Travels with a Dakar


Advertisement
Mali's flag
Africa » Mali » Dogon Country » Bandiagara
November 26th 2008
Published: November 26th 2008
Edit Blog Post

Thursday 13th November

I am now a regular and pay an early visit to the cybernet cafe to find out what has happened to my fellow travellers. Geoff is in Mopti and might call today to Sevare. Mark is making progress and should be in Sevare tomorrow and Migo is still stuck in Ziguinchor. As time is starting to run out for me I decide to head into Dogon country, one of the main reasons for coming this far. I pack the bike and am about to say goodbye to Kay and Amadou when Geoff arrives. He's had Mopti. Too much hassle, even by the hotel staff. He got "fined" for going the wrong way up a one way street. The lad's so unlucky. I did it at least twice that I know of in Mopti. That on top of getting blamed for knocking down the young girl in Ziguinchor! Some people. We swap stories and before I'm finished packing he's well and truly settled in. The lad's going to chill for a couple of days and I can't think of a better place to do it.

Geoff met J-M in Segou on his way to Nouakchott two days ago so J-M's visit to Dogon country was brief, in the extreme.
I say what I hope is au revoir to Kay and Amadou. I've really enjoyed my two nights here. I say goodbye to Geoff which is sad because we may not meet again. He and Mark are going to Timbouctou so I'll miss Mark as well. I ride east out of Sevare feeling a bit lonely. This is the first time since travelling down through England that I am on my own, potentially all the way back to the U.K. I've really enjoyed the places I've been but as much as anything else this journey has been about people. Meeting new people, making new friends. Experiencing highs and lows with them. It's been great.

The Dogon Escarpment runs SW to NE from near Gani in the SW to Bongo in the NW. To the west is a high rocky plateau and it's across this I head, first to Bandiagara, then NW to Sanga. As far as Bandiagara I'm still on a great road but the landscape changes dramatically. Rock formations break the monotony. There are many, many watercourses, most of them dry but some with flowing water. From Bandiagara to Sanga I'm treated to piste, glorious piste. It's great. The countryside is completely different now. Huge rocky outcrops dominate but there's farming and not just millet. Other crops are being grown by the Dogons who have a reputation as good farmers. Men, women and children are working in the fields. Herdsmen dress differently here. Their clothing is more colourful and they invariably wear a conical straw hat.

Stone is used as a building material. There are stone houses and structures as well as those of red earth. Typical Dogon villages here have square buildings with steep conical straw roofs.

I get to Sanga and it's much as I expected. It's geared towards tourists. As I stop I am surrounded. What do I want? You have to pay for photographs. By now the familiar pattern of a tourist town. I carry on through the village and crest a hill and get my first view of the escarpment. It drops away dramatically to the plain beyond. I stop to take a few photos and am surrounded by men and children but the people here are different. They want to talk. They do not want anything. It happens again and again in Dogon country. In tourist areas I am hustled and hassled. In the countryside people just want to stop and talk. I walk up the hill with the camera and play a game with the children who crowd around. I stop suddenly. They imitate me. I walk a few paces. They copy. I stop again. They stop. They are all laughing.

I say goodby and head back along the piste to Bandiagara. Again when I stop riders on mopeds stop. They just want to chat. Not the case in Bandiagara which is tourist orientated. I am lead to one auberge where the room is a dive. The owner is very apologetic. The auberge is full and the room is all that is left. I spot a possibility in the LP but my "guide" suggests another. Nothing to lose. He pulls up outside the "hotel". I get a glimpse of the yard. . Chickens scrabbling around in the dirt. The dive was better than this. I do a u turn and am on my way out of town to Hotel Toguna. It's the first time I have an open aired loo and shower ensuite. Things are looking up.

Friday 14th November

I am heading eastwards towards Djiguibombo on the piste. Easy and enjoyable riding. Despite the rocky plateau there is plenty of agriculture and a wider variety of vegetables than I have seen elsewhere. I get to Djiguibombo and pass through. It's small and seems to have little to offer.

What I had glimpsed yesterday at Sanga in no way prepared me for the drama of the road down from the plateau to the plain at Kani Kombole. Piste alternates with concrete as the road twists and curves through crazy rock structures. As with everywhere else in Dogon country there are dozens of water courses. Mostly dry but I come across a tiny waterfall and stop just beyond. It is an oasis in the drama of the huge rocky escarpment and the running water adds a sense of peace and tranquility contrasting with the surrounding drama. Beyond the escarpment the plain stretches away into the shimmering light and the border with Burkino Fasso. Dust storms blow across the plain. I stop again and sit and look.

Geoff met an English couple in Mopti and asked them what they thought of the Dogon country.

In unison the said "Not much".

I don't know about the classic Dogon villages on everybody's itinerary but for me the Dogon country I have seen over the last two days has been worth the journey.

I drop down to Kobolo Kombe and decide I prefer the top of the escarpment so turn around and head back to Djiguibombo. I try an auberge. No, not this one. I ask where Benoit, a recommendation from Kay, lives and without any rancour I am directed to his house which is recommended. I'm escorted there. Benoit is welcoming and kind and when I mention Kay nothing is too much trouble. Just ask. The room is basic but fine so I settle in. I am asked if I would like to order my evening meal. I do. Casually I enquire if there is bread. No, it's not available in the village but it can be ordered from Bandiagara 26 miles away. No, it's not important. Later I ask Benoit if there are bananas in the village. No, but today is market day in Bandiagara and he will have some by this evening. No, it's not that important. Later the bananas arrive and are stored in the fridge for me. The bread has arrived as well. Nothing is too much trouble.

I debate with myself whether to visit the main tourist villages at the foot of the escarpment. I decide against. I have seen a lot of working Dogon villages. I am staying in one for the night. I like them. Instead I take the camera and walk. Crowds of children pile around me. We play the walking game again. A man beckons me into his auberge. When I say I am staying at Benoit's he is happy for me.

It is late afternoon and I am wandering around the village. Children are returning home from school singing songs. The structures are simple. Each compound is encircled by a stone wall into which are set the small red earth clay buildings with their distinctive conical roofs that are used for living and storage.

"Toubab, Toubab, ca va?" is the constant refrain from the children. Each in turn shakes my hand. Some hold on for a long time, walking with me. Men are sitting and lying outside houses talking.

"Ca va?" from everyone as I pass by.

Women are pounding millet. Its dust rises in clouds which is backlit by the light of the setting sun.

I climb onto the roof of Benoit's auberge and sit under the awning watching the sun setting behind pink and orange clouds. There is no electricity in the village apart from a few of the auberges which have solar panels. The sun sets, darkness grows and the stars begin to appear. The noises of the village become clearer. Children laughing, crying, talking, playing. The more sombre sound of adults talking. The constant braying from donkeys reminding us all they have had a hard day. I drink a warm beer and feel at peace. The long road south and the even longer road north have and will have been worth it.

Saturday 15th November

And so the road home starts but first one last treat. I head east over the escarpment for one last time and drop down to Kani Kombole. In the early light of day it is beautiful. A broad piste brings me to Bankass. I disturb a vulture breakfasting on a dead cow. I don't think this was roadkill. I loop around on the widest piste I have ever been on back to Bandiagara. From here, with the exception of the Mauritanian/Moroccan border, it will be long, long miles of tarmac.

I get back to Sevare and Maison des Arts to the friendliest welcome from Kay and Amadou and Dennis and Amadou who looked after me. Mark and Geoff are in the middle of bike maintainance in preparation for the road to Tombouctou. An unexpected and welcome reunion.

We swop stories and catch up on news and carry on with our seperate preparations. I now map out the journey back and realise that I have been enjoying myself too much and left very little time for the return journey. It will be days of long miles without a break to Bilbao. Oh well, so long as the bike and backside hold up I have loads of memories and thoughts to keep me going and, at the end of the journey home, Sandy, family and friends.

The bike gets another treat. The best handwash it has ever had in it's entire life. Well, I have to pretend to do some maintainance to keep up appearances!

A last visit to the cybernet cafe for me and the frustration of the slowest of connections. But good news. Migo has repaired his bike. Is he ever proud? He is back on the road and heading east. I share the news with Mark and Geoff and we all celebrate.

That evening we eat, drink beer of course and talk. We reflect on our journeys so far, laugh at things that have happened to us, think how lucky we have been and drift into a serious discussion of our reasons and motivations for travel. It is a great way to end my time with them. I will miss them.




Additional photos below
Photos: 22, Displayed: 22


Advertisement



Tot: 0.048s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 8; qc: 30; dbt: 0.0242s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.1mb