Blogs from Mali, Africa - page 8

Well I’m in Djenne to see the market and the Mosque. I spent Saturday looking around Mopti with Anil. These would-be guides are very, very annoying! They really detract from the Mali experience. Bought a ticket to go to Djenne by boat. Stupidly I paid in advance because the next day the boat turned out to be bogus! Down 4000CFA. Oh well, after a long wait caught a bush taxi to Djenne. Met a guide named “John Travolta” (WTF!) but I agreed to let him give me a tour. He turned out to be honest and didn’t try to screw me, although I doubt his official licence. The town is entirely made of mud! Crazy! All-in-all Mali seems nice, but there are too many tourists and not enough money. This leads to many people trying to ... read more

Well another night out with Yousouf and Arnaud last night. Met a Colonel in the Malian Army who seemed to like me and hooked me up with contacts in Timbuktu. Also he’s a good contact to have. Yousouf finally let me pay for a round (not that I was trying too hard to) and also gave me a CD. An early rise, a bit rough, and I was on the bus all day. I actually met Anil on the bus, which was good so we went to a better hotel than we’d planned in Mopti. Many annoying “guides”, but I can’t blame them as people are so poor here --- well not Yousouf, but most. I feel bad for the children, especially the girls. I am embarrassed of the obscene opulence in which I live relative ... read more

The bus trip finally ended after some more great hospitality (the guy next to me shared his dinner with me and let me use his cell). The Malian boarder guards want plenty of bribes. We had to pass a hat around the bus to collect for them. It was too late when I arrived to get a hold of Baidou’s uncle Yousouf who’s supposed to look after me, so I spent last night in a hotel. I slept until 12:30 as I was so tired! I then moved to a dorm room where I met an American Anil and a Japanese guy (who’s on a 4+ year bike trip!). Anil and I are the same age and get along well. We are supposed to hike Dogon country together. Today after I failed to get a five ... read more

Bienvenue und herzlich Willkommen, schoen dass du den Weg zu meinem Blog gefunden hast - hoffentlich gefaellt es dir! Hier werde ich die naechsten 7-8 Monate versuchen, mehr oder weniger regelmaessig mitzuteilen, wie es sich hier so lebt. Momentan heisst 'Hier' Bamakok, die Hauptstadt von Mali, wo ich seit vorgestern bin. Morgen oder uebermoren werde ich von Mali in Richtung Guinea aufbrechen, und sobald ich in Conakry mein liberianisches Visum bekommen habe (was hoffentlich, hoffentlich schnell gehen wird), werde ich nach Monrovia aufbrechen und dort fuer zwei Monate beim Centre for Media studies and peace building ( http://www.cemesp-liberia.org/ )mitarbeiten. danach habe ich einen Monat Zeit, Westafrika unsicher zu machen (TOGOOOOO!!), bevor ich Ende September fuer drei Monate in Johannesburg bei Rosaluxemburg ein Praktikum absolvieren werde. Soweit der Plan. Unglaublich, dass es g... read more

Our mission for Saturday was to merely make it back to Mopti…judging from past experiences, that was all we could feasibly accomplish… and plan our next move from there. Earlier that week we had gotten the phone number of a reputable Dogon Country guide from the Peace Corp volunteers we had met on the bus to Ouagadougou. While we were still in Mopti, waiting to get to Timbuktu, I had called him to schedule a meeting time and place. Thus our plan was to get back to Mopti, and then find transport to Bandiagara, the location he had chosen to meet at on Sunday. But as I’ve learned from my previous adventures plans here in West Africa, seldom turn out the way you intend…however, this time, the change in plans worked nicely in our favor! With ... read more