Day 50-56
19th -25th January 2007, Mali	previous entry next entry

Day Fifty 19/1. Bush Camp, 50 km South East of Nioro, Mali

14°51.33'N 9°19.31'W. Miles today 114, Total Miles 5852

We reached the first Malian checkpoint, which was just a " Hello, welcome to Mali and give me a fiche scenario." Driving on, there is instantly a change in surroundings. The camels seemed to have long gone, there are more horses and cows with enormous life threatening horns, everyone is dressed in brightly coloured fabrics, they are all carrying things on their heads and most importantly, they are all smiling. You would never guess this is the second poorest country in the world. A further 80km down a rather nice tarred road led us to the town of Nioro, where we had to get stamped into Mali. At the first police station, he told us we had to go to customs first, which was in town and then to come back to him. Oh, here we go again. Driving into town, it was bustling and bursting with colour. No sign of the customs though until a small child on a bicycle shouted " La Doune est la ba! " (The customs is over there) he pointed down a narrow dusty lane, which appeared to lead to nowhere. He saw our faces of disbelief, so promptly cycled like mad in front of us and led us straight to the customs office. He certainly earned his "cadeaux." Overlanders, please take note of the GPS point, as you will never find it. There are no signs, it just looks like someone's house. Apparently, you can also change money at the pharmacy but we decided to hold out until we get to Bamako, as we want to try and change some traveller's cheques and hopefully having no local currency will help in not paying any bribes. We should also have bought our Carte Brun (car insurance) here but decided to risk it and wait until Bamako. Quite naughty actually, as if the police stop you and you don't have insurance, they ask for a hefty fine. Our carnet was stamped in minutes and given back with a smile and no money asked for. Poor old Matt and Saf had to wait ages for their temp import paper and then had to pay a fee of 20 euros. Once again, our carnet is earning its keep. Now, back to the police station. We made the silly mistake of all going in together, which led to immense confusion. They insisted on charging CFA 10 000 tax for all of us. (15 euros) Me, being the ever frugal one, tried my best to argue our way out of it, saying that we had no money. This didn't work and as Mat and Saf only had a CFA 10 000 note and this meant that if even if they only paid for themselves, they weren't gonna get any change. Bother! We headed off on the road towards Bamako. Expecting it to be pretty bumpy and corrugated, we were going to give ourselves three days to get there. But alas, they had tarred a lot more of the road. Wow, smooth sailing for quite a way. We stopped for the night and found a nice tree filled with electric blue birds to park under and made a bbq with baked potatoes, homemade coleslaw and a bit of the precious cheese.

Day Fifty One 20/1. Bush Camp, 50km NW of Didjeni, Mali

14°26.81'N 8°21.65'W. Miles today 80, Total Miles 5932

Well, the tarred road eventually does run out and with a vengeance. The road becomes very corrugated and dusty and while they try and help by dousing the track with water to keep the dust down, it doesn't half make a mess. Dino is now covered in what can only be described as terracotta cement. There are three roads of varying degree of decay, which led to a snakes and ladders game of constantly moving between them to see which was the more comfortable. Rob has a few greasy maintenance operations to complete and considering we are planning to stay at the Catholic Mission in Bamako, we didn't think the nuns would appreciate this too much. Apparently, you have to get on their good side, so we decided to stop at midday and sort it all out under a nice shady tree. He did an oil change, changed the rear brake pads (as they were squeaking a little) and changed the tyres around for even wear and tear. Bless him, he always does things properly. Saf's dad is from Pakistan so she knows heaps about Indian cooking so she taught me how to make the most aromatic dhall (lentil) curry. I whipped up a batch of garlic naan breads. This complete with some very scrummy onion bhadjis, which Saf made, made for the most amazing Indian meal in the African bush.

Day Fifty Two 21/1. Mission Lebonaise, Bamako, Mali

12°37.57'N 8°01.51'W. Miles today 130, Total Miles 6062

Finally got back onto the tar stretch all the way into Bamako. The approach to the town was most pleasant, along tree-lined boulevards with old colonial buildings. This all rapidly changed as we reached the centre. Absolute chaos! We managed to find our way to the Catholic mission amidst the open sewers, dust, scooters and fierce traffic. And this was a Sunday. The mission only opened at 5pm so we enjoyed our first beer in ages at the bar across the street. At 5pm sharp, two nuns came screeching round the corner, Italian Job Style, except in a red Renault. Oh bother, Matt had parked right in front of their gate. This subsequently led to lots of hooting and shouting. Hmmm, about getting on their good side….not a good start. Actually, they were very sweet but had the bad news of being fully booked. Negotiating our way back through the Bamako mayhem, we found the Libanese Mission. A dilapidated and scruffy place, with a quiet courtyard in which you can camp, which was opposite the live chicken and guinea fowl market. Man, these guys can pluck a chicken in record time After a long search for some dinner (being Sunday so many places were closed) we headed back to the bar opposite the Catholic Mission for a cheap but yummy plate of meat, chips, onions and sauce.

Day Fifty Three 22/1. Auberge Djamile, Bamako, Mali

12°37.34'N 7°59.53'W. Miles today 10, Total Miles 6072

Up early, as we had a lot to organise. First, a lengthy trip to the Eco-bank to try and change some travellers cheques. Changing money can take up to an hour in Mali. Rob and I felt exceptionally self-conscious here, as everyone was very well dressed and the two us were looking particularly dishevelled and still rather terracotta tinted despite a lengthy shower. We returned to the Mission and all piled into the Two CV for our second assignment - the search for the Burkino Faso embassy. We found it with minimal trouble (well, ok we got lost and had to ask a lot of people including the Tunisian Embassy staff but we got there!) Another very simple and friendly process. They only issue a minimum 90-day visa so it's quite pricey at 40 Euro apiece. Apparently, we found out later, that they issue a one-month visa at the border and it's heaps cheaper. Our next mission was our car insurance. There is a Carte Brune here, which is valid for most West African countries. We bought ours from La Lafia SA assurance near the BF embassy and we had to wait for ages for it but at 30 000 CFA (45 euro) for 3 months, it's well worth it. We bumped into James and Genevieve (the other South African couple driving to SA) and they told us of a much nicer spot to stay across the river called Auberge Djamilla. What a difference. A lovely garden courtyard, away from the hectic life on the streets of Bamako, where you can park your car and camp. A cool chill out zone with cushions and fans under a massive nomad tent. Lots of dogs, a kitchen, a bar and an internet café nearby. The place soon filled up with loads of wacky backy smoking French hippies. This was gonna be fun with only 2 loos. It was a bit of a squeeze but we all fitted into their courtyard, with us taking up most of the space with our roof tent and having to bundu bash just to open the door. We hunted down some cheap shwarmas and chips for dinner and chilled out in our little corner of heaven.

Day Fifty Four 23/1. Auberge Djamile, Bamako, Mali

12°37.34'N 7°59.53'W. Miles today 0, Total Miles 6072

Decided to spend another day in Bamako and Rob and I walked back over the bridge into the chaos, which is fantastic. Some people hate this town but we both love it. We checked out the three super flash supermarkets and decided to come back tomorrow to get a couple of luxuries. There is so much food here in Mali. The street food is superb with brochettes (kebabs/sosaties) and chips, fried fish, fried plaintain chips, and fruit and veg everywhere. Masses of bananas, mangos and paw-paws (papaya) too. What a change from our smidgens of laughing cow and bread in Mauritania. Found some weird deep fried plantain things for lunch but at 35 cents, they do grow on you. They also sell yummy rice balls with a meat sauce and at 4 cents each, you can eat very well. Chilled out for the rest of the afternoon, playing with the dogs interspersed with some frantic Internet research. It seems that its proving very difficult to get into Angola these days and this is our only way of getting south, hence the small panic. Also, Cameroon is proving to be small problem for some with the wet season and the impassable roads starting already. Oh well, all part of the adventure, hey. Cross that bridge (what bridge?) when we get to it. More cheap shwarmas and chips for dinner. Did pass the open air butchery where we could just make out through the haze of flies that they were making……sausages.! Unfortunately kinda ruined my dream though, as it was a huge intestine that they were filling with chopped liver, blood, fat and a sprinkling of flies. Mmmm mmm!

Day Fifty Five 24/1. Bush Camp, 10km East of Fana, Mali

12°49.16'N 6°54.80'W. Miles today ?, Total Miles ????

Off on the thankfully tarred road towards Segou, we stopped at the supermarkets for a wheel of cheese. Tried to get out of town by a sneaky route, as Matt's map showed another bridge further up. Ha hah, we soon got stopped by the police, as we clearly looked out of place on this stretch of road. They insisted on escorting us over the very narrow bridge filled with carrot sellers and were soon on the road to Segou. Not long down the road, Matt spotted an abandoned 2 CV van and we spent the next few hours removing any spare parts and wheels they might need. We stopped for the night in a super bushcamp and had a great bbq.

Day Fifty Six 25/1. Hotel de L'Independance, Segou, Mali

13°25.80'N 6°13.46'W. Miles today ?, Total Miles 6221

Just before Segou, Matt heard some weird noises coming from his right front tyre. After close inspection by the newly formed Ford-Glasspole twosome, they realised the bearings had gone. This, together with their starter motor playing up meant they had to limp into Segou and eventually be towed by us. We stopped at the camping at the Offices du Niger, which was pricey and looked pretty grim so thought we'd go further into town to see what else was available. Result, we found the fabulous Hotel L'independence, where we could camp in the courtyard ( for less money than the camping du Niger! ) and we could also use the pool and their lovely clean loos and showers. Matt also found a workshop where they could camp under the trees for free while their car was being nursed. So here we are, chilling out round the pool and enjoying a little of Africa's luxury.

Day 50-56

19th -25th January 2007, Mali