Blogs from Dogon Country, Mali, Africa - page 3

The road to Mopti was...eternal? Yeah, that's a good word for it! Long and hot, dry and dusty. We soon found that the further north you go, the more expensive water got...which is kind of a "no duh" statement since we're traveling into the Sahara desert...hmmmm... At any rate, crossing the border was a pain, not because of any large amounts of paperwork, but because of the excessively spread out process of starting and stopping. We would drive for twenty minutes, and then everyone would pile out of the tro so we could have one guy check out passports. Then we would all pile right back in, drive another twenty minutes, get out, sign a one page document, and then get back into the vehicle. Then we would drive another twenty minutes, get out again, get ... read more

I settled down to write a long entry chronicling the myriad things that have happened since my last post, but now that I’m at the keyboard, I feel like that task is too daunting—a lot has happened! Instead, I feel more inclined to give just a brief look back at the past three weeks. In that time Nora and I went to the Festival on the Niger, had Nora’s parents and brother visit us, traveled to Dogon country, and returned to Bamako with the first wave of hot season sweeping over us. Now, those three weeks of activity and heat seem quite distant. Nora has since departed for North Carolina along with her family to attend the funeral of her grandfather, leaving me in quiet solidarity. Moreover, the weather has changed yet again. The days have ... read more

Tuesday 11th November I leave Djenne in the early morning and recross the river Bani on the ferry. I travel through rice fields across the causeway to join the main road to Gao to arrive in Mopti late morning. Mopti is also surrounded by rice fields. In between, yes, you've guessed it. Millet and cattle! The good surface continues but, as it's only 120 miles, I don't have time to get bored. There is also a lot of activity on and at the side of the road. Herds of cattle are being driven to water. There is an endless stream of four wheeled horse drawn carts filled with people. I don't know whether people here are normally reserved. Very few take the initiative but when I do a broad smile and enthusiastic wave is my reward. ... read more

Monday 10 November In the cool of the morning you dig four holes in the earth, put in your poles, tie up an awning, put up your table and your are ready for business. Even at 0700 the Monday market in front of the Djenne mosque is alive with trucks, traders, tourists and very worried sheep. Armed with the camera I shoot anything that moves. I'll never have the time to process a fraction of these. J-M is restless. He has a bad feeling about the place and I sympathise. There is the Djenne of the local population who come to one of the largest markets in Africa to buy, to sell, to exchange news. Dried fish is the biggest single item for sale here. It is bought by families and by traders who load it ... read more

first of all, and i hope not to deceive anyone here, im still alive and fairly healthy. that being said, where were we... oh yes, dogon country. I spent four wonderful days in that wonderful land out of time with yakou, a real raster and possibly the best guide you can find in mali for the dogon land, and now someone I count among my friends. and the four days where wonderful. we walked a lot, we swam in some waterfalls along the way, we went through beautiful landscapes and some of the most beautiful towns ive seen. one day we partied a bit cause we got trapped by the rain, but mostly we talked about the dogon. surrounded by trees and rocks the dogon live fairly undisturbed by tourists, which for how famous the place ... read more