-14 19:44:59
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By Kelebek
January 14th 2008
January 14th 2008
Festival Au Desert and Timbuctu -- There and Back Again
Africa » Mali » North-West » Timbuktu
The Road to Timbuktu The last dregs of Dogon country’s vast escarpment, two black sandstone towers, mark the turnoff to Timbuctu, once the world’s most remote outpost, now quite the glamorous prostitute for many a rich (but poor foolish) tourist who puts herself through motor vehicle misery just to say “I’ve been to Timbuctu and back again.” We were ostensibly going for the Festival Au Desert, a music festival and traditional gathering of the nomadic Tuareg tribe, but during our six hour, bucking bronco voyage sans shocks and AC, swerving between a c [View Full Entry]
We have had an amzing past couple of days. Thanks to Jeremy and Sega, we have had a fantastic journey to Sega's village 3 hours NW of Bamako. Yesterday morning we loaded up our gear into a minibus, drums, back backs etcs and went off for an adventure...which started with drumming the whole way there! As we passed villages and roadside communities, we drummed and danced and sang the whole way, invoking waves, smiles and dances! We bought muffins, peanuts, yogurt, and drinks from folks along the road, tried not to step on the chickens that we were bringing, nestled on [View Full Entry]
K K - Kara and Kevin | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 1 Comment(s) | 0 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=233495] | 2008-01-06 20:46:19
The last few days here have been busy busy fun. Jack and Sharon are here with us now, settling in to African life. Its great to see them and to share this experience with them! Yesterday we went to see the National Ballet practice, awesome dancers and drummers! They gave us our own little show, very cool. We came back to Jeremy's compound for lunch and a short rest. After a break, I had a really fun dance class. I'm starting to catch on to things a bit more quickly. Issa is an excellent teacher, very patient and playful. Jack and [View Full Entry]
K K - Kara and Kevin | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 0 Comment(s) | 1 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=232768] | 2008-01-04 10:11:41
January 2nd--here in Bamako, playing drums everyday, learning a lot, classes in the morning and afternoon and into the night, hanging out with great teachers at the Djembe Hotel. Jeremy and Tewa have been great hosts helping us absorb the often overwhelming atmosphere of Africa. The internet has been down for a few days. We're mostly hanging out at their home; adventures outside require effort and planning. Today Kara's going to the market and I'm going to go watch a djembe ballet perform in town. We're looking forward to seeing Jack and Sharon arrive tonight. It's hard to plan everything for [View Full Entry]
K K - Kara and Kevin | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 1 Comment(s) | 2 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=232256] | 2008-01-02 14:44:37
Well, What can i say about Mali other than what a wonderful little country it truly is! Yes, it may be one of the poorest in the world, with a sadly high infant mortality rate and low life expectancy, but the people are friendly beyond their means and make the place what it is... truly wonderful. To start with lets just get rid of any bad things you hear about Timbuktu... if Bob Geldof said "is this it" when he visited then he obviously didn't bump into any friendly Toureg. We were fortunate enough (as it turned out) to arrive in [View Full Entry]
MrBradders - Mark William Bradley | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 0 Comment(s) | 0 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=230990] | 2007-12-28 10:14:10
Hi Everyone! So we've been here for a few days now, how many? It's easy to lose track of time in a way. We all keep forgetting what day it is. We're really happy staying here with Jeremy and Tewa and their family at the Djembe Hotel, we heartily recommend it! They are lovely lovely people, welcoming us into their home, bringing in excellent drum and dance teachers, taking us to interesting things, and cooking fantastic food! Its been a very rich and memorable time overall. I'll try to post some pictures here. We're trying to be very respectful with the [View Full Entry]
K K - Kara and Kevin | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 4 Comment(s) | 4 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=230703] | 2007-12-27 10:30:22
By Viajerong Pinoy
December 25th 2007
December 25th 2007
A DARN GOOD DOGON CHRISTMAS
Africa » Mali » Dogon Country » Bandiagara
From Sevare we drove on 4WD trucks to take us to Timbuktu, 7 hours it took for yus to get there an hour on paved road then the dirt tracks started, quite bumpy, I got bruises on my legs as I was seated at the very back and the space is cramped. There was a lot of checkpoints quite annoying but the drivers are used to it and did not mind it,we got to a point where we need to cross the river to get accross the road to Timbuktu, as soon as we gotto the other side the roads got [View Full Entry]
Viajerong Pinoy - GIL BRIONES | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 0 Comment(s) | 73 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=228531] | 2008-01-10 16:21:56
We've finally made it to Bamako and are settling in to a new space, languages, and yummy food. We had a really long trip here, but it was very cool. After a great send off by the Liskas and Colleen and friends, just two hours of sleep, we flew to Casablanca. We arrived in the morning knowing that we had around a 16 hour layover and that there are neat things to see in town, but not sure about how we were going to do that with our packs, or if it was realistic. We were pleasantly surprised, after some confusing [View Full Entry]
K K - Kara and Kevin | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 3 Comment(s) | 0 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=230108] | 2007-12-24 21:16:11
After crossing into the Malian side we drove for half an hour or so to a place where we have to go through customs. The people have been very nice so far waving at us as we pass through, I am loving it so far the people are so friendly and polite and have the most genuine smile, though at one checkpoint after the border the border guard was not impressed by the hordes of kids who ran to wave at us and chat while we are stopped and started shooing them away to no avail, finally he gave up and [View Full Entry]
Viajerong Pinoy - GIL BRIONES | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 2 Comment(s) | 45 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=227641] | 2007-12-28 14:57:48
By K K
December 15th 2007
December 15th 2007
Off to Africa, a new adventure!
Africa » Mali » District of Bamako » Bamako
Happy Holidays! We are in the final stages of planning for a new adventure, a new continent, a new year. Next Friday Dec 21 we leave our beloved and comfy home in Davis for time with the Liska-Rockwell's and a farewell party in San Fransisco, then early early in the wee hours on Saturday we depart for Africa. We'll land briefly, but not momentarily in Casablanca, hopefully spending the day on the town before departing again later that night for Bamako, Mali. We plan to spend most of our trip in Bamako, the country's capital at the Djembe Hotel [url=http://www.rootsyrecords.com/HtmlFiles [View Full Entry]
K K - Kara and Kevin | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 1 Comment(s) | 0 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=227838] | 2007-12-15 17:49:47