I made my way to Segou, which was the 3rd largest city in Mali and located on the Niger River. I had heard it was a relaxed place for a big city and I was not disappointed. I liked the vibe of the place right away and that my hotel was just a few minutes walk from the Niger River. It was the weekend and there were quite a few tourists in Segou for the weekend. I had to get used to the many calls of "hello my friend" in my direction from the guides, CD music seller, souvenir shops and [View Full Entry]

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When I researched for this trip I kept reading that many people considered Mali one of the highlights of West Africa. It is known for it's music, hiking in the Dogon Country, a visit to Timbuktu and trips down the Niger River. However, I had also heard that it was very touristy in main sites of Mali and full of pesky guides. I prefer to travel to a place before it becomes the hot travel destination and changes because of tourism. The main thing being that the people see you a $$$ sign instead as a actual person. I arrived in [View Full Entry]

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After almost 4 weeks in Senegal I knew it was time to move to Mali even though I left feeling that I could have stayed in the Casamance region another month. I found Casamance to be amazing and the people to be very genuine. However, my first 10 days in Northern Senegal I felt some of the strongest culture shock I have experienced in all of my travels. Some days the smells, foreign language, begging and rough transport made me want to leave West Africa or stay in my hotel. I did not expect this since I had already spend 6 [View Full Entry]

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I am writing this blog early Friday night and have no plans to go out tonight. Most of my weekend nights have been on the very quiet side and me not being bothered by this in the least bit. I think I needed a break from the social life of going out in Chicago. Ok, it has been a probably about 12 days since my last update and time to finish writing about my time in Senegal. I left the remote island of Karabane and made the short trip to the villiage of Cap Skirring, which is the most touristy part [View Full Entry]

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I was ready to get out of Ziguinchor and see what I would find in the more remote parts of Casamance. I deceided to make my way to the island of Karabane. Distances were mostly short in Casamance so I arrived in Elinkane in less than 2 hours. After a simple lunch by the river I got by first experience of traveling by pirogue. This happens to be a long dugout wooden canoe with a motor that transports locals from different spots thoughout the islands and small viliages off the river. They can fit 30 or people on these boats but [View Full Entry]

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When I am asked by the locals where I am from they are often surprised to hear I am from "America". They simpy as do not get many people from the States to visit West Africa as a tourist. I was surprised to hear so many people then tell me that they love America and it is a great country. They love it's democracy and how it welcomes outsiders. The reaction is one of the strongest I have received about my country while traveling. I try to then express that I feel very lucky to be from America but it is [View Full Entry]

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I left Dakar on Halloween night with not even a small image in Senegal that reminded me of Halloween in Chicago. I am sure all of my friends are out these next two nights in costumes partying the night away. It wasn't so bad for me as I was taking an overnight Ferry to the southern region of Senegal called Casamance. The ferry was very modern and I traveled in comfort as I had a bed in 4 person room. I spent the night talking to other travelers about their travels through West Africa. I awoke to us out of the [View Full Entry]

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I was off to the Petite Coast which is only about 50 kilometers from Dakar but seems like a different world once you get out of the big city. The trip from St. Louis to the coast was a bit of an adventure as it required 2 transfers and me trying to find the right transport to a place on the coast called Toubab Dialao. I was never quite sure I got on the right bus and had to hav blind faith in people that didn't seem to understand me. I was very pleasantly surprised when I found a quiet fishing [View Full Entry]

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I decided the first place to visit after Dakar would be to the colonial city of St. Louis in the north on the coast. First, I want to teach you a little about transport in most parts of Africa including Senegal. Often there is no chance to take comfortable buses from city to city. My options are instead you can take a local bus, which stops every few minutes to pickup and let off people. This can make even traveling a short distance seem to take forever. The faster version is a bush taxi or what they call "sep-plus" in Senegal. [View Full Entry]

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This year I decided to skip Latin America and try to make this year's trip more of an adventure. I had been thinking about going back to Southeast Asia or Africa. I decided on West Africa since I traveled throughout the South and East of Africa 10 years ago. I knew that West Africa would be more of challenge with it seeing far less tourists and without a tourist route. Also, almost all of the countries speak French or a local African dialect. I arrived in the capital city of Senegal on the 23rd of October with a direct flight from [View Full Entry]

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