Blogs from North-West, Mali, Africa - page 2

Hi everyone, I think some people may have missed out on receiving one of the blogs I posted a couple of days ago - I posted 3 blogs just before leaving Addis Ababa - if you didn't receive all three, please just check out previous blogs to keep up to date. Many thanks, the cause might have been internet service. Having a beer in Bangkok at the moment and using free wifi (probably not really free if we have too many beers) - heading to the beach for a few days next week. Love to you all. Ros Niger River trip Day 2 - 3/1/2011 After rising at 5.30am (are we on holiday!!) we set off on the river again in time to catch the sunrise - magic. Today was a full day on the ... read more

Geo: 16.7721, -3.00778Given the encroaching desert, the Niger doesn't quite make it to Timbuktu anymore (although there is an effort underway to re-establish that link). As a result we had to catch a shuttle to the town itself- the driver was only too happy to inform us that we were now officially in the middle of nowhere- we were also able to get the needed picture in front of the sign pointing to Timbuktu. We had to struggle to find a suitable sign and in this respect, Timbuktu remains surprisingly untouched by the kitch that seems to afflict similar destinations. We didn't see any “I made it to Timbuktu T-Shirts”, plastic camels, or any other tacky souvenirs- we were accosted by the occasional Tureg tribesman selling ‘authentic‘ jewellery but as often as not they would be ... read more

Man...and I thought the trip from Ouaga to Mopti was long... boy was I wrong! Sixteen hours... that's how long it took to reach Timbuktu. Sixteen hours cramped into the back of a Tro Tro filled with eight people in the back, four in the middle, three in the front, and one guy on top. Sixteen hours, of minimal water and no food. Sixteen hours of hot hundred degree weather amplified exponentially by the extremely close quarters. Sixteen hours of sandy Sahara dust blowing in through the windows. Sixteen hours stuck in a vehicle where no one spoke English. Sixteen hours of playing through every song from every CD, TV show, musical, movie, and video game that I know in my head. Sixteen hours to have my legs completely cramp up and be incredibly sore. Sixteen ... read more

For the last 8 months I have been on a sabbatical from travelling. During this time I have embarked on a number of random pursuits, such as a career and the like. But all good things must come to an end. I can no longer avoid my responsibilities in life and I am responsible for getting my pasty white ass back to Africa. If you want to get on with the Africa part of this blog, you may want to skip the next few paragraphs Last time I left you, I was in Uganda, after several months travelling up through Africa from Cape Town. In my intentions of travelling overland to London, I hit a minor stumbling block in the form of the Democratic Republic of Congo. I’ll return to finish that final piece of the ... read more

We took the boat. It was great. Slept up on top deck, out in the open. Took 4 nights from Korioume to Segou. Saw a lightning storm attack the river, got beached on sandbanks, played lots of cent-cinquante-et-un (malian card game) in the bar, drank the bar dry twice, ate wonderful galley food, watched dubious Portuguese soaps dubbed in French, had showers in showers that inexplicably went on and off.... read more