Stepping out of the aircraft door in Mali feels like walking into a warm, damp blanket. Immediately you know you are somewhere different, exciting and palpably African. Even the stroll across worn blacktop to the airport terminal assaults the senses, with the sounds of cicadas in the background and a gang of baggage handlers push-starting the baggage truck.
Our first visit to the Festival last year convinced us it is one of the great African adventures not to be missed…
The Guerba tour leader met us as we exited the baggage hall, most of us with our full compliment of baggage. It’s hard to describe the sense of adventure and excitement that even the short drive to our hotel brings. Beaten up old cars compete for road space with hand-carts, cows and even a beggar on a skateboard. Horns blare, vendors press their goods through open windows and people in fantastically coloured robes throng the pavements. Bamako is a vibrant place!
Dogon Country
We relax and get to know each other in the comfort of the Campagnard Hotel. We are a group of 16 from all over the world, but mostly Brits and Americans and all English speakers. We are excited about the next day, when we will drive to Segou to start our 2-day hike through the Dogon Villages of the Bandiagara Escarpment. These animist peoples made a home along the escarpment some 600 years ago, escaping a wave of Islam that swept the region. Originally living in caves that can still be seen on the steep cliff faces, the Dogon now live much as they have done for generations in a series of villages along the base of the escarpment. The village courtrooms were my favourite. These open sided thatched spaces have only 3 feet of headroom. Squatting inside with our interpreter I asked why the low ceilings. “It means the accused and the accuser cannot stand and fight” was the reply.
We enjoyed pleasant walks of a few miles in the early morning as we went from village to village. Greetings are an important part of life, and take several minutes each, so the pace is gentle. It makes you realise how much we ignore each other in the West when here each passer-by is greeted and news exchanged. It’s a remarkable experience staying in these hospitable villages, seeing people gather and chat and socialise without a TV in sight. We were tempted by the homemade millet beer which requires a new skill – sieving a drink through your teeth to avoid the husks! Not bad, but beware the next morning.
Leaving the Dogon behind, we climbed the escarpment and set off again in our 4-WD cars for Djenne on the River Niger. The town is dominated by the enormous mud-built mosque, the world’s largest, and a striking piece of architecture. Again the vibrancy is striking. This region is the meeting point and trading frontier for West Africans and the desert people of the North, mingled with the nomadic cattle people of the Sahel.
Niger River Trip
By day 6 we are in Mopti, a bustling port on the Niger River and a major commercial centre. After a good look round, most of us chose to relax and enjoy the world from the terrace of Bozo’s Bar, overlooking the river port. It was good to see the river traffic because the next 3 days saw us motoring down river to the fabled city of Timbuktu, camping in the desert each night. It’s a fascinating journey, with desert dunes to the North and fishing villages along the way. We watch as young kids herd their long-horned cattle with confidence and aplomb, taking their eye off the job momentarily to shout greetings at this strange boatload of tourists as they chug past. The river is endlessly fascinating, each bend revealing something new, whether a small village or a fisherman hauling in a giant Niger perch (the famous ‘Capitaine’ on every menu). My mind reflected on the journeys of Mungo Park and other great explorers who had to consider each bend as possibly their last as they marauding Taureg tried to impede their quest for the fabled city of Timbuktu. Amazingly, one or two of the group use this time to sleep, and blithely miss this great experience. They must have tough jobs back home.
Timbuktu
Timbuktu, despite being a UNESCO World Heritage Site - initially looked really disappointing, with it’s dusty streets and encroaching sand from the desert. However, with half a day to explore we broke into small groups and soon discovered some interesting secrets. The houses of past explorers got my vote. Gordon Laing – the Scottish adventurer – survived 17 lacerations to his skull and the loss of his left hand before finally reaching Timbuktu. Seeing the small house he then lived in gives history a hard edge. Some of the group were shown early manuscripts from the 16th century at what was one of the worlds earliest centres of learning. Others marvelled at the deep well which gives the town it’s name.
By late afternoon we are we all want to get to the festival site as we have been building up to this for days now. The site is 65 km north–west of Timbuktu and a 2 hour drive by 4 x 4. We arrive at the most surreal festival setting one can imagine.
Festival au Sable
The stage is nestled amongst the dunes and the site is a mixture of Tuareg camps, tourist tents, camels, artisan stalls, restaurants and bars. The Tuareg, the blue-robed men of the desert, make quite an impression riding around the Saharan desert camp sitting astride the decorated saddles of their camels.
The day was taken up wandering around the site, listening to impromptu music, looking around local craft stalls, and watching the various activities of the desert Tuareg – whether singing, dancing or charging around on their camels. The music started on the main stage in the early evening, continuing on until the early hours of the morning. The standard was high, and many of the groups were from around the Timbuktu/Gao area. How is there so much talent around these small villages? There were acts from Burkina and other West African countries, as well as Native American and European groups. I listened to such a great variety of music at the desert festival it would be hard to imagine a comparable mix anywhere else on earth.
During the day, nothing beats spending an hour or so sitting over a cold beer in one of the open bars, watching the comings and goings of life around the camp, a plate of goat kebab and chilli to entertain the palate. When the music fires up again each evening, we are ready, and apart from listening to the fabulous sounds, we mingle with dance groups, watch side-acts and stand round charcoal braziers with new found Tuareg friends equally enjoying the show.
When the music’s over..
Sadly, the festival comes to an end, and we set off across the river on the local ferry to rejoin our 4WD fleet that takes us to Douantza and Segou, the capital of the Bambara Empire where we have a welcome hotel night. Scrubbed and clean, the final day of this epic adventure takes us on a drive through the savannah landscape to Fana where we break the journey before driving to the airport to board our flight home.
Together with visits to Djenne, Dogon country, Mopti and Timbuktu – the Festival au Desert trip gives a great contemporary feel to one of Africa’s great adventures – a Journey to Timbuktu.
