TravelStream™ news feed for member bronwen on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/bronwen en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:20:13 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/africa/1224196980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/africa/1224196980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/africa/1224196980/tpod.html Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:20:13 -0400 An overland trip from Britain to South Africa. And beyond...?

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Akyinim, Ghana

The last 18 months of blood (there would have been if I had not been confiscated of any machetes I was tempted to use - I have "no co-ordination" etched across my forehead in 400 different languages), sweat (oh, was there sweat - just thinking makes you sweat in this humidity. "Sure" deodorant should do its product testing here) and tears (I love living in Africa but I don't half I miss my friends...) has produced a wonderful house on our exquisite beach. Three years ago, when we left the UK on our trip through Africa, I would never, ever&nbsp;have believed it if some one said I was going to build a house in Ghana. But, with the help of local knowledge, friendly expert knowledge, "Barry's book of construction", the internet and some basic O'Level mathematics, we have somehow succeeded in completing and opening Ceto, <i>the best little beach house in Ghana.And now we're in business and looking forward to getting back to the mud hut knowing that we will make some money when we are there (and, anyone that remembers us living in the mud hut, you'll be pleased to hear we now have a indoor flushing toilet - now there's luxury for you!)Let me know what you think. Let me know what I should be doing next? To South Africa and beyond, back to IT, or something else!!!! Or should I just hang out on the beach for the rest of my life?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/africa/1165235220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/africa/1165235220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/africa/1165235220/tpod.html Fri, 23 Feb 2007 03:55:37 -0500 An overland trip from Britain to South Africa. And beyond...?

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Akyinim, Ghana

Welcome to life after Bronwen and our version of survival.No longer travelling, or being "travelpods" we have now moved to www.lifeafterbronwen.blogspot.com&nbsp; Feel free to check it out to see our progress liveing in a mud hut by the sea.CheersJamie and Claire
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Plymouth, United Kingdom

For those of you who don't know we've been back in the UK for a while...Why? Well, as you will know, we have decided to spend some time in Ghana and settle for a while. As a result, as much as we love Bronwen, she would have to return to the UK at some stage this year, either by shipping or driving her. There was also another VERY important reason for returning home in July, and that was to be in the UK at the wedding of my friend, Kate to Paul. We had been disappointed from the minute they announced that the big day last year - I knew that we would be traveling and there was no way of making the wedding. So, whilst waiting for things to happen in Ghana, we decided to challenge ourselves to get back for the wedding by driving Bronwen. Hey, it's only 7500km if we drive direct. The trouble was, we only made the decision with 5 weeks to go, and with our history of hanging around, slow driving and the odd problem, this was a challenge indeed. Not wanting to ship too much back from the UK, we also had to leave most of our possessions in Ghana - cooker, fridge, mattresses, not to mention solar panel, petrol cans, water cans, water purification system, sand ladders and a lot of the tools. We stripped her down, keeping only the bare minimum - a single burner gas stove, as few clothes as possible, bought foam for sleeping on, old vegetable oil containers for water and petrol. Lastly we found a couple of pieces of wood for sand ladders (hopefully we'd be on tarred road most of the way, but you never can tell...)So, we set off from our new home in Akyinim with just over 4 weeks to get back for the wedding. Easy! Highlights and lowlights of the trip:* Leaving Sprite - she's our new dog. We were gutted at having to leave her so soon, as we've only had her for a month. But, she's gone back to her old home and is spending some time with her mum in Takoradi. She's a 3.5 year old alsatian who's afraid of the sea!* Getting to the border at Burkina Faso. We wanted to get as far as Po in time for the Ghana/Czech Republic match at 7pm (remember the World Cup?) and as a rule you need to allow 1 hour to get through the border formalities. As we arrived at the border and got out of the car, an almighty cheer erupted from the passport control office followed by people running everywhere. "What's going on?" I said to one over excited man. "Ghana have scored" he replied. "But they don't start playing until 7". "Oh no, they started just a minute ago". And they had. We had the time wrong. But, we managed to see and hear some of it and amongst us apologising for our bad timing, we got through the border in record time and with smiling faces all round. (except for the 2 guys in handcuffs chained to a bicycle in the Burkina passport control office). The fab thing about football in Africa, is that every African, no matter what nationality, will support a team from Africa. There is none of the petty hatred or jealousy you get in Europe. Anyway, you'll be pleased to know that we managed to get to a bar in Po in time for the second half. Jamie even had time to change into his Ghana football shirt, much to the amusement of the local kids...* Bamako, Mali where we had to get the Mauritania visa. Although we had heard that you could get this visa on the border, the crossing we would be making at Nioro was not really a main one and if, for some reason, the visa was not possible (it isn't), we did not fancy a long journey back to Bamako just to get the visa. Anyway, we had to stop there as it coincided with the England-Sweden match! (anyone would think we were football fanatics!) Instead of camping in the horrible "Mission Lebonnaise" where you may remember our tales of rats and mosquitoes, we opted for parking up right outside a bar we had frequented on our last visit, and who should we see but "Roger Rabbit". No, the sun hasn't gone to our heads, he's a lovely rasta' guy we met last time in Bamako and at the Segou music festival. Roger Rabbit is the name we know him by, although we really should have remembered his real name by now. A long wait and hanging around for the Mauritania visa the following day, which did eventually mean us getting it by the end of the day (they had to get rid of me from the office somehow...) we set off, nothing to stop us now....* You know I said nothing to stop us now.... well, 5 minutes after we had left, we had our first problem. For the first time in our journey, someone started putting diesel in the tank instead of petrol - aaagh! Jamie had been so careful to double check every time, but it was a foregone conclusion that it would happen one day....Luckily we noticed after only a small amount and, it was into the 2nd petrol tank which is not directly connected to the engine. The poor guys filling up were mortified and drained, then cleaned the tank without further mishap. Right, we're off. After a long slow climb out of Bamako, Jamie then got on the straight only for us to realize that the brakes weren't working at all and the brake fluid was pouring out onto the road - Help! Well, there's absolutely no way we're going to get back to Bamako down a long and winding road, but managed to trundle into the next town where someone managed to fix them using just a spanner and an old key. * Right, we're really on our way now. The bit of road to Nioro was one of the only uncertain bits - we didn't know how good this bit of road was going to be and it's a long way to Mauritania. As it happened, the road was pretty bad - like it wasn't built - there were signs that there will be a new road in a couple of years, but so far only the bridges are complete with no way of getting on them. It is also quite wet here, being the rainy season and all, and so VERY muddy and the ground VERY soft in places. Proof of this was everywhere with big juggernauts stuck and being unloaded - probably there for days with a few more days digging ahead). Bronwen did us proud. I was glad to say that Jamie wasn't taking any chances... Apart from a small problem with a leaf spring which was easily fixed by a man with a welder in Nioro, the rest of Mali wasn't a problem. (well, apart from spending the night in no mans land between the borders and woken up at 1am by the police with AK47's. Very pleasant men though, I have to say..) The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful - the Mauritania/Western Sahara becoming slightly tedious with miles and miles of the same - such a shame we didn't have time to do some more proper desert driving. Eventually made it to Spain where we took the opportunity to stop for a while and fill the car up with cheap wine to take back to the UK - rude not to...And, did we make it to the wedding? Of course, with a few days to spare in fact. The whole trip took us just 3 weeks - and there's you lot moaning about Bronwen being slow!Plans for the future: we have purchased a new left hand drive landrover which we will be driving back in the next week or so. Hopefully by then our mud hut will be finished so we'll have a home. By the way, Bronwen is now for sale, based in North Devon - any offers in the region of £5000, please contact us!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/rest_of_world/1150120800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/rest_of_world/1150120800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/rest_of_world/1150120800/tpod.html Mon, 12 Jun 2006 10:01:17 -0400 Fed up of being described as "The 4 percenters", we've added this entry to cover other trips we've made, and get the percentage up!!!!!

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Melbourne, Australia

Claire spent a year wandering around Oz in the eighties....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/rest_of_world/1144849380/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/rest_of_world/1144849380/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/rest_of_world/1144849380/tpod.html Mon, 12 Jun 2006 10:00:16 -0400 Fed up of being described as "The 4 percenters", we've added this entry to cover other trips we've made, and get the percentage up!!!!!

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New York, New York, United States

We've both visited the States many times for work and pleasure over the years - Boston, New York, Scottsdale, Yorktown, Charleston, Denver, Florida and a few other odd places.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/rest_of_world/1152712020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/rest_of_world/1152712020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/rest_of_world/1152712020/tpod.html Mon, 12 Jun 2006 09:49:00 -0400 Fed up of being described as "The 4 percenters", we've added this entry to cover other trips we've made, and get the percentage up!!!!!

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Auckland, New Zealand

Spent a very enjoyable month touring around a few years ago.
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Akyinim, Ghana

Hi, Voodooo in Benin, petrol shortages in Nigeria, Rains in Cameroon, mud in Congo, heart of darkness in DRC: all our experiences since the last update? Not a chance! We're still hanging out on beautiful beaches in Ghana despite all we said about speeding up! So, to make up for our lack of traveling, here's a summary of experiences, good and bad over the last couple of months.· Our new toy. We are now the proud owners of a Kawasaki KLR 250for getting around without the fuss of Bronwen. We bought it in Accra from "Jimmy Jazz enterprises" (if you're a Clash fan, you'll be pleased to know that although the police came looking for him, they obviously haven't found him yet...). It's the (not well enforced) law here to wear a crash helmet, so we went on search of some in Takoradi, ending up with little choice but to purchase some second hand ones for the princely sum of 35,000 cedis. (About GBP2.25) each. For some reason we haven't got a photo - maybe next time, but just think "Chips"· Money. The currency in Ghana is the cedi, with 10,000 cedis being less than1 euro. With the maximum note being 20,000, you find yourself carrying huge wads of notes that equate to very little. Withdrawal from the banks is done in millions with the cash handed over in carrier bags. Jamie was desperate to take a photo the first time I wrote a cheque out for over a million!· Jamie's expertise with a machete. Everything is done with machetes and a man is not a man or a boy is not a boy without a machete (or cutlass) in his hand. Jamie has limited his uses so far to cutting ways through the bush, opening coconuts and carrying it around Agona, our local town, to get it sharpened. The opening of coconuts is a very popular skill as far as I'm concerned!!· Ghanaian funerals: celebratory affairs, more in line with Irish wakes. The funeral consists of about 24 hours of loud music, dancing and a lot of drinking in the streets. You wear black and/or red and there's something about not ever washing your funeral clothes, which I haven't quite got to the bottom of - very possibly rubbish as I was told by a very drunk person who was obviously very emotional about the person whose funeral it was. Every town sees numerous "Funeral and Fashion shops" and there is no shortage of coffins for sale - as long as you choose the same style, the colour is almost unlimited: green, pink, covered in mirrors or plastic flowers. In case this ends up being my last update, I'll go with the plastic flowers, please. Apparently there is a shop in Accra that deviates from the basic style, and you can have your coffin made in the shape of almost anything you want. Ever fancied being buried in a giant wooden barracuda?· Carrying things on your head. This isn't limited to Ghana, but the variety of things a people carry never ceases to amaze me: huge trees trunks, "banana hats" large bunches of bananas which would probably be accepted as entry to the royal enclosure at Ascot. One of the best was a woman we saw in Accra selling umbrellas during a rainstorm - she was carrying about 10 umbrellas, rolled up on her head with rain soaking her. Jamie's comment "hasn't she missed the concept of umbrellas" still tickles me. A friend, Phil, who has lived here for a few years, pointed out that the guys carrying machetes will often carry their sharpening stone on their heads. Phil was convinced for a time that there was some kind of anti-gravitational pull at work and these guys would float off into the atmosphere if you didn't weigh themselves down!· Castle Milk Stout. This is Jamie's entry and the closest thing to English bitter he's had since leaving home. It's one of the reasons Jamie's ongoing weight loss has ground to a halt (thankfully!). · On March 29th, we were lucky enough to experience a solar eclipse. It was quite amazing and really so much more than I expected. And we took lots of photos!!!Now to the issue of why we haven't been travelling for nearly 3 months. Well, we've fallen for Ghana and made the decision very early on to stay for a while and try and purchase some land. So, nearly 2 months have been spent being introduced to the fun of land acquisition. The procedure is fairly straight forward, but time consuming and definitely not like walking into an estate agents looking at pictures. We've met local chiefs, worked with surveyors, learnt how to measure the size of an acre (sorry dad, I should have known that already!) Hopefully next time we contact you we'll be the proud owners of some beach front land. If not, your guess is as good as ours!! We now cannot carry on towards South Africa immediately as we'll hit the rainy season at its worst in Cameroon and the Congos. Chances are we'll still be on some beach or other on the Gulf of Guinea, but will it be ours?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/africa/1142851320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/africa/1142851320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/africa/1142851320/tpod.html Mon, 20 Mar 2006 06:11:14 -0500 An overland trip from Britain to South Africa. And beyond...?

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Akwidaa, Ghana

Oooh, it's hot and humid in Ghana - people pay good money at home to sit and sweat in a sauna like we're doing. First stop on the tourist trail after crossing the border from Burkina was Mole National Park - a chance to see some more wildlife and enjoy the luxury of sitting around a swimming pool during the heat of the day, the whole event made more interesting by the fact that a local baboon has realised that entering the camp is a very easy way of getting food and drink (a bit scary when he stole the water bottle off our table though - he was a lot bigger than those Barbary apes in Gilbraltar...). The highlight at Mole is taking an early morning walking safari (with armed ranger) to see the elephants drinking and swimming in the water hole (the elephants were swimming, not us).Another very worthwhile stop we made on the journey south was Boabeng-Fiema Monkey sanctuary. The monkeys living in the nearby forest have become sacred to the extent where they are given a ritual funeral when they die and more importantly (for them) they are not allowed to be eaten. Literally anything that moves in Ghana is looked upon as food and eaten - people catch bushrats and sell them on the side of the road and it's not unknown to eat dog or cat in the north of Ghana so these monkeys are VERY lucky. Our guide was excellent and taught us, not only about the monkeys, but about the trees in the forest - which was genuinely fascinating.Our trip then became a hunt for a 60mm hub spanner to fix a broken hub seal for Bronwen. So, after a failed attempt in Kumasi, Ghana's 2nd city and car parts capital of the country, we aimed for the coast, and ended up in Takoradi, where fate was extremely kind. Not only did we find someone who had the correct hub wrench we could borrow, but whilst Jamie was up to his elbows in grease fixing Bronwen, I was given the opportunity to go to an ex-pats house and 1) have a bath WITH hot water (!!), but 2) use a washing machine! Yes, a washing machine - I must have spent the first minute staring at it in awe as if I'd never seen one before! So, clean all round we must have looked vaguely respectable as we were invited to Phil and Sheila's house to stay. Phil and Sheila have been very generous, and not only did we stay in their house and buy us a fantastic meal at one of the best restaurants in town, they have continued to be a source of great help over the last couple of weeks as we have become more involved in the local community around the Takoradi/Dixcove area of the Ghana coast.After a very enjoyable trip to Beyin to see one of the old colonial era slave/trading forts that dot the coast here abouts (the Gold Coast as was), and a canoe trip to the lagoon and stilt village of Nzulezo, we returned to the Green Turtle Lodge near Dixcove, 30km from Takoradi/Sekondi to relax on the soft sandy beaches in the shade of the coconut palms.We have now moved half a mile down the road to camp with James and Angela, an American couple who have recently postponed their overland trip to South Africa to build a guest house and restaurant on the beach. Our pace of life has slowed considerably; yesterday afternoon for example spent inspecting the catches of the local fishing boats looking for a suitable candidate for the barbecue (after 2 hours inspecting swordfish, tuna, and unfortunately even a dolphin, we finally settled on the rear quarter of a 5 foot shark which Jamie, James, Angela and Chloe (the dog) enjoyed marinated in ginger and chilli and barbecued over hot coconut husks). Mark and Marie-Jo (www.nomadafrik.com), our occasional camping companions since Bamako, have taken a flat in Takoradi for a few weeks which means an occasional hot shower and cold beer in the big city. Life is tough!Next stop is a week long trip east along the coast as far as Accra to visit the capital and maybe see some more forts, before returning to Dixcove for a little more beach relaxation.
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Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Well, you thought we were chugging along slowly but, here's a surprise, since our last update in Mali, we've now not only "done" Burkina Faso, but are well into Ghana!" There's no stopping us now (well, apart from the humidity and oppressive heat which is totally zapping our energy...)!Burkina Faso was fun: totally relaxed and quite different from all the other countries so far (well, maybe a bit of the laid back Mali shows through...)First stop Bobo. Or Bobo-Dioulasso to give it its full name. The bars and café culture really gave it a relaxed atmosphere, and anyone who knows us at all would be confused as to why we didn't stop longer. But, needs must... Anyway the local Brakina or Sob-B-Bra beers really aren't that nice despite being cheap, so one night was the most way made.Our journey to Ouagadougou (Ouaga, or Wagga if you like using the vernacular) was to be indirect, allowing us to take in Banfora and the Lobi country (the corner of Burkina nestling between the Ivory Coast and Ghanaian borders). We also found ourselves in more desperate need of a hose clip to stem the petrol leak we have been getting when filling up one of the tanks. Jamie has been trying to get one since Bamako after the duck tape we had been using since Morocco finally wore out. It is not a difficult thing to find but not knowing the French for hose clip (or hose or clip for that matter ) didn't help and Jamie was left just gawping at all shelves of car part stalls he went past. Even when we did find out the word in French ("Collier" if you ever need to know) the sizing was not accurate being simply the length of Jamie's finger. After purchasing 2 of the wrong size, I eventually gave Jamie a lesson in basic mathematics to find the diameter of a circle by measuring the circumference. The only reason I think Jamie took any notice was because a small crowd of children had accumulated around Bronwen since we parked for the night who he was desperate to ignore (especially the poor girl who obviously had a particularly bad skin disease and could hardly walk. I found myself giving her a large slice of water melon so at least she had some vitamin C but the memory of her diseased face appearing at the door will remain with me through nightmares to come...)We were camped at Lac du Tengrela which was a lovely spot and a chance to see hippos. We spent an evening enjoying listening to them "laughing" and we could hear them coming ashore after dark. The next morning we walked further around the lake getting much closer to where they were lolling in the water and I think we scared the poor woman who obviously gets her water from the very spot we decided to sit in the shade.The cascades de Karfiguéla were in the same area and the chance to swim was too great a draw with the heat we'd been experiencing over the last few days. It's late 20/early 30's by 8 in the morning and Bronwen has become a sauna 24 hours a day! So, with obligatory guide at our side, we headed up the cascades. They are impressive (I'm a bit of a sucker for waterfalls anyway) and the water was lovely to swim in, although there's quite a current and bilharzia is not unheard of there, but probably still less dangerous than the English channel that we're used to.The whole area around Banfora is taken up by sugar cane, which I think is the main export for Burkina. It was lovely to see an area so lush and hilly after all the Sahel landscapes we've been driving through.The guidebook pointed us towards the ruins at Loripeni which are old ruins, old by African architecture standards but not on a European level. As no one knows who built the structure or why, the "obligatory" guide's explanation was probably concocted in a bar one evening. After multiple translations from Moré to French to English between people without a common language we decided it was probably more fun to make up our own explanation based on the few words we could understand, therefore:Old king got a bad leg and was ill. He didn't want anyone to see him so built some high walls around his home, behind whilst drinking blood of young girls . When he died it became a prison for slaves. It's now used for sacrificing animals, and small children aren't allowed in as they dig the walls apart trying to catch small animals to eat. If anyone goes there who speaks French or Moré, feel free to enlighten us ...We managed to make Gaoua for the African Nations cup final. It was a fun atmosphere with most people cheering on Ivory Coast. But, if you don't know (or don't care), Didier Drogba lost it for the Ivory Coast with the hosts, Egypt winning 4-2 on penalties.After a brief stop where we accidentally found ourselves in a nunnery, we made it to Bomoro or more precisely a hotel/camping area (Campement Touristique de Kaicedra) over looking the Deux Balés National Park. We had been recommended it by a German couple, Elizabeth and Rupert, who told is it was a good place to spot elephants. Not really intending to see any big game in West Africa we turned up with an open mind. We were, though, very pleasantly surprised and, despite our early morning walk showing the only animals being a herd of donkeys, 2 large groups of elephants finally appeared to drink and bathe at the river right next to the campement and stayed for a good couple of hours. It was well worth it, even though Jamie managed to disappear for a walk when we thought they'd moved off, only to see the elephants moving in the direction I'd last seen Jamie. He eventually reappeared with scratches on his face and arms and looking slightly flustered. He had found himself crawling backwards belly to the floor through the bush and then up a tree to avoid being seen (or crushed) by the herd. So, now Jamie has managed to add big game stalker to his list of achievements, we were able to get to Ouaga to get the visa for Ghana and head out. We were a bit disappointed with Ouaga, especially compared to Bobo but for any of you who enjoys city life, it was quite fun, especially if you like parking and sleeping in crazy golf course next to a lorry park! If you're heading that way, the OK Inn isn't bad and is only 6km to the city centre (on the Po road) and seems to have more going for it than Ouaga camping.And that was Burkina in a nutshell. We're looking forward to getting to the coast in Ghana for some frolicking by the sea and to look at military forts (well, one of us is looking forward to that bit...) Oh yes, and we do now own a perfect hose clip!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/africa/1139329560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/africa/1139329560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bronwen/africa/1139329560/tpod.html Tue, 07 Feb 2006 13:05:44 -0500 An overland trip from Britain to South Africa. And beyond...?

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Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

Having spent so much time in Bamako, a few days in the bush were in order. So, after a night in Segou at the horrible Office du Niger campsite (sleeping on the streets really is preferable) we set off on a circuit to take a look at some of the less populated parts of the river Niger's inland delta. Our intention being to return to Segou for the "Festival sur la Niger" music festival.We spent a leisurely week driving some beautiful back roads/tracks along the northern bank of the Niger between Markala/Massina/Ouro-Modi and Mopti, before briefly hitting the main tarmaced road down to Djenne, then back on tracks again to Segou. The country here is stunning, a constant variation between thick bush, open scrubland dotted with hundreds of small pillars of baked mud looking eerily like Medusas mushrooms, small villages built on each slight rise in the ground, each with it's own mud built mosque, and the ever present River Niger meandering alongside with its constant traffic of pirogues and pinasses transporting goods and people to the various markets along the way. Even with the GPS we managed to lose the route a few times, although never for too long, with the possible exception of Diafarabé. After driving around in ever increasing circles for the best part of an hour searching for what should have been an obvious track alongside the river, we spotted a couple of vehicles ford a tributary river in the opposite direction, and decided we had little to lose by doing the same and trying to pick up a track on the other side. After confirming the water wasn't too deep, and making some basic preparations to Bronwen, I duly took to the river at what I thought was a sufficiently slow speed to make it safely across. Claire obviously had a better view of the huge wave I was creating as she was positioned on the opposite bank taking photos. Not surprisingly (having since studied aforementioned pictures and the irrefutable evidence they present of my driving erring a little too much towards the gung ho) we (Bronwen and I) ground to a heart stopping and very wet halt in the dead centre of the river. Claire was less than impressed. Bronwen was rather wet. I felt slightly more than foolish. After confirming it wasn't tidal water (about1400 kms from the sea!) and trying to look in control for a while, our relief knew no bounds when Bronwen miraculously restarted with a couple of turns of the starting handle (which I shall never ever laugh at again as long as I live, and a very worthwhile item if you're planning a similar trip in an old Land Rover!) and we drove (very slowly) to the bank. Huge sighs of relief all round.I have no possible explanation for what happened next. As Claire had not unreasonably stopped taking photographs when I got stuck, I reversed back into the river to remedy the situation. No further comment required.Half an hour later, with the help an elderly man, the high-lift jack, and both sand ladders we finally got Bronwen out of the soft sand and back to dry land. Twelve hours later the electrics dried out sufficiently to drive away. Maybe in a week or so my embarrassment will subside a little and Claire will stop reminding me about it! Lessons well learned for next time. We subsequently managed three more fordings without incident, and even a couple more ferry crossings without me releasing the handbrake just to see whether Bronwen floating in the Niger makes a good picture or not. Sped through Mopti, (We hadn't actually planned on going that far but our 1:4 000 000 map showed a bridge over the Niger which obviously did not exist as we got closer) Then got to Djenne, home of the famous grand mud mosque and the surrounding mud built town, before heading back to Segou. We met several strange and interesting people along the way, but by far and away the one who provoked the most extreme range of emotions in the shortest timeframe was the chap who woke us early one morning in the middle of the bush. After his arrival with friend I rushed to dress and jumped outside to offer my polite and respectful greetings (as is the form when in someones elses back yard). I was confronted by an elderly but very burly gentlemen in robes, Palestinian red chequered head scarf and designer shades, sporting a very large rifle of some description. He didn't speak much at first, but anyway my attention was more firmly glued on the very fetching collection of Bin Laden/Twin Towers stickers and Arabic script adorning the moped. After we had held hands for 5 minutes or so (again, this is normal in these situations, believe me) and walked around Bronwen several times he transferred his attention to Claire. It took a while to work out that his constant miming of womens breasts, pointing at Claire, and making sucking noises while pointing to his own mouth weren't a request to succour a lonely old (conspicuously armed) man, but an enquiry into the whereabouts of the baby that he assumed we had secreted somewhere. Questions (sort of) answered he remounted moped with his silent passenger and phutted off into the trees, waving as he went. We moved on.The festival sur le Niger was excellent. The focus was set on a stage on the banks of the river, with traditional dancing, and loads of the big names of Malian music over 3 days Highlights included Nampé Sadio, Habib Koité, Bassékou Kouyaté, (who we had seen before playing at a restaurant in Bamako),the fantastic dancers with Baba Salah (despite one of them breaking her belt and having to hold her trousers up, she was still able to "shake her booty"!) and the star turn with Amadou and Mariam, Tiken Jah Fakoly. We have both got into Tiken Jah since getting a tape of his Malian Reggae.It was well worth the 50 euro ticket, and, speaking to people who had been to the extortionately priced and remote "Festival au Desert" last month near Timbuktu, this was the better option.The end of the festival marked the end of our month in Mali. We've really enjoyed it, despite only scratching the surface and we've now reached Bobo-Dioulasso (Bobo for short) in Burkina Faso where we'll spend a couple of weeks.
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