Trekking Through Mali

I just returned from an incredible vacation, trekking through the Dogon country in southern Mali. The views were amazing from the ground looking up at the massive mesas as were the views from the cliff edges looking out and beyond. Just as incredible were the ancient Telem mud and stone houses built in the cliffs during the 11th century. It was ridiculously hot hiking but on the plus side it wasn't tourist season so we hardly saw any foreigners at all.

I ended up traveling with a German volunteer who lives and works in the Dosso region of Niger. He is fluent in French so that definitely helped out along the way. I've traveled in West Africa a bit so my experience helped when bargaining or trying to catch rides. We took a bus from Niamey to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso since we could not take the direct route from Niger to Mali for security reasons (four foreigners were just kidnapped near the Niger-Mali border a couple of months ago). We were well on our way and only a few hours shy of Burkina's capital when our bus rear-ended another big bus. Luckily no one was hurt but the buses were pretty smashed up, especially the front end of ours. Thankfully another bus came by which had some empty seats so we were able to hop on and catch a ride to Ouaga.

We spent only a couple of days in Ouaga just hanging out. My buddy Michael met up with some other Germans while I hung out with some Burkina PCVs. We were able to check out a soccer match- Abidjan vs. Ouagadougou- which turned out to be a really competitive game and fun to watch.

On day 3 we woke up way too early and caught a 6am bus north to the city of Ouayigouya in northern Burkina. We hung out there for a while, waiting for a bush taxi to fill up then finally took off, heading north towards Koro, a village just over the border in Mali. It was a rough bush taxi ride for many reasons- first of all we were on a bench seat facing another bench seat so our legs were in between the other mens' legs and vice versa (just awkward and uncomfortable); secondly we were driving on a red dirt road with the windows open so you can imagine what we looked like after 6 hours of red dust hitting us in the face (looked like a bad tan, but worse). About half way there we stopped in a small road-side village because of a flat tire. After waiting for about 30 minutes, Michael and I decided to find the local bar. Luckily it was just down the road and we spent the remainder of our time there drinking mildly cold Brakina beers. We finally made it to Koro just before sunset so we ended up staying at an encampment there, just pitching our tents for the night.

The next morning we got up and out early, catching a better bush taxi on a nicer road to the town of Bankass, one of the starting points for Dogon country trips. Since it was market day we checked that out for a while, buying some cool turbans and getting some local food for lunch. Luckily we got hooked up with a really cool guide, Moumouni, who spoke English as well as French. The first thing he told us was that the trip wasn't about the money for him but for us to enjoy ourselves. Amazing. That afternoon once it cooled down a bit we took a bush taxi the 10km to the base of the escarpment, a massive mesa which stretches 200km to the northeast. We took a small hike and ended in the village of Teli where we would spend the night. That evening before dark we hiked up the cliff face and checked out the ancient Telem houses, said to have been inhabited by pygmies before the Dogon people came and drove the Telem out. It was amazing how these houses have been preserved for so many centuries, not only because the villagers protect the area, but also because the huts are sheilded from the elements.

We spent the next day hiking at the base of the mesa, staying the night at Moumouni's village, Ende. Not only were we able to check out some more Telem dwellings but late in the afternoon we hiked to the top of the mesa and checked out the view as the sun set behind us. Incredible.

Our 3rd day was spent hiking down at the base of the mesa then in the afternoon we again trekked to the top and ended up staying at a village built on top of the mesa, right on the cliff edge. The views both at sunset and sunrise were indescribable.

Our 4th day was spent trekking around the top and that night we ended up at another mesa-top village at a really small encampment owned by a man named Abraham. He was a great guy and very benevolent. After an amazing dinner he played us a tune on his handmade 2-string "banjo" made with a 5-liter tin and stick. He also did a skit for us including some traditional Dogon dancing and singing. Definitely one of my favorite spots of the trip.

Our last day left us in Dourou, a larger village, also on the top of the mesa. We stayed at a really nice encampment called the Oasis. Since it was market day we were able to stroll through and check it out. In the afternoon we climbed down the mesa and checked out a valley which was first covered in small sand dunes and as we decended we came upon a fertile valley with gardens of tobacco, eggplant, onion and lettuce along with massive mango trees.

The trip back was long and pretty uneventful. I ended up taking one bus for 11 hours and then making it to the bus station at 2am, stayed there until 7am for the second bus to leave, then another 10 hours back to Niamey. The second bus was awful since there were no windows that opened, only the tiny cracks for the emergency exits in the ceiling. On top of that many people bought fried fish to eat on the bus and one woman had a bucket of raw fish that she was bringing to Niger. The smell, well you get the picture. Ahh, gotta love traveling in Africa.

We were able to see the process for weaving the unique cotton blankets then dying them with indigo, the men carving the traditional Dogon masks, and men making traditional beaded necklaces. At each encampment we stayed on the roofs of the traditional Dogon rock huts, climbing hand-carved ladders to reach the top and then waking up each morning to catch the sunrise.

It was an amazing trip overall. Of all of the countries I've visited in West Africa, Dogon country in Mali was my favorite all around. Not only were the views amazing, but the Dogon people have a rich culture and the fact that they have preserved the ancient ruins was amazing.

Village Learns About AIDS

I just recently got funding from a worldwide AIDS fund and decided to do a project in my village. Working with a local NGO (non-governmental organization) based out of Gaya called Marketing Sociale, I made arrangements to have a "sensibilisation" or a village meeting focused on AIDS education.

Three "animators" or presenters came to my village along with my buddy Jeremy, a PCV down in Gaya. They arrived early on in the afternoon in order to give us plenty of time to set up and work out a program for the presentation. We had quite a few technical difficulties trying to set up a bunch of old electrical equipment for the presentation- projector, speakers, DVD player and microphone- but by dark we had it all rigged up, well, kind of.

The female presenters talked to the women and girls asking about the basics concerning AIDS prevention while the men did a condom demonstration. Afterwards we showed the crowd- yes there were A LOT of villagers there, over 150 men, women and children- a couple of videos which talked about AIDS- modes of transmission, prevention methods, etc. We then had a question and answer session to see what all the villagers had learned and what questions they still had.

Once it was all over with we ended up playing Nigerien music videos for my villagers which they were ecstatic about. Most of my villagers never have any form of entertainment other than listening to the radio so being able to watch videos on a big screen was very special for them, especially the women who took a break from their daily (and nightly) grind to enjoy the films.

The next morning, with the help of the NGO, we had a meeting with the two shop-keepers in town and explained the importance of having condoms in the village. As a result both men have begun to sell condoms in their shops. For me that was the best part about the entire meeting. The fact that condoms are readily available in the village for those who decide to use them is extremely important. It was a very rewarding experience for me as a volunteer since not only were people educated but since the shop-keepers are now selling condoms, it will be sustainable.

"BRAKINA" FASO

Hey guys, I know it's been a while since I've written. I've been here and there bust mostly in the bush, chilling and enjoying the slow-paced village life. Last month I went to Burkina Faso and traveled around the country with a friend of mine who I went to UA with. Although Burkina and Niger compete for who's last on the United Nations Development Index (who's the poorest country in the world), after visiting Burkina I think Niger definitely wins.

There were several things that stood out to me in Burkina that were different than in Niger- many were not easily recognizable but since I've lived in Niger for almost two years I could easily point out differences. One of the most noticeable things was that women everywhere were riding bicycles. Now that may not seem like a big deal but I think it is huge especially when it comes to women's development. The fact that they have transportation to be able to run their errands and go to the market is extremely important. Other differences I noticed: better and more paved roads, many more people driving scooters rather than bigger motorcycles, a bigger variety of fruits and vegetables, electricity in more places, dive bars EVERYWHERE and so many more people educated. I was surprised to hear most everyone in the city, even children, speaking French to each other. Mind-opening.

I spent a couple of nights in the capital, Ouagadougou just checking out the city and eating a lot of frozen yogurt. From there I headed with my friend Melissa to her town, Koudougou where we checked out the market and ate a traditional Burkinabe dish called "achecke"-pounded and steamed cassava with onions, tomatoes and fried fish. I couldn't get enough of the avocado sandwiches either!

We spent one night in Bobo, checking out the big market, the grand mud mosque, and some really unique dive bars, one with some pinball and arcade games. In Africa?
From Bobo we took a bus southwest to the town of Banfora, in the southwestern corner of Burkina. We rode about 15km from town, past vast fields of sugar cane, and arrived at "the domes", a huge are filled with rocky cliffs and spires. Amazing. We also checked out some waterfalls, spending an entire day playing in the cold water and jumping off of the small falls. That night we rode to a near by village which had huts and an area to camp. Being cheap PC volunteers we opted to camp outdoors but ironically around midnight a big rain storm rolled through so we had to run inside one of the huts. I was completely blown away since the rains normally don't begin until May or June. Either way the "mango rain" was nice and the next morning it was really cool.

I had read that there was a train that ran from Abidjan, Ivory Coast all the way to Ouagadougou, Burkina, built during the colonization period, so I thought it would be a great way to travel back to the capital. It wasn't. We didn't leave Banfora until 6pm and it ended up being a 13 hour ride back to Ouaga in second class. We moved to first class and enjoyed the padded seats and AC for all of 15 minutes until we were kicked back to second class. It was hot, dirty and the seats were hard plastic. I couldn't get much sleep in so I stood in the doorway between cars and just tried to enjoy the breeze. It was quite an experience and I'm glad that I gave it a shot but I think I'll stick to buses from now on.

Back in the capital I was able to check out FESPACO, Burkina Faso's African film festival. It was a great time and I saw some really interesting films and documentaries. There was also a fairgrounds near downtown which had a variety of artisans along with food and drink. The theatres were exceptionally nice so many times I entered planning on watching the film but ended up sleeping, getting too comfortable sitting in the AC in comfortable chairs.
All in all it was a great trip, especially since it had been over a year since I had left Niger! By the time my trip was over I was ready to get back to the village and enjoy some time in the bush.