To Timbuktu and Back! (PART I)

Earlier in 2009 one of my great friends from childhood - Nada - suggested a plan to meet at a desert music festival in Mali over New Year. Concurring it was a great idea, the trips were soon booked with Nada travelling from Perth, Australia (via Paris) and myself travelling from Kampala, Uganda (via Nairobi).

Mali is in West Africa, also the musical heartland of Africa. We met in Bamako, the capital of Mali, and from there we hatched our plan to travel to Timbuktu on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert some nine hundreds of kilometres from the capital.

Alhassane, our pinasse driver and guide who took us for a ride on the Niger River. A pinasse is a traditional wooden boat used to transport people and various goods on the river.

Mahmoud, a new friend from Timbuktu, pictured below. A fluent English speaker and a charming young fellow, Mahmoud runs a tour business in Mali. If you are looking to travel in Mali I recommend Mahmoud as a guide. Get in touch with Mahmoud.
Nada and I in tradition Touareg head-dress. It protects one from the harsh elements of the desert - that would be sun and sand!

Cruising the Niger River in Mopti - Nada and me. Mopti is a port town between Bamako and Timbuktu.

Dogon is a popular area for travellers because of its beautiful panoramas, and rich history and culture. Dogon is a series of small towns between which you can hike. Each town has its own unique history and cultural mix. I was particularly interested by the history of the Tellem, the pygmy inhabitants of the area who left centuries ago but whose abandoned dwellings still exist in many of the Dogon towns. One of the first towns on the way to Dogon Country is Jigibombo - what a brilliant name (definitely more exciting than the name of my hometown in Australia - Adelaide).

Here is a short video of a dance at a mask festival at Ende one of the many towns in Dogon Country and the third and final town we visited in Dogon.

In my next post I'll tell you more about the Touareg music festival we attended and some other stories from Mali.