Our introduction to Mali is pretty good

  Segou, Mali
Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Off to Timbuctou

We've managed to explore, to some degree, most of the geographical areas of the world. The last main area that we haven't visited is West Africa. When you mention a trip to West Africa to most people, they have one of two responses
1. immediately talk about Southern or Eastern Africa, not even realising that West Africa exists as a separate area (Bamako is 5000 kilometres, and seven hours by jet, from Nairobi), or,
2. talk about the dangers and violence of the area.
The dangers were also a bit of a worry to us, so when we started to research which countries we would visit, the first thing we did was go to the Australian Government travel advisories, and immediately eliminate any countries they advised not to go to. After reading various people's blogs, we decided that we'd only go for about six weeks, as it seems that the heat, dust, dirt and touts seem to get to people after a while. We also made the decision to spend a bit more money if necessary to get accommodation that would provide a haven when things got too much, rather than our more normal budget accommodation. We'd also get a guide for a day or two along the way if we wanted to make things easier on ourselves, as we want to enjoy the trip, rather than make it an endurance test. We also think this is a good compromise between taking a full tour (which we did in Madagascar, but thought was over-priced, isolating from the life of the country, and not necessary for a lot of the time), and doing everything on our own.
We finally decided to go to Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana, with a quick look at Benin and Togo if we had time.
If we like what we see, we can come back again later and explore more of the area on another trip.

Thurs 11th January 2007 Sydney-Bangkok
Today we start the long journey to Bamako, Mali, which involves a 9 hour flight to Bangkok, a 6.5 hour wait in transit in Bangkok, a 9 hour flight to Nairobi, another 4-hour wait in transit in Nairobi, and a final 7-hour flight to Bamako, where we hopefully arrive about forty hours after starting out!
The day is made even longer when, after a bad night's sleep, Murray decides that he better have a red, raised area that has come up on his chest in the last week, checked out by a doctor before our 11am flight. After a few false starts, manage to find a medical centre which opens at 7am, and we're on the doorstep waiting when it opens, and manage to be the first customer. After being reassured that it will be OK for the next two months, drive to Lisa's (our daughter) who is happy to drive us to the airport, as she gets to keep our car for the next two months.
A bit taken aback when we find our Thai flight does not have individual entertainment centres, but just one screen for the whole cabin. Even Air Mauritius had individual screens. It's amazing how quickly our expectations are raised.
Have an uneventful flight,but are reminded jut how much the tail of a jumbo wags when you are down the back. Spend the next 6 hours walking around the new Bangkok airport which is incredibly big, but not particularly interesting. After walking what must be several kilometres, eventually find a good lounge area at the end of one of the floors, and Murray is able to lie down full-length, while Dianne types the diary.
As a reality check, Kenya Airways has one desk and a tiny sign at the less fashionable end of the concourse. We make sure we bring our baggage stub to his attention, as we will need everything going right to see the bags again.
The airport is so new, the power points in our departure lounge have not been connected, so MP has to take the charging gear to the next one. Kenya's passenger control system is pretty basic, as they just leave you the boarding stub, which complicates things if you have to leave the area to find your spouse.
Friday 12th January, 2007 Bangkok-Bamako (Mali)
The Kenya Airways plane is an old Boeing 767, the type being brand new when we went to Egypt in 1987.
In spite of the run-down cabin, the engines worked fine, and we arrived in Nairobi without incident.
Having been last here in 1989, we weren't expecting too much, but it took a while to find somewhere to kill 4 hours. MP found a tiled platform in the smoking area, while DP found a table and seat in the Kenya Airways Transit Lounge, with a power point for battery charging.
The same gate is used to load a number of planes, but it comes together, and we get our assigned seats in the fairly new 737, but have missed out on locker space, as the locals tend to carry a lot of cabin baggage.
We have a South African mining engineer next to us, working on the hard rock gold mine in Mali. Gold is one of their major exports. He is pretty quiet, but gives us a guide recommendation.
On the way out, manage to see Mt Kilimanjaro behind on the left, with a fair bit of snow, and possibly Mt Kenya on the right. Take photos of a fair bit of snow but will be lucky to tell on photo. Over Lake Victoria, there is low cloud, and the cloud gives way to a dense brown haze, and we see nothing until we are well into Mali. The ground looks bare and brown, a bit greener toward the river Niger, which is surprisingly green and clean from the air.

The Niger from the air flying into Bamako

Close in to Bamako, there are villages and ploughed fields, but all very brown, with scattered green trees.
A few years ago Mali was the third-poorest country in the world, but it has improved this position a little now that gold mining is contributing to the economy. It has a population of 10.6 million, 1.3 million of whom live in Bamako. Between 80-90% are Muslims, and 2% Christians.
On arrival, we land in front of a concrete terminal, beside a couple of propeller plane, and get into a clapped out ground transport bus for the 200m trip to the terminal.
Entry was pretty straightforward, woman checking health certificate wasn't really interested, possibly thought we were in transit to Burkina Faso. Bag X-rayed at customs, then out into the wilds of West Africa. Surprised to find no exchange facilities, but the engineers thought this was normal, and there would be exchange touts.
Sure enough, hadn't got to the carpark before surrounded by exchange and sim-card touts, but nothing like we'd been fearing, and had experienced in other places like Delhi. Also surprised at the temperature, which was a reasonable 29C, whereas we'd been expecting much hotter.
Do a deal for 62,000Cfa for E100, less a E2 coin tip, or something like it. Later regretted not changing more.
Accepted a standard Cfa 7500 clapped out renault taxi, with a cracked windscreen, no lining on the doors, and rattly diesel motor for the 17km ride into town through depressing brown land, decrepit mud brick villages to arrive at the river, with the town on the far side. The river is wide and clear green, with a surprising current for this late in the dry season. A low level bridge leads into the town proper, which is a combination of mud-brick, cement block, and occasional high-priced concrete construction office and commercial buildings. A lot of the streets are unpaved,

Welcome to Bamako

but the town is pretty big, with heavy vehicle traffic, and the odd traffic circle, complete with monument.

There is some grandeur in Bamako

Our hotel Tamana is a fair way out the far side, but looks like the description, with a courtyard, garden, swimming pool, and a general aura of quiet peace. We are expected, taken straight to the room by a freelance bellboy, who works for tips and scams.
Out almost immediately in a 2000 CFA taxi to the Burkina Faso Embassy, which is right across town, looks pretty isolated, so arrange for him to come back at 3. The Embassy is late opening, and when we check the form and prices, find we don't have enough cash to pay the fees. Two English backpackers, and a couple of Germans selling a European car can't help, so fill in our forms, and try to pay with Euros. End up leaving cash plus E20 deposit and when our taxi gets back, take him to look for an ATM the English have described. Bamako is the only town in the whole of Mali that has any ATM's, and they are notorious for not working. Drive halfway around the town, getting spurious advice at times, but don't find any machine. Finally end up changing E200 at a money changer for 640 CFA to a Euro. Back to get our completed visas at 5pm. Take the English with us in the taxi, and actually find the ATM, farewell our benefactors, and get 200,000 cfa on the Bopo card, 200000 on the Visa. We now are carrying nearly A$4000 in cash, but are happier for not being caught short later, as Mali is notorious for not being able to use travellers' cheques or credit cards.
Back to hotel to collapse for a couple of hours, as we're well and truly exhausted. We're also finding we have to drink a lot, as the air is so dry our mouths keep drying out. Drag ourselves out of bed after a couple of hours, as we have to adjust to the 11-hour time change. Have a pizza in the hotel for dinner, then go for a walk outside (we're in the restaurant and night-life area) where we find a number of much better places to eat, but too late. Talk to a German mining engineer who has just driven a car down from Europe, intending to sell it in Guinea for 6,000 Euros, having bought it for 2,000. Obviously a common occurrence, as we met people at the embassy who were doing the same, and later spoke to three young Russians who were doing the same. To bed about 11pm, and sleep through till about 4am, but have a fairly restless night due to very loud music coming through the bathroom window from a VERY loud nightclub, not to mention the sound of motorbikes roaring up the street. At this stage our jet-lag sets in, and we give up trying to sleep, and wait till morning so we can get up.
Saturday 13th January Bamako, Mali
Have breakfast, talk to the German miner and the Russians for a while, then organise a taxi to take us to the bus station which is 6 kms out of town.
We have reconsidered our plans, as we were expecting to have to hang around till Monday to get the visa, then get a plane to Timbuctou. Now decide to leave for Segou, a much smaller town, tomorrow, where we can take it easy for a day or two while we get over the jetlag and lack of sleep.
At first our taxi-driver takes us to some Bani buses, where the taxi is besieged by young touts, who hang on to the sides as we drive along, which is a bit alarming, particularly if this is where we have to come with all our luggage. Luckily however, it is the wrong place, and the correct place has some good-looking buses in an enclosed yard, with no access for touts. Reassured, we purchase our 3,000 CFA each tickets for the
230 km trip to Segou tomorrow.
Get the taxi-driver to drop us back at the Grand Marche, where we wander through, including the fetish market and the artisans market.

Bamako artisans market

Quite interesting, but nothing special. Then walk the 3kms or so home, in the heat of the day, which seems hotter than yesterday. Walk some of the way through the back-streets, observing every-day life, and stopping for a cool drink on the way.
Back at the hotel, have some fruit and scratch-it, and to bed for a couple of hours, once again (or still) exhausted. Force ourselves to get up about 6pm, and have discussions with a guide who is trying to convince us to arrange a tour of 14 days or so with him. After much discussion, gives us a quote of about A$3000, which is OK, but we decline as we don't want our trip to be that structured. Also arrange for the local , who we take to be the porter, to get us an Orange sim card for our phone, which we have brought with us, as we've been told they are very useful for organising guides and accommodation. He comes back with one, which he says is 10,000 cfa, which we think is a bit steep, but pay anyway. Later we find out that he is not actually employed by the hotel, and that he only gave us a 5,000 cfa card. The management were on to him, and made him return the money, as it reflected badly on the hotel.
Out to Bla Bla bar,

Bla Bla bar, Bamako

which is supposed to be a local institution, for a meal. Too early for there to be much action. Afterwards try to buy an orange recharge card for the phone, but end up settling on a 5,000 cfa Inkatel one. Think we may have been dudded for the second time, as nothing seems to work. Later re-read the instructions (which are in French), and realise we have to make a phone call before the card is activated. Once we do this, find everything works.
To bed about 11pm, but have an even worse night's sleep than last night, as it's Saturday night, and things don't quieten down till about 4am.
Sunday 14th January Bamako-Segou
End up getting up about 6am, and down for breakfast at 7am. Have been told we can get our moneybelts out of the safe at 7am (couldn't do it last night as Monsieur is only around in the morning), but no Monsieur. After they phone him, tell us he will be 20 minutes. Just after 8am, when we are really beginning to worry, as we have a 9am bus, he turns up, we get our things, and into a taxi. Luckily there is a lot less traffic today (it's Sunday) and we get to the bus in plenty of time. Our bus is pretty new and modern, unlike some of the others in the yard. We've been lucky! Get away about 20 minutes late, and have an uneventful trip, along a one-lane, but tarred road, through some very ordinary countryside. [PHOTO_ID_L=pict6666.jpgSome feature were a very busy roadside stall area, only a few km out of town where the locals tock up for the trip, locally manned check point and/or speed bumps at every village, a number of markets in progress, photos of the villages, some with interesting courtyard architecture, and bare, dusty back street. A lot of trees which appeared dead may have actually been dry season deciduous, but that doesn't improve the view. Quite a few baobab, all without leaves, and looking pretty dehydrated in the trunk.
Arrive at the Segou bus-station about 1pm, only an hour later than we expected. Wondered what we'd got ourselves into. The bus station is in a sun blasted wasteland of large, bare city blocks divided up by sandy tracks. Knew we were a couple of kms from the centre of the town, but had no idea which direction it was in, and no direction looked good. Roads were orange dirt, edged with a few falling down shacks. Approached by a taxi-driver and accepted his 3,000 cfa offer, though suspected it was too high. Had a bit of a walk to his "taxi" which was behind some buildings. Found out why it was hidden! Had to be the most ramshackle vehicle we've ever travelled in - couldn't believe it would actually go. It was an old Renault 12, with shock cord holding down the boot, and possibly a lot of other things. The whole machine was so slack it was hanging together by sheer luck, with every panel moving independently, the engine, without the restraint of mountings, staying in because there wasn't a hole big enough to let it fall out. The clutch lacked subtlety, and, fortunately we never needed the brakes lurching across the sandy landscape. Set off across a god-forsaken paddock of red dirt, with a track through it. After about a kilometre, crossed the main, tarred road, and then into dirt streets, but with OK buildings lining them. Pulled up at the Hotel le Djoliba, which looked OK. Once inside, couldn't believe it - looked like an European bar, with everything spotless. Checked out the room, which we couldn't fault. Large, spotlessly clean, good mattress, even good pillows! That was the good news -the bad news was that we could only have it for one night.
Walk down to the Niger River, where we sit and watch various pinasses (the local form of boat transport) coming and going,

How many can you fit in a pinasse - Segou market

and the general life of the river. Very interesting and colourful. The pinasses appear to be made in two halves, with a bottom curved stem to stern, and the sides splayed and curved. Only flat, chainsaw cut timber, in large slabs is used, making them relatively timber-efficient. The chines are sealed with strips of woven plastic bagging or tarpaulin material, and painted with tar paint. The design is scaled from fishing skiff to public ferry pinasses seating a hundred or more, plus baggage, and large mixed freight/passenger craft 40 metres long, 4 metre wide, and 1.5 metres deep. These have regularly spaced cross timbers to hold the shape, and curved multi-component bows over to hold the roof and all the people and goods on it. The larger units were inboard driven with truck engines, the smaller with outboards or punting poles. Some use is also made of square sails, as the prevailing breeze seems to help against the current.
They have an extended bowsprit, presumably to allow passengers to get ashore without getting wet, but with the river so low, people were wading out to unload them.
Talk to a local guide and get details of various boat trips we can take, but don't make any commitment. Buy some French bread, then back to hotel for lunch of peanut butter bread, followed by a couple of hours sleep. After, out to walk through the dimly lit, red-dirt streets to find the internet, and let everyone know that we're still alive. Back to hotel for a shared-meal of excellent fish in a lemon and herb sauce for 3500cfa, then to bed for the first night of proper sleep.
Monday 15th January Segou
Segou is exactly what we wanted - interesting, but not too touristy (most of the tours come here for a couple of hours, but keep going), small enough to get around easily (it's the third-largest city in Mali, with a population of 92,500), and with a great hotel with everything we want (except a bed for us!). Today is the once-a-week market, and we're out about 7am to check out the waterfront, where we sit eating our bread and peanut butter, watching the local life.

Morning Niger River activity in Segou

The market is slow to get going, unlike some countries of the world, where they start at the crack of dawn, and are all over by mid-morning. There is a steady stream of boats, donkey carts, trolleys, and women with produce on their head, all carrying things to market. We do a circuit of the town, then back to hotel, where we chat to a Swiss/ American who has ridden a motor bike here as part of a group of bikes and cars. Definitely the in thing to be doing at present. Back through the market a few more times, checking out the usual variety of African produce, particularly dried fish, some sort of beet tubers, a lot of interesting and large pottery

The pottery market, Segou

from the potting villages across the river, piles of used clothes, oranges and tired looking bananas, but not too much in the way of vegetables, getting some great overall shots, but none of individual people, as it seems to be frowned upon. Because there are so few tourists, it is pretty obvious when you point a camera at individuals. Were warned off several time by people not even in the field of view.
Organise to move to L'Auberge, a more expensive hotel which is quite presentable, but certainly doesn't appeal the way our present hotel does.

Markets spill into streets around our hotel -Segou

Make some phone calls to organise our Dogon trip. Find that guide already has two English people for a tour on Friday, and we can accompany them. Check out the local bus station and try to buy a ticket to Mopti for Wednesday, but told we just have to turn up on the day, which is a bit of a worry.
Have a good lunch at le Djoliba, check out the market again, which is now fully operational, and very crowded, then Dianne writes some diary, and Murray catches up on sleep.
Do another circuit of market, and sit watching transport loading (some would say overloading) for home.

Can you see the plimsol line? Segou market day

Some people make the trip home by road.

Some of the customers go home by road - Segou

Organise to go with local guide, Barry Hamadoun, for trip on Niger tomorrow. He also has a trip going to the Dogon on Saturday, with two English speakers. We meet the people - very pleasant middle-aged Americans who we would get on well with, but have already committed to other guide.
Comedy of errors concerning organising our Dogon trip. Get a phone call from someone who we've never heard of, who has our number (??), and turn up at wrong place to meet wrong person. Phone of guide (Ali Guindo) we are going with doesn't work, so messages are being relayed through various mates.
Have a fairly late dinner of great Capitaine fish again at Le Djoliba, and home to our new cell, which we are paying more for than our favourite hotel.

The mornng after the market - Segou