Hey everyone! So, I hope that you have all been following the World Cup. It has been very exciting to get into the action right here in South Africa.
Mike and I made it back into South Africa. The train no longer runs so we took a more interesting route. We took a chapa south to Ponto do Ouro and spent the afternoon in the beautiful Indian Ocean. Then we hitched south-east to the South African border. We were picked up by very nice people and were able to hitch from the border into the next town, Kosi Bay, where we stayed the night. It was my first time hitching and it was necessary since we were far out in rural areas without much regular public transit.
The next day we took a minibus to Durban and spent 2 nights there. We explored the city which is gorgeous and very warm, despite the fact that it is winter here.
Thursday we took an overnight bus into Port Elizabeth and found a backpacker's hostel right near the beach. We picked up our World cup tickets on Friday and explored the nice town of Port Elizabeth (AKA Nelson Mandela Bay). We went to our World Cup match yesterady and saw Uruguay beat South Korea 2-1. We had 10th row tickets and the energy inside the stadium was insane! We had a great time and the numerous vuvuzelas (long horn-like noise makers) were not nearly as annoying as I thought they would be. We also watched Ghana beat the US to advance. Though it is sad for my home team, I am glad that there is still one African team being represented. Go Black Stars!
Today we are gearing up for 2 weeks exploring the rest of South Africa. We did some planning and found some very interesting sites that we want to check out. Tomorrow we head east to an eco-resort on the "Wild Coast" and then next week we will head to Cape Town and the wine country. South Africa has been a bit of a surprise to be honest. The towns are all very safe and well-developed and the extra security for the World Cup is visible everywhere. The people have been friendly and we have met a lot of soccer fans from all over the world.
I hope everyone has a great week.
Peace.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Mozambique
Hey everyone.
Mike and I successfully made it south of the equator and are currently adjusting to the major season change.
Thursday morning we flew out of Accra and everything went smoothly. We landed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia because I chose to fly Ethiopian Airlines. Well I highly recommend them! The airlines put us up in a nice hotel overnight, provided transport to and from the airport, took care of our visas at the border and gave us two meals at the fancy hotel! It was service like no other. I really wish I had time to explore Addis Ababa, it just means I will have to go back someday. It looks like a fascinating city.
Friday morning our flight was only minorly delayed and we flew from Addis Ababa to Johannesburg. At the airport, we were able to find transit directly to Pretoria. We spent two days in Pretoria which was plenty of time to explore. We stayed at the Hotel Victoria, Pretoria's oldest hotel and walked all over downtown. We visited the famous Church Square and saw the Palace of Justice where Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment. We also went to Freedom Park which is a beautiful hilltop memorial to all the people who have fought (and died) for South Africa's freedom.
Sunday morning we took a bus to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. It took us about 9 hours to get here, but it was worth it! The border crossing was pretty slow and we had to get our visas there. We were also in a bit of a rush because the bus company warned us that we would get left at the border if the lines were too long. Luckily, we got through the Mozambican side pretty quickly.
We spent all day today (Monday) exploring Maputo. This is quite the town. It is pretty modern and developed despite Mozambique's gruesome past and fairly recent independence. We saw the old Portuguese fort, the cathedral, the train station, the central market and an artist's cooperative called "Nucleo de Arte." They displayed innovative art made out of old Kalashnikovs as well as local paintings. We watched more football games and met some cool travelers at a chill little backpackers' hostel right in downtown. We also walked along the major ocean-side boulevard and saw some cool municipal parks. It was a great day exploring this very interesting, dynamic town, "Africa's only Latin capital".
So, tomorrow we head back to South Africa. We are hoping to catch a mini bus to the border and then find a bus to Durban. Our soccer (football) match is Saturday at 4 pm local time in Port Elizabeth and we want to give ourselves plenty of time to get to the match city. Hope everyone has a great week!
Mike and I successfully made it south of the equator and are currently adjusting to the major season change.
Thursday morning we flew out of Accra and everything went smoothly. We landed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia because I chose to fly Ethiopian Airlines. Well I highly recommend them! The airlines put us up in a nice hotel overnight, provided transport to and from the airport, took care of our visas at the border and gave us two meals at the fancy hotel! It was service like no other. I really wish I had time to explore Addis Ababa, it just means I will have to go back someday. It looks like a fascinating city.
Friday morning our flight was only minorly delayed and we flew from Addis Ababa to Johannesburg. At the airport, we were able to find transit directly to Pretoria. We spent two days in Pretoria which was plenty of time to explore. We stayed at the Hotel Victoria, Pretoria's oldest hotel and walked all over downtown. We visited the famous Church Square and saw the Palace of Justice where Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment. We also went to Freedom Park which is a beautiful hilltop memorial to all the people who have fought (and died) for South Africa's freedom.
Sunday morning we took a bus to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. It took us about 9 hours to get here, but it was worth it! The border crossing was pretty slow and we had to get our visas there. We were also in a bit of a rush because the bus company warned us that we would get left at the border if the lines were too long. Luckily, we got through the Mozambican side pretty quickly.
We spent all day today (Monday) exploring Maputo. This is quite the town. It is pretty modern and developed despite Mozambique's gruesome past and fairly recent independence. We saw the old Portuguese fort, the cathedral, the train station, the central market and an artist's cooperative called "Nucleo de Arte." They displayed innovative art made out of old Kalashnikovs as well as local paintings. We watched more football games and met some cool travelers at a chill little backpackers' hostel right in downtown. We also walked along the major ocean-side boulevard and saw some cool municipal parks. It was a great day exploring this very interesting, dynamic town, "Africa's only Latin capital".
So, tomorrow we head back to South Africa. We are hoping to catch a mini bus to the border and then find a bus to Durban. Our soccer (football) match is Saturday at 4 pm local time in Port Elizabeth and we want to give ourselves plenty of time to get to the match city. Hope everyone has a great week!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Ghana Part II
Hello everybody!
It has been a great 10 days in southern Ghana. Mike and I are gearing up to fly out early tomorrow morning.
We spent most of our time here in Accra and there has been plenty to keep us busy. Last week we wandered around all the diverse neighborhoods surrounding Central Accra which is where we are staying. Accra is a lively city and though it is not the prettiest town and it can be very chaotic, it grows on you after a while. First we walked down to a cool lighthouse on the coast and then headed inland. We visited Jamestown which is near the port and has lots of crazy markets. In particular, I wanted to check out the juju and herbal medicine market. I have had this really weird cough for nearly 3 weeks that won't go away so I went to the market hoping for help. This nice older woman noticed immediately that something was wrong and she said "Obruni, your chest is broken!" Obruni is the local language (Twi) word for Toubab or white person. She insisted I buy a bundle of sticks that she called "twantiny". It was only 1 cedi (like 70 cents) so I bought them. She promised that if I washed them with pure water and then chewed them, that I will feel better. 10 days later, my cough has noticeably diminished, which is nice.
I tried a new dish called "red-red" which consists of fried plantain and a spicy bean mixture. It was absolutely wonderful. It has quicky become my favorite Ghanaian dish! :-)
We decided to take a day trip north of Accra and visit the Aburi Botanic Gardens. It was very pretty and relaxing to walk around during the morning. The Gardens are left over from the days of being a British colony. The British filled the gardens with seeds from all over the British empire. That afternoon, on the way back into town, we spent a few hours at Ghana University. The campus was spacious and green. We got some light reading at the bookstore and we explored their library. It looks like a very nice school with a beautiful campus but it is about 14 kilometers from downtown Accra. On the way back to our hotel we got poured on like never before! It was a solid downpour for the better part of 4 hours. We are definitely in the middle of Ghana's rainy season.
We explored more around central Accra and Adabraka (the neighborhood our hotel is in). We took a long afternoon walk over to Osu. There we found a western supermarket and the nicer (or just more expensive) part of town. We also checked out their huge Independence Square, right on the ocean. It was quite impressive until we went to see the "Eternal Flame of African Liberation"...and it was out.
One of the highlights of my week was the chance to go visit the NGO that I will be volunteering with in September. I took a mini-bus out to Nungua, which is kind of a suburb of Accra, just a couple kilometers east of here. It is a nice, quieter community. The volunteer house where I will be staying is very nice and they even have a washing machine! (The first one I have seen in Africa, no joke.) I am getting very good at washing all my clothes by hand, by the way. I also toured the school I will be teaching English at. It is called Vivibon school, just a short walk from the house. They have everything from pre-school and kindergarten all the way up to junior high school students. Everyone at Humanity World International (the NGO) was very friendly and I got a chance to talk to another volunteer about how great the kids were. So, I am looking forward to coming back in September for my 3 month long internship here.
We have been watching as many World Cup matches as possible, following the African teams especially closely. We saw Ghana win and felt the energy as the whole country celebrated! We also picked up our World Cup ticket confirmations last week, which was a relief because it was quite tricky to get them mailed to us when we were constantly on the move. Last weekend we spent out with a guy we met at our hotel named Malik. He is an American/Senegalese/French man living in London and a very interesting guy to hang out with. We sat at an outdoor bar for a while eating street food and drinking Star with the locals. We also checked out a club called Club Vienna and played some pool.
After so long in Accra, we decided it was time for a side trip. So, Sunday morning we headed 140 km west to Cape Coast which is a very nice little town on the ocean. There, we saw old slave and gold forts/castles built by the various colonial powers that fought for Ghana (Portuguese, British, Dutch). In Cape Coast we visited the Cape Coast Castle plus Fort Victoria and Fort Williams. We got rained on a couple times, but the beach was beautiful and the town very laid back.
Monday morning we headed north to Kakum National Park, a beautiful 360 sq km reserve of mixed-tropical rain forest. They have a famous canopy walkway that is the only one of its kind in Africa. It sits 100 feet above the forest floor and is a series of 7 walkways strung between the tallest tree species. It was a beautiful morning spent walking amongst the canopies even though we didn't see any wildlife and we got briefly rain on. After that, we hung out in town and continued to follow the progress of the World Cup.
Our match is the winner of Group A versus the runner up of Group B so it is very important to us to see how teams are doing. We will be watching in Port Elizabeth on the 26th of June and if we are lucky, we could see an African team play (Nigeria or South Africa) and we would also love to see Argentina play. But it all comes down to how all these teams do in the group stages.
So, we got back to Accra safely. We took the city bus instead of a mini-bus so it takes a little bit longer but it is a lot cheaper. That is generally how transit in Africa has worked for us so far. It is pouring in Accra again, which will probably get us ready for the winter that we're about to fly in to.
I hope everyone has a great week and I will talk to you again from south of the equator.
It has been a great 10 days in southern Ghana. Mike and I are gearing up to fly out early tomorrow morning.
We spent most of our time here in Accra and there has been plenty to keep us busy. Last week we wandered around all the diverse neighborhoods surrounding Central Accra which is where we are staying. Accra is a lively city and though it is not the prettiest town and it can be very chaotic, it grows on you after a while. First we walked down to a cool lighthouse on the coast and then headed inland. We visited Jamestown which is near the port and has lots of crazy markets. In particular, I wanted to check out the juju and herbal medicine market. I have had this really weird cough for nearly 3 weeks that won't go away so I went to the market hoping for help. This nice older woman noticed immediately that something was wrong and she said "Obruni, your chest is broken!" Obruni is the local language (Twi) word for Toubab or white person. She insisted I buy a bundle of sticks that she called "twantiny". It was only 1 cedi (like 70 cents) so I bought them. She promised that if I washed them with pure water and then chewed them, that I will feel better. 10 days later, my cough has noticeably diminished, which is nice.
I tried a new dish called "red-red" which consists of fried plantain and a spicy bean mixture. It was absolutely wonderful. It has quicky become my favorite Ghanaian dish! :-)
We decided to take a day trip north of Accra and visit the Aburi Botanic Gardens. It was very pretty and relaxing to walk around during the morning. The Gardens are left over from the days of being a British colony. The British filled the gardens with seeds from all over the British empire. That afternoon, on the way back into town, we spent a few hours at Ghana University. The campus was spacious and green. We got some light reading at the bookstore and we explored their library. It looks like a very nice school with a beautiful campus but it is about 14 kilometers from downtown Accra. On the way back to our hotel we got poured on like never before! It was a solid downpour for the better part of 4 hours. We are definitely in the middle of Ghana's rainy season.
We explored more around central Accra and Adabraka (the neighborhood our hotel is in). We took a long afternoon walk over to Osu. There we found a western supermarket and the nicer (or just more expensive) part of town. We also checked out their huge Independence Square, right on the ocean. It was quite impressive until we went to see the "Eternal Flame of African Liberation"...and it was out.
One of the highlights of my week was the chance to go visit the NGO that I will be volunteering with in September. I took a mini-bus out to Nungua, which is kind of a suburb of Accra, just a couple kilometers east of here. It is a nice, quieter community. The volunteer house where I will be staying is very nice and they even have a washing machine! (The first one I have seen in Africa, no joke.) I am getting very good at washing all my clothes by hand, by the way. I also toured the school I will be teaching English at. It is called Vivibon school, just a short walk from the house. They have everything from pre-school and kindergarten all the way up to junior high school students. Everyone at Humanity World International (the NGO) was very friendly and I got a chance to talk to another volunteer about how great the kids were. So, I am looking forward to coming back in September for my 3 month long internship here.
We have been watching as many World Cup matches as possible, following the African teams especially closely. We saw Ghana win and felt the energy as the whole country celebrated! We also picked up our World Cup ticket confirmations last week, which was a relief because it was quite tricky to get them mailed to us when we were constantly on the move. Last weekend we spent out with a guy we met at our hotel named Malik. He is an American/Senegalese/French man living in London and a very interesting guy to hang out with. We sat at an outdoor bar for a while eating street food and drinking Star with the locals. We also checked out a club called Club Vienna and played some pool.
After so long in Accra, we decided it was time for a side trip. So, Sunday morning we headed 140 km west to Cape Coast which is a very nice little town on the ocean. There, we saw old slave and gold forts/castles built by the various colonial powers that fought for Ghana (Portuguese, British, Dutch). In Cape Coast we visited the Cape Coast Castle plus Fort Victoria and Fort Williams. We got rained on a couple times, but the beach was beautiful and the town very laid back.
Monday morning we headed north to Kakum National Park, a beautiful 360 sq km reserve of mixed-tropical rain forest. They have a famous canopy walkway that is the only one of its kind in Africa. It sits 100 feet above the forest floor and is a series of 7 walkways strung between the tallest tree species. It was a beautiful morning spent walking amongst the canopies even though we didn't see any wildlife and we got briefly rain on. After that, we hung out in town and continued to follow the progress of the World Cup.
Our match is the winner of Group A versus the runner up of Group B so it is very important to us to see how teams are doing. We will be watching in Port Elizabeth on the 26th of June and if we are lucky, we could see an African team play (Nigeria or South Africa) and we would also love to see Argentina play. But it all comes down to how all these teams do in the group stages.
So, we got back to Accra safely. We took the city bus instead of a mini-bus so it takes a little bit longer but it is a lot cheaper. That is generally how transit in Africa has worked for us so far. It is pouring in Accra again, which will probably get us ready for the winter that we're about to fly in to.
I hope everyone has a great week and I will talk to you again from south of the equator.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Ghana
Good morning everyone! Mike and I made it safely to Ghana and it is quite the country! Our bus arrived without difficulty in Kumasi around 9 pm Thursday night. Given the 9 am Wednesday departure, we were sitting on that bus for about 36 hours. That’s our longest bus trip so far and luckily we were given the front seats behind the driver so it was a fairly comfortable ride. We had this huge blue bus with really good windows so (though we were still sweaty) it was more pleasant than the ride to Bamako. We crossed into Burkina Faso with no problems, rolled through the country and then arrived at the Ghanaian border around 2 am. We had to sleep at the border until it opened at around 8 am but in general, all the border stops went smoothly. The whole trip was about 1200 kilometers (746 miles).
Ghana is so different from Mali. It is green and wet; we have already been through 3 big rainstorms. The landscape is gorgeous and there are even hills and cliffs (unlike very flat Senegal). Even though it is a bit humid, the temperature is much more pleasant. I can finally sleep through the night without waking up sweating! Also, it is great to be in an Anglophone country again but the African accent is going to take some getting used to. In Kumasi we had a hard time finding cheap lodging. Oddly, all the cheap hostels and guest houses had no openings. So, we showed up at the Presbyterian Guesthouse at like 10:30 pm with few other options and ran into two other American students with the same problem. Lawrence, the very pleasant night guard, informed us that there were no free rooms until the next day so I asked him if there was any other possible option for the night. In the end, he let us stay on the veranda, a kind of open hallway, for free.
Friday we spent the day walking around Kumasi. It is Ghana’s second largest city and the capital of the ancient Ashanti Empire. It is a pretty cool city and full of activity! Walking through their huge market downtown was the first time that I saw Africans walking at the same rapid pace as me. There was a light, afternoon rain shower as we headed to the National Cultural Center. We wandered around the grounds and saw a small museum dedicated to the Ashanti monarchy, which still exists today. We also tried some local cuisine called “fufu” which is ground cassava (manioc) root in a very spicy groundnut (peanut) sauce.
Saturday morning was an early exit to head to Accra, another 255 km south-west. We left around 7 am and got into Accra at 1 pm. We walked around central Accra for about 2 hours and had the same odd problem finding cheap lodging. Both the Methodist Guesthouse and the YMCA were totally full so we ended up finding a nice little hotel called the Date Hotel, located on Adama Road (my Senegalese name.) We got settled in and then explored the area a little bit. There is a bit market a few kilometers away and lots of great little local food shops. I saw the ocean again for the first time in 3 weeks. I didn’t realize how much I missed it, but I got really used to its constant presence in Dakar (which is surrounded by the Atlantic on 3 sides).
Sunday we were awoken to the sounds of loud gospel music. Ghanaians are very serious about their religion and the country is about 70% Christian. It sounded like the church service was quite lively. Today we are going to the market, looking for cheap wi-fi and getting a better sense of our surroundings. I am excited to explore Accra and the surrounding areas for the next two weeks. It will be nice to not have so much ground to cover for a little while. I like to think of it as the vacation part of my summer vacation.
The next big date is June 18th when we fly to Johannesburg, South Africa (though our flight path takes us through Addis Adaba, Ethiopia) for the southern portion of our African adventure. Have a great week and I will update you again before we leave Ghana.
Ghana is so different from Mali. It is green and wet; we have already been through 3 big rainstorms. The landscape is gorgeous and there are even hills and cliffs (unlike very flat Senegal). Even though it is a bit humid, the temperature is much more pleasant. I can finally sleep through the night without waking up sweating! Also, it is great to be in an Anglophone country again but the African accent is going to take some getting used to. In Kumasi we had a hard time finding cheap lodging. Oddly, all the cheap hostels and guest houses had no openings. So, we showed up at the Presbyterian Guesthouse at like 10:30 pm with few other options and ran into two other American students with the same problem. Lawrence, the very pleasant night guard, informed us that there were no free rooms until the next day so I asked him if there was any other possible option for the night. In the end, he let us stay on the veranda, a kind of open hallway, for free.
Friday we spent the day walking around Kumasi. It is Ghana’s second largest city and the capital of the ancient Ashanti Empire. It is a pretty cool city and full of activity! Walking through their huge market downtown was the first time that I saw Africans walking at the same rapid pace as me. There was a light, afternoon rain shower as we headed to the National Cultural Center. We wandered around the grounds and saw a small museum dedicated to the Ashanti monarchy, which still exists today. We also tried some local cuisine called “fufu” which is ground cassava (manioc) root in a very spicy groundnut (peanut) sauce.
Saturday morning was an early exit to head to Accra, another 255 km south-west. We left around 7 am and got into Accra at 1 pm. We walked around central Accra for about 2 hours and had the same odd problem finding cheap lodging. Both the Methodist Guesthouse and the YMCA were totally full so we ended up finding a nice little hotel called the Date Hotel, located on Adama Road (my Senegalese name.) We got settled in and then explored the area a little bit. There is a bit market a few kilometers away and lots of great little local food shops. I saw the ocean again for the first time in 3 weeks. I didn’t realize how much I missed it, but I got really used to its constant presence in Dakar (which is surrounded by the Atlantic on 3 sides).
Sunday we were awoken to the sounds of loud gospel music. Ghanaians are very serious about their religion and the country is about 70% Christian. It sounded like the church service was quite lively. Today we are going to the market, looking for cheap wi-fi and getting a better sense of our surroundings. I am excited to explore Accra and the surrounding areas for the next two weeks. It will be nice to not have so much ground to cover for a little while. I like to think of it as the vacation part of my summer vacation.
The next big date is June 18th when we fly to Johannesburg, South Africa (though our flight path takes us through Addis Adaba, Ethiopia) for the southern portion of our African adventure. Have a great week and I will update you again before we leave Ghana.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Dogon Country
Good day everyone! Michael and I just got back into Mopti after a night in Bandiagara, a 3 day hike through the Dogon Plateau and another night in Bandiagara. We had a wonderful time hiking through a gorgeous part of Mali and I highly recommend it to anyone!
We stayed in Djenné for a night and saw the town. The mud mosque was pretty impressive. On the way from Djenné to Mopti on Thursday we met a very nice Peace Corps volunteer who gave us two good guide recommendations for Dogon country. So, we contacted one and on Friday we met with our guide, Mabo, in Mopti to discuss the travel arrangements and itinerary for our trip. We decided to stay in Bandiagara Friday night, 75 kilometers from Mopti, because it is a more common “jumping off point” for the Dogon country. Like in Djenné and Mopti, we stayed in a nice little hostel on the roof with some basic mattresses because it is the cheapest and coolest option.
Saturday morning, our guide had some vehicle problems and sent us his very trusted friend, Ibrahim. Given no other option, we started our journey with Ibrahim, who was called Pygmy all along the trail due to his somewhat short stature. He was very friendly and reliable and we ended up having a fantastic trip. We left our backpacks at the hostel and set out with only the basics. Saturday morning, there was a cultural festival in Bandiagara celebrating the 25 year anniversary of the collaboration between some German NGO and the Malian people. We stopped by and watched dancing, masque parades and the usual ceremonial (bureaucratic) formalities. After that, we had a typical Malian lunch of rice and peanut sauce and then got a ride out onto the actual Dogon Plateau.
We stopped by the village of Djiguibombo and walked around, learning about the Dogon culture. I’m not going to relay everything we learned, but feel free to look it up or come check it out for yourself. We started our hike on the top of the plateau and immediately began the descent into the valley. We were greeted by a sizable dust storm that later gave way to brief rain storm that was much appreciated as it brought the temperature down considerably. We waited out the rain under an overhang in the cliff wall before continuing our descent into the small village of Canicombo. We finished the day at the village of Teli, doing a total of 11 km. After a lovely dinner of macaroni and chicken, we slept on roof mattresses at a small hostel.
Sunday morning we were up bright and early. After a breakfast of eggs, bread and instant coffee, we headed up to the old village of Teli which consisted of mud houses and granaries set into the cliff wall. In the morning, before it got to 100 degrees, we hiked 10 km to the small village of Yabatalou. We had couscous and chicken for lunch with some traditional Malian tea. Tea in Mali is much like in Senegal where you boil Chinese green tea and serve it in three installments with increasing amounts of sugar. We hiked 4 km to a village called Boundjourou which was very lively as it was their weekly market. We walked around, took in the sights and smells, and got to try locally-made millet beer. Then, for the fun part, we got to climb up the plateau, which was a 500 meter (1640 feet) ascent. The path was manageable and the view from the top was breathtaking and, needless to say, totally worth the climb. We spent the night on the roof of a small hostel in the village of Begnamato.
Monday morning we had another early start, getting up around 6:30 with the sun. We had bread and coffee for breakfast and then another round of tea. In the morning we hiked 5 km to the village of Konsogou. We walked around the area and learned about different Dogon funeral ceremonies. After that we finished our stay in Dogon country with a 5 km hike to Dourou, a major village where we caught a car going back into Bandiagara. After lunch in Bandiagara we checked out the bi-weekly market and then said thanks and good-bye to our guide, Ibrahim.
We looked into ground transport to Ghana and found our best option to be taking an early bus out of Mopti Wednesday morning. This gave us time to hang out in Bandiagara for Monday evening and relax before taking a mini-bus to Mopti Tuesday morning. We decided not to spend time in Burkina Faso because there didn’t seem to be much of interest and we wanted more time to explore Ghana (and maybe Togo if we’re lucky). So, tomorrow it’s off to Kumasi (Ghana) direct from Mopti by simply cutting through Burkina Faso.
Have a wonderful week and I’ll update y’all again from Ghana.
We stayed in Djenné for a night and saw the town. The mud mosque was pretty impressive. On the way from Djenné to Mopti on Thursday we met a very nice Peace Corps volunteer who gave us two good guide recommendations for Dogon country. So, we contacted one and on Friday we met with our guide, Mabo, in Mopti to discuss the travel arrangements and itinerary for our trip. We decided to stay in Bandiagara Friday night, 75 kilometers from Mopti, because it is a more common “jumping off point” for the Dogon country. Like in Djenné and Mopti, we stayed in a nice little hostel on the roof with some basic mattresses because it is the cheapest and coolest option.
Saturday morning, our guide had some vehicle problems and sent us his very trusted friend, Ibrahim. Given no other option, we started our journey with Ibrahim, who was called Pygmy all along the trail due to his somewhat short stature. He was very friendly and reliable and we ended up having a fantastic trip. We left our backpacks at the hostel and set out with only the basics. Saturday morning, there was a cultural festival in Bandiagara celebrating the 25 year anniversary of the collaboration between some German NGO and the Malian people. We stopped by and watched dancing, masque parades and the usual ceremonial (bureaucratic) formalities. After that, we had a typical Malian lunch of rice and peanut sauce and then got a ride out onto the actual Dogon Plateau.
We stopped by the village of Djiguibombo and walked around, learning about the Dogon culture. I’m not going to relay everything we learned, but feel free to look it up or come check it out for yourself. We started our hike on the top of the plateau and immediately began the descent into the valley. We were greeted by a sizable dust storm that later gave way to brief rain storm that was much appreciated as it brought the temperature down considerably. We waited out the rain under an overhang in the cliff wall before continuing our descent into the small village of Canicombo. We finished the day at the village of Teli, doing a total of 11 km. After a lovely dinner of macaroni and chicken, we slept on roof mattresses at a small hostel.
Sunday morning we were up bright and early. After a breakfast of eggs, bread and instant coffee, we headed up to the old village of Teli which consisted of mud houses and granaries set into the cliff wall. In the morning, before it got to 100 degrees, we hiked 10 km to the small village of Yabatalou. We had couscous and chicken for lunch with some traditional Malian tea. Tea in Mali is much like in Senegal where you boil Chinese green tea and serve it in three installments with increasing amounts of sugar. We hiked 4 km to a village called Boundjourou which was very lively as it was their weekly market. We walked around, took in the sights and smells, and got to try locally-made millet beer. Then, for the fun part, we got to climb up the plateau, which was a 500 meter (1640 feet) ascent. The path was manageable and the view from the top was breathtaking and, needless to say, totally worth the climb. We spent the night on the roof of a small hostel in the village of Begnamato.
Monday morning we had another early start, getting up around 6:30 with the sun. We had bread and coffee for breakfast and then another round of tea. In the morning we hiked 5 km to the village of Konsogou. We walked around the area and learned about different Dogon funeral ceremonies. After that we finished our stay in Dogon country with a 5 km hike to Dourou, a major village where we caught a car going back into Bandiagara. After lunch in Bandiagara we checked out the bi-weekly market and then said thanks and good-bye to our guide, Ibrahim.
We looked into ground transport to Ghana and found our best option to be taking an early bus out of Mopti Wednesday morning. This gave us time to hang out in Bandiagara for Monday evening and relax before taking a mini-bus to Mopti Tuesday morning. We decided not to spend time in Burkina Faso because there didn’t seem to be much of interest and we wanted more time to explore Ghana (and maybe Togo if we’re lucky). So, tomorrow it’s off to Kumasi (Ghana) direct from Mopti by simply cutting through Burkina Faso.
Have a wonderful week and I’ll update y’all again from Ghana.
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