My trip to Mali, West Africa
I went to Mali with my brother Mike, his business partner Derek, and two
friends, Christophe and David. My travel companions are old hands when it comes
to Third World travel....they had a good idea about what to expect....I had
prepared myself as best that I could, but I was not really prepared.
Mali is a former French colony, so having someone in the group that can
speak French was a must...and Christophe is fluent in English, French, and
Spanish; this came in very handy. I studied French quite some time ago, and
although I found that I could understand most of what was being said, I found it
very difficult to formulate a response. There are a few things that one needs to
know about Mali:
- English is spoken rarely, French is essential.
- Cash is king. Mali is a cash society, your bank cards will be of no use
except in the larger cities such as Mopti or Bamako. Take Euros and exchange
them for local currency [CFA's]. The exchange rate is typically 640 CFA
[pronounced "say-fah" by the locals] to the Euro, but you may get 650 in some
places. The exchange rate for the US dollar is 500 CFA....however....US
currency may not be accepted as easily as the Euro.
- A local guide is essential....a guide that speaks English is even better.
It is best to make arrangements to have a guide meet you at the
airport....more on that later.
- Mali is a very poor country by Western standards. Even in the large
cities, sanitation consists of open sewers that flow to the river, and I saw
no signs of municipal garbage collection....and there was lots of litter in the streets.
- Drink bottled water [or bottled beer] only. We found that bottled water is
available everywhere and is inexpensive [700 CFA], cold beer is also available
everywhere....only one brand, Castel...and a large bottle costs 1000 CFA [$2
US].
- Mali is safe, the people are friendly....although, be prepared to be
approached by locals wanting to sell you things at very inflated
prices....more on that later too.
- Wildlife consists of birds....the country is very arid and every scrap of
arable land is used for crops. You will see lots of donkeys, goats, chickens,
and cattle....not much else.
- The food is good, but not much variety....we lived on spaghetti, cous-cous,
fish, chicken, and goat....usually cooked in some sort of onion sauce.
- Lots of different cultures and ethnic groups.
After arriving in the capital of Bamako, we hired a car and driver to take us
to Mopti. Our guide operates out of Mopti, from there we hiked for several days
through the Dogon Country. We then drove to Timbouctou to spend two nights,
followed by a three day boat trip on the Niger River back to Mopti. After a
night in Mopti, we drove to Djenne and spent two nights there.....finally back
to Bamako for the flight home.
The following links have details of each leg of the trip.
Bamako to Mopti
Dogon Country
Timbuktu
On the Niger
Mopti to Djenne
London, England
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