10/24/05
The plan for today revolved around getting the visas from the Cameroon embassy. The embassy opened at 8:30 so we were first in line at the embassy. The uniformed guy at the desk helped us fill out our paperwork then informed us that we needed an invitation or at least a hotel reservation in Cameroon. So off we went to an internet cafe to fake some hotel reservations and we were all good (gotta love technology). Once we handed the print out of our reservations and the 50,000 CFA per person (roughly $100) he said we could pick up the visa tomorrow at 2:00.
Anna wasnt enjoying the chaos of Dakar so she wanted to go back to the hotel and relax. After dropping her off I decided to drive around the city and see the sights. Every thing I had read and heard about Dakar warned of the hustle and beggars so as I wandered around I had my guard up. Once again expecting the worse I found the market and the people not that bad, If you talked to one guy trying to sell you something the others would leave you alone or if you ignored them they would eventually lose interest.
When it started to get dark I did a quick drive by the beach and saw about 300 men playing soccer on the beach, the set several fields up with part of the field in the water and goals made of tires dug into the sand.
Todays Specs
Weather: 100 F Sunny Hot
Distance: 0 miles Dakar Senegal
10/25/05
This morning we took our time packing up the gear and loading up the bike before saying goodbye to the Hotel Continental around noon.
I figured if we got to the embassy a couple hours early we would get our passports back early, WRONG. After 3 hours of sitting in a hot waiting room we decided if we dont get the passports back by 4:00 we would stay another night in Dakar. Luckily at 3:15 the uniformed man produced our passports and we got on the road.
Leaving Dakar was an absolute nightmare. It took an hour and a half to get out of the city, it was over 100F, dust was thicker than water, trucks and cars alike were belching out black smoke, and we were moving an average of 5mph. At one point the truck in front of me decided it would be better if he backed up, so he back right into us and knocked us over, luckily he saw that he hit us, so he kindly decided forward was a better direction and drove off with out a backward glance. We couldnt take the heat so we stopped at an airconditioned gas station as we got off the bike we were quickly greeted by several ladies carrying enough bananas on their head to make Carmen Miranda look like an amateur.
By the time we made it out of Dakar we were little a grumpy, first sitting at the embassy for 3 hours then sitting in traffic had started to take its toll, but as usual I made it through with a smile still on my face. This is were chance encounters and as my mother always told me "Josh everything happens for a reason".
We decided to try find a campground on the beach since it would be a long while before we got to see the ocean. As we pulled into a village called Nianing I happened to stop and ask a young man walking by if he knew of a place to camp. After the initial language barrier issues were solved by pointing and gestures he quickly understood what I was looking for and motioned that I should follow him. So about 100 meters away we pulled into a driveway with a house hidden by a beautiful plant covered wall, the young man disappeared behind a gate and a minute later reappeared with the owner. After we introduced ourselves Mustafa invited me to look at his house and see if it met our standards. I was completely blown away, the house wasn't so large, the yard was a collection of perfectly manicured plants and the house was spotlessly clean and extremely nice. He showed me our room which was half of the circular shaped house. I quickly told him this was far out of my budget and very sorry to disturb him. He quickly insisted that I would stay as his guest and we would worry about the price when I leave. After the long day of getting out of Dakar I decided a little luxury would be ok and I was really starting like Mustafa.
After a shower and relaxing Anna and I tried to figure this whole situation out. Did Mustafa own the house or was he the caretaker of it for some Europeans. Well in hindsight I feel extremely ignorant, as I found out Mustafa was quite a successful businessman and by the age of 37 had done quite well for himself. Anna and I prepared a pasta and sausage dinner and shared it with Mustafa and his 3 friends who were eating a traditional rice and fish meal. Turned out one of the friends was from Mali and was a natural doctor/priest who helped Mustafa with the spiritual side of doing business and deciding if certain ventures were a good idea.
We sat up till almost midnight talking with our new friends, conversation was a little difficult at times due to our lack of French but nobody seemed to mind.
Todays Specs
Weather: 100 F Sunny Hot
Distance: 60 miles Dakar Senegal to Nianing Senegal
10/26/05
This morning we pushed aside the mosquito net and made our way to the patio where Mustafa had coffee and breakfast waiting. As we sat there enjoying the plant filled garden and listening to our new friend explain the business ventures the he was involved with. I believe he is one of the few individuals in the world who has truly figured things out. His favorite word was tranquil and seemed to display this in everything he did.
After hinting, in my not so shy way, that we would love to be his guest for another night if it was no problem, he was extremely happy to have us another night and insisted that we could stay as many nights as we wanted.
We decided to spend the rest of the day relaxing on the beach and enjoying the sun. The beach wasn't the cleanest beach I have ever been on, the plastic waste from the ocean had found its way ashore here. But it really didn't seem to matter, we cleared a spot and laid our mats out for a relaxing afternoon.
For the first time in a long time we actually felt like normal people enjoying an afternoon and not tourists. Several people walked by and said hello and went about their business, not trying to sell us things or hassle us.
We did walk down the beach and in front of a small hotel we did a scuffle between a security guard and peddler that was trying to talk to the guests. The scuffle ended up with someone getting hit by a shovel and a nightstick. Anna and I quickly headed back down to our more tranquil end of the beach.
Mustafa had to head into town to pick up some food for dinner so I offered to give him a ride on the back of the bike, he almost fell over with excitement. On the way into town I was able to get up a little speed, by the time we made it into town he was all smiles.
With the morning spent laying the beach the late afternoon was spent laying in a hammock in the garden.
Mustafa had dinner ready promptly at sunset, since it is Ramadan once the sun went down they didn't waste time to start eating. It was a great meal of rice and beef with several vegetables.
After dinner Anna and I were left alone as the Doctor had to visit a friend who needed a consultation.
Todays Specs
Weather: 100 F Sunny Hot
Distance: 0 miles Nianing Senegal
10/27/05
After a coffee and some bread for breakfast I had to break the news to Mustafa that we had to leave today. He tried convincing us to stay another day or to, I believe he truly enjoyed our company as much as we enjoyed his. Before we left I carefully broached the subject, not wanting to offend him in any way, of how much I should pay him for the room. He quickly said that we were his guests and under no circumstances would he take our money. In fact he had already called to his uncle in Tambacounda and we could stay with him tonight when we get there. So after several goodbyes we left Nianing feeling completely ready for the next leg of the journey. I believe I smiled all the way to Tambacounda after having a great last couple days.
The ride to Tambacounda was pretty uneventful since the road was in great shape the whole way.
We arrived at 7:00 and found a call center to get a hold of Mustafa's Uncle. He spoke decent English and with in a few minutes he came and picked us up. Suleyman (Mustafa's Uncle) is an eye doctor and a Middle Colonel in the Military. He had a nice house and quickly made his nephew (who is also his driver) give up his room so we could have a nice bed for the night. He had received his education and his new Toyota Landcruiser from the Lions Club International as one of their programs to help solve blindness. It was nice to see the funds from charities actually going to good use.
So after dinner we sat around with Suleyman and his daughters watching cartoon network and having a good conversation. By 11:00 we were all quite tired so we turned in for the night.
Todays Specs
Weather: 95F Sunny Hot
Distance: 250 miles Nianing Senegal to Tambacounda Senegal
10/28/05
When we woke up Suleman's daughter had some chocolate croissants and coffee waiting for us. After enjoying a lazy breakfast we said our thankyous and goodbyes and started making our way towards Kayes Mali.
The road was very nice all the way to the border so we made really good time. We did stop to take some photos of a Leopard we saw, unfortunately he was sleeping in the middle of the road so that was a little sad.
As we rode along I kept and eye out for the Mali border, after a quick glance at my GPS I realized I was about 5 miles inside Mali and I had completely missed the border. We decided it would be a good thing if we had our passports and carnet stamped so we made a u-turn back to the border. The border gaurds were quite friendly and didnt really seem to upset that we ran the border. After stamping our passports they asked for a present for the office. I quickly produced 4 pieces of candy and they seemed quite happy with that. This had to be one of the easiest border crossings I have ever crossed. In hindsight I didnt even go to the Senegal border station to get my exit stamp on my passport, o-well.
After the border there was about 500 meters of piste that was still under construction but the rest of the road was perfect new blacktop all the way to Kayes. When I made it to Kayes I felt like I had cheated a little and this trip was going almost too easy.
Not much was happening in Kayes except expensive hotels that closely resembled jail cells so we opted for camping in the courtyard of one hotel. I really am starting to appreciate the cleanliness of my tent compared to some of the hotels. As long as I can get a shower in every day or two I am starting to prefer camping over these hotels. I guess the last three nights spoiled me and now I have too high of standards.
Before we got our tent set up a policeman tried telling me that I need to go to the police station and get our passports stamped, after showing him 3 times that we had already taken care of the visas and we would not be going to the police station he gave in and shook our hands and got on his moped and drove off. It was a little weird I guess he was just checking that we really knew what we were doing or he had no idea what the visa from the embassy and the border stamp actually looked like.
Todays Specs
Weather: 95F Sunny Hot
Distance: 200 miles Tambacounda Senegal to Kayes Mali
10/29/05
Well deciding we needed some adventure I decided we should take the old road to Manatali then on to Bamako. Plus we were told there would be lots of Hippopotamuseseses in a town on the way called Bafoulabe.
While we were riding we got passed by a Japanese guy on a little 250 dirt bike, after some quick conversation we found out he was coming from India and doing the same route we are. Since he was much faster on the piste we said we would meet up once we reach Bafoulabe.
So as we headed down the road described by the local guy as really bad I quickly saw what he meant.
Normally I always judge when I should take breaks by the miles I cover, as I looked at the odometer I realized I had only covered 25 miles in 3 hours without a break. Not realizing how fatigued and dehydrated I had become we came to a stretch of sand and quickly had a get off. Anna's leg got pinned by the boxes and twisted her ankle and knee pretty good. After a quick inspection she could put weight on it and walk ok. I was extremely relieved that she was ok. We looked around and up the road a little way was a couple mud huts surrounded by some corn and trees. I quickly rode ahead through the sand and parked the bike near the huts. As the owner of the hut came out I explained the situation, using more gestures than words. Before I new it they had several mats laid out in the shade and brought us food and large plate of peanuts to eat. I was quite happy for the peanuts as the other food was a raw egg cornmeal mix that seemed very nutritious but raw eggs make me a little nervous.
For the next hour and a half we sat enjoyed there company, the man actually had two wives (who were busy mashing dried corn which was very interesting to watch). After an hour we asked if we could take some pictures and before my eyes they were all lined up quite excited to have their pictures taken. So after several pictures and sharing several sweets with the wives and children we decided we would try to make it a little further down the road.
5 miles down the road we came to a small train station town called Diemou where we stopped and drank a well needed coca-cola. As we were enjoying a cold soda a new landcruiser came down the road with two white guys in it, I quickly flagged them down to try to get some local info. Turns out there is a huge gold mining operation not far here and they were ex-pats working at the mine. The quickly produced a couple cold beers from the coolers behind the seat (not many drinking and driving laws here) and told us what they new of the area. By now Anna's knee was getting more sore so we asked them if they knew a place we could camp close by. The recommended a spot down the road by the river and some waterfalls called Chutes De Gouine and even took us to a well hidden road that would get us there.
The road leading to the Chutes out turned out to be very challenging to say the least and after an hour we found ourselves not at the destination and again feeling fatigued. We decided to stop and camp for the evening. We found a great little spot along the river, so we quickly set up camp and went for a much needed swim. A boy came down while we were swimming and started fishing upstream from where we were. I quickly had visions of a nice fish dinner so offered him a dollar or two if he could produce a fish for us. Unfortunately fishing was poor so we had pasta and bread without fish.
At 7:00 the invasion of the bugs began so we quickly retired to the tent and locked ourselves in till morning.
Todays Specs
Weather: 100F Sunny Hot
Distance: 50 miles Kayes Mali to bush camping on Senegal River outside Diemou Mali
10/30/05
This morning after further inspection of Anna's knee we decided a couple days of rest would be a good idea, she could walk and had full movement but she was a little sore. Quickly realizing that by 10:00 our great camping spot wouldn't offer any shade we decided we would need a new spot. So we packed up our stuff and decided to head towards the falls and spot our mining friends had recommended. As luck would have it as we were packing up two land rovers drove by filled with co-workers of friends who were heading to the falls for a day of relaxation and bar-b-quing. So we loaded all the gear up and Anna into the landrovers and I followed them to the beach. The rest of the after noon was spent lounging in the water and shade and eating till our stomachs ached. When they left the gave us a six pack of beer, meat and even a pound of potato salad.
We relaxed on the beach watching the amazing waterfall (they are literally Mali's version of Niagra just about a 1/3 the size but better since we were the only people for miles around) and listening to what seemed like a hundred different types of birds, it truly felt we were in Africa. Once again by 7:00 the bugs came out in full force and we were forced to the safety the tent.
Todays Specs
Weather: 100F Sunny Hot
Distance: 3 miles bush camping on Senegal River outside Diemou Mali to camping at base of Chutes De Gouine
10/31/05
Well today is Halloween, probably my favorite holiday. So I was a little bummed thinking of my friends back home having good times and carrying on with out me. Ok I wasnt too bummed maybe for a minute or two and I will just have to have twice as much fun next year to make up for missing it this year.
After a breakfast of bread and some left over meat I decided to go by myself to the next town about 15 miles away to check the route and get some more supplies since we would be out of meat and water by the end of the day. On a light bike with no gear it took me an hour to get to the village and I found a route that wasnt too bad, most of the time the road was pretty bad but there is a path along the side where the small scooters and people use. The village turned out to be just grass huts and a small building for a train station, no boutiques or anything of the sort here.
The way back I decided to try to see if I could find an easier route, bad idea. I ended up taking a route that was very difficult even with no gear on the bike.
So once back at the camp we set about boiling river water to make sure we had enough water to make it to the village tomorrow. After boiling 6 liters of water we enjoyed the last of the meat and retreated to the saftety of the tent as the bugs set upon us once again.
Todays Specs
Weather: 100F Sunny Hot
Distance: 0miles bush camping at base of Chutes De Gouine
11/1/05
This morning we awoke at 6:30 and had the bike loaded and ready to get on the road by 7:00, we really wanted to beat the heat today.
The day didnt start off quite as I had hoped, the first 100 meters out of the campsite I got stuck in the sand. So after 20 minutes of digging we got the bike out and continued on our way. The plan for today was to take out time and I would ride any tricky places by myself and Anna would walk. So the first section of rocks we came to I came to a stop and Anna got off the bike and I headed up the rock section. About half way up I saw a huge rock right in the middle of the road, I tried turning the bike but kept looking at the rock, turn bike, rock, turn bike, rock before I knew it the front tire was going over the big rock and I was going over the handle bars. Damn object affixation. So as I picked myself up and dusted off myself and everything seemed ok. The bike was ok except now a couple blinkers and fog lights on the right side were now in pretty rough shape, by rough shape I mean in 100 pieces across the African floor.
Once we gathered ourselves we rode on and I started to notice my thumb starting to hurt. The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful and went much smoother with us taking breaks every 15 minutes. On one break I glanced at my thermometer and it read 110F, it was bloody hot today. As we sat in the shade a few locals walked by, one offering to sell us a huge melon of some sort. It turned out to be the largest papaya I have ever seen, some monster African papaya. So as we sat and ate our papaya, sharing with several happy passerby's. We finally made it Galagou at 1:30, what took me under an hour by myself the day before took over 6 hours today with the fully loaded bike and we were completely exhausted and on the verge of dehydration and exhaustion. In the village we decided our best option was to take the train to the next town or maybe even Bamako. Anna headed down to the river to get some water and I tried to get some food. The people here didn't seem to have any interest what so ever in helping us or even wanting to sell us food. This village definitely did not have allot with maybe only a couple having jobs with the train company other than that it was purely a subsistence living. After a while I convinced one fellow to sell us a papaya, I gave him a 1000cfa bill (about $2) for the papaya, I didn't expect change back having no problem paying several times the value, but a few minutes later he returned with change, obviously he hadn't heard that it is ok to price gouge the tourists.
As we sat there drinking our now purified water (I was quite excited to use my MSR water purifier) and eating our papaya I felt energy creep back into my body.
A little while later we heard a commotion and saw all the young men run off, and a few minutes later we heard two loud pops. With curiosity we looked over to see to men hold up two baboons they had just shot.
As I walked over I saw two baboons, one large male and a smaller female both laying with blood coming from their skulls, the guy was quite a good shot. It was definitely a little disturbing to see 15 young African men jumping around quite excited with the fresh kill of the baboons. Visions of them starting to boil water and then thinking some white tourist would go well fresh monkey meat came to mind.
Since it was only men over with the baboons we decided Anna should not go over, this was obviously a male only thing.
Next to the train tracks was an old box car that had been left there along time ago and know sat in decay. The men took the two baboons inside the box car and from the slots in the side of the car we could tell they were starting to skin them while the other men started a big fire. Deciding this was something I would only see once in my life I asked one of the men if I could take some pictures. He was excited about the thought of pictures and almost drug me to the box car assuring me "No Problem No Problem". I thought no problem and assured him that I wouldn't taste nearly as good as the monkey. Inside the box car was one half skinned baboon and 5 excited guys and two of them with big bloody machetes. As I came in with the camera they got very excited and all stood in a line holding up the machetes and dead baboons. Then I took some video footage of them skinning them. Of course the all wanted to see the video, most of them have probably never seen a picture of themselves let alone on video. Now your really have to picture this. I am standing in a box car with 5 or six Africans with machetes and two dead baboons. The all gather around me to look at the video, one guy sticks his arm around my shoulders to get in good and close to look at the video as the video is playing I look over to see this hand dangling off my shoulder that is covered in baboon blood and hair, as they are watching the video with complete excitement all I could do was stare at this bloody hairy hand. So after the video they were quite excited and got back to the monkey business and I quickly and quietly excused myself.
After showing Anna the video we decided to try to figure out what we should do. We were definately in no shape (both mentally and physically) to continue on to Bafoulabe. My thumb was starting to swell up becoming evident that I had a pretty bad sprained thumb and the locals were describing the 25 kilometers to Bafoulabe as very bad road. So the train it would be, now trying to get a train schedule out of African villagers is almost impossible. First of all they only speak french and next none of them own watches so time isnt too important. We were able to get that the train would be here in a little while. So as we sat a few hours later the train arrived, going the wrong direction. Apparently the train was on its way to Kayes and then would come back in about 8 hours and then go on to Bamako.
So we were stuck for about 8 hours or 2:00 in the morning. Since it was 6:00 and we were feeling extremely hungry, only have eaten a Papaya all day we decided we really needed food. I set Anna on the task to find us some food. She returned a while later with our new friend Juku who was willing to sell us a live chicken for 4000CFA (about $8) great but I didnt need a live chicken so after much gestures he said for and extra 1000CFA he would kill it, pluck it, and cook it for us. Perfect so I followed him and picked out the chicken that would become our dinner, or more like 5 boys set out to catch the slowest chicken.
Juku turned out to be quite a good cook and deepfried and added spices to our dinner. About 40 minutes later we enjoyed what seemed to be the best meal of our lives. As we sat with our belly's full and Juku seemed quite happy, probably making enough money to buy a couple new chickens, Anna and I decided we should set up the tent as the sun was setting and the bugs would soon be out.
We decided to set the tent up right next to the train tracks so we would hear it coming and be able to quickly take the tent down and load the bike. The train only stops for 3-4 minutes so it would have to be a quick operation. So we had the bike 100% ready and we slept in our clothes in the tent. The locals definitely enjoyed watching us set up the tent and as we laid inside I could feel several of them sitting watching the tent in the dark not wanting to miss out if something else should happen.
Todays Specs
Weather: 110F Sunny and very Hot
Distance: 15 miles bush camping at base of Chutes De Gouine to Galougo
11/2/05
At about 1:45 I heard the train coming in the distance, with a nudge to Anna we set in motion and with a few seconds we had the tent packed and were waiting for the train. After a few minutes of waiting in pitch black darkness, I mean it was really dark with the only light coming from the stars, it must have been a new moon since I couldn't see the moon. The train came into view and slowly came to a stop in front of us, a few villagers materialized from the darkness to board the train and I quite frantically found the train man who informed me to pull the bike up the second car. as I pulled the bike up I looked around for a ramp or something to get the bike into the car which the entrance was 5 feet in the air. The guy assured me "No Problem" and out of nowhere 4 sets of white eyes and shiny white teeth appeared from the darkness. And with a few words from the train man the bike was heaved into the air and before my eyes over 500lbs of bike was lifted into the train car. Anna and I and the train man piled into the car right after the bike because the rear tire was barely in the door as the train started to pull away.
Once inside the car were about 10 people and everything from bags of grain to furniture. The train was quite bouncy and it took all my and Anna's strength and try to strap down the bike especially with my thumb that was now over twice the size of the other one. Anna was extremely impressive through this whole situation offering help at the right times and right there holding and pushing the bike along side me. Eastern European women are leaps and bounds tougher than soft American women I tell you. The train man seeing the danger of the bike crushing several people nearby quickly came to my rescue. The train man wasn't the biggest man I have ever seen but was probably twice as strong as an average man, many years of working this train car.
So when the bike was finally situated at the bike of the car and held into place with 5 straps me and Anna finally sat down and relaxed, well as best you can in a dark dirty bouncy train car with 10 people staring at you through the darkness. As I sat there I reflected on the last couple days and couldnt believe here I was.
The first stop was Naima, just outside of Bafaloube, a quick look at my swollen thumb told Anna and I that there was no way we would be riding for a few days so we decided to stay on the train all the way to Bamako. At Naima the ticket collector and two uniformed police officers came onboard the box car ignoring everyone but me and quickly asked me to go outside. Recognizing the shake down that was quickly coming my way I followed them, after several minutes and me pretending to be quite excited about how much they wanted I ended up paying way too much, 18,000CFA ($35) for the ride to Bamako but what could I do as the train was leaving with my bike on it and they wouldnt let me back on unless I paid. Once back on board I wasnt quite prepared for how far it was to Bamako. I was expecting maybe a six hour ride, WRONG, 13 hours later we arrived in Bamako which was over 200 miles away. Now keep in mind that we stopped several time and everything from goats to bags of coal (which produced huge clouds of dust in the car) to mopeds to breast feeding mothers all passed through this box car over the 13 hour ride and not to mention we rode through the hottest part of the day with temperatures reaching 100F.
So needless to say we were exhausted, tired, and grumpy by the time we reached Bamako. Our train man had gotten off an hour earlier and been replaced by a less friendly man so after everyone and everything had been offloaded I was the only thing left in the car and of course it would cost me to offload the bike. I was extremely short tempered at this point so after some angry negotiation that I was the only one who paid to offload the bike but I clearly couldn't get 500lbs of motorcycle out of the train I paid the much lower price of 2000CFA (they initially wanted 15,000CFA) to get the bike off the train.
As we loaded the bike we decided we deserved a nice hotel with some clean white sheets. So we headed to the grand hotel. Bamako is fairly dirty but still leaps and bounds nicer than Naoukchott. We got quite lost on the way to the hotel and driving here was extremely hard, one way streets and chaos around every corner, not to mention this was made much worse by my current condition of being extremely tired and still some what exhausted. So we pulled into a gas station and went for a double coca-cola and some chocolate while we got our bearings. As we finished our drinks and most of the chocolate and had found our bearings a group of 5 young boys and came over and were quite interested in us. I quickly shared the remainder of my chocolate with them, they were extremely happy for the chocolate. They weren't the typical street children, all were dressed fairly nice and looked well fed.
As we pulled out of the parking lot I lost my balance and the bike fell over. We were quite fine but a little embarrassed. As I went to pick the bike up I had 5 little boys helping me lift the bike and then telling me slow down and take it easy. Now when 5 little boys are telling you to take it easy, well what do you do.
Once we found the Grand I gladly paid the $70 a night and booked two nights.
After a swim in the pool and a nice dinner at a local ex-pat Tex-Mex (yep you heard right Tex-Mex, I have never enjoyed an enchilada so much in my life) restaurant we passed out and slept so well in a nice clean hotel room.
Todays Specs
Weather: 100F Sunny and Hot
Distance: 200 miles the train ride of a lifetime from Galougo to Bamako
