106 days in

Timbuktu and Dogon delays

The Dogon adventure is over. I’m both saddened and gladdened by that.

There’s no question Dogon country is an utterly amazing place and a must see if you’re in Mali: beautiful tiny villages nestled beneath the sheer cliffs of a great escarpment snaking hundreds of kilometres through isolated Malian semi-desert, stunning nights under star-filled skies, a cultural richness, breathtaking views. Both of us were stunned more than once by what we were seeing.

But the trip was also fraught with money problems and arguments with our guide, again.

Aly is a nice guy. But the problem we had was when he arrived in Douentza to take over the trip, he wasn’t properly informed and or given all the money we handed the original guide. We didn’t know this at the time, but it meant he ran out of cash halfway through and started asking us for more money to complete the journey. To be fair, he wasn’t asking for payment money, he just needed more cash so we could afford to eat, pay the various village taxes, and sleep in safety. In the end we gave in and provided more dollars - with a promise we would get it back - and the trip continued.

But all this strained our relationship with Aly, who was less interested in us after realising his money for the work might take time to arrive from Mohammed at journey’s end. To put it simply, the second half of the journey was a bit awkward for everyone involved.

In all we walked more than 100 kilometres, half of which we covered in the first three days. The beginning half was almost completely non-touristic due to there being fewer villages and less beautiful scenery, giving us more authentic experience. The second half of the journey, while more picturesque and dotted with pretty villages, was obviously full of tourists and so we got hassled by kids and touts more.

It’s a journey we won’t forget.

96 days in

Timbuktu and Dogon delays

The name Timbuktu conjures in the western mind images of parched isolation, Arabs atop loping camels, and veiled mystery. But in reality the place is one big tourist stop-off. And having stopped-off most go back the way they came. A little disappointing really.

But it was nice to reach our farthest-most destination. And we did head by camel to a Tuareg (travelling nomad type) encampment about two hours north of Bukkers. The night under the stars was magical, but the whole affair was just another tourist event in reality. In truth we only went because we got the excursion at half price - repayment for our boat ride getting so messed up.

In all we spent two aimless days in Timbuktu before being ferried by luxurious 4wd through the desert to Douentza, a gateway town to the fabled Dogon country. From here we’re supposed to be trekking for 10 days through Dogon in its entirety, but already the trip is delayed because our guide speaks little English, and the replacement guide he brought this morning speaks even less! So, after various aggravated phone calls to Mohammed we’re awaiting the arrival of an English speaking guide from Bandiagara; he should be here tonight, and in the morning we’ll be off.

Most of Pays Dogon is UNESCO heritage listed and is the top of many guide books lists of things to do before you die. This is largely due to the now abandoned 12th century Tellem (a now vanished pigmy tribe of people) villages, built high atop the cliffs of a vast escarpment in the desert.

Mali is becoming an irritation because we hoped the place would be less touristic than it has revealed itself to be, and so far all we’ve done is follow guides around. Dogon will be the same, but we’ve heard it’s very hard to explore this region without a good guide.

And there’s no electricity, running water or internet in any of the Dogon villages: I’m starting to feel a bit like a pampered, whinging westerner. Wah wah.