Top Ten Countries - Number 8: Mali

The Dogon Escarpment.

Now, we are up to number 8. Mali is an amazing country located in West Africa. Land-locked, dry, terrorist activity in the north in recent years, it has had its issues that’s for sure. In fact, when I went there back in 2007 it had its issues – my flight was cancelled a few days before because they had decided to close the airport for a week to re-seal the runway! I can assure you that that is the only time I have encountered that particular problem.

I flew into Ouagadougou, the capital of neighbouring Burkina Faso, and made my way to Mali by land. I had a little less than two weeks there, I had left a couple of days later because of the new flights, and

Rooftop sleeping, Dogon Country. 

lost 2 days crossing to Mali, but I still managed to pack in a lot in those 12-ish days.

After crossing into Mali, I went with three charming people (two I met on the crossing) to Dogon country. We overnighted in the town of Banfora, before begin a trek in one of the most remarkable, remote places on Earth. The Dogon Escarpment is sort of like a big rock, well it’s a big cliff really. It goes on for 150 kilometres, and is up to 500 metres high.

It’s a popular trekking spot in this part of the world. Trekkers walk in the mornings and late afternoon to avoid the searing heat – I was there in November and it was over 40 each day at the peak. There are villages on the lower plains and on top of the escarpment, the trek goes through quite a few, and you stay at one on the lower plain the first night, atop it the second. We slept on a rooftop looking at the sky. Now THAT was brilliant!  As was seeing village life in the villages. Although there is a dependency on the trekkers and the tourist dollar, they still function a lot as they have done for hundreds of years. The only lighting is from car batteries.

pounding millet in a Dogon village.

Climbing the escarpment was a challenge, but not as hard as I had expected. On top we visited a village and saw a local school, being mobbed by children. This is only the simplest of possible summaries for this 3-day trek. Three of the best days of my life.

Boat, Mopti.

Around Mali there is a lot to see as well. In the region no countries has as many highlights as Mali. Taking a boat on the Bani River at Mopti. Not just the Bani river, it's at the convergance of two big rivers - the Bani and the Niger. A special place, a big riverside town, lovely spot, was one highlight, but the only place to rival the beauty of the Dogon country is Djenne.

Djenne street.

Famous for the biggest mud-brick structure in the world, most of the island town is made from mud. It’s an amazing place to spend a day, with passageways, beautiful houses and more. The mosque there is crowning glory of this town, a UNESCO-protected site, rising up in the middle. Today tourists are not allowed inside, but from outside it is still breath-taking. To get to the town you have to get your taxi onto a boat to get across the river. That’s part of the fun too!

The amazing mosque at Djenne.

Segou and the Niger River.

Segou is another pleasant river-side town in Mali. I only spent a day there, a very brief day, but life on the Niger River was a buzz, as were the donkeys and it seemed like a very pleasant town. We walked along the river in the afternoon as the sun beat down and saw the life-blood of this whole region of Africa – that’s the Niger river which stretches through many countries.

Bamako at night.

The last stop was Bamako, the capital city, a sort of sprawling ‘splat’ on the map in some ways. Capital cities are rarely a highlight in Africa, and Bamako didn’t reverse this trend, however it still was an interesting and lively place. If you want some decent food, or to do proper souvenir shopping or visit the best markets Mali has to offer, you come to Bamako. Or indeed, if you need a flight in or out of the country! It’s worth two days.

Young artisan at the Artisans' mmarket, Bamako

And so that’s my experience of Mali. Be aware that earlier this year there were major issues in the north and Timbuktu – oh yes, if you’ve ever wondered where Timbuktu was, wonder no longer, it’s in the north of Mali! Well the French Army was fighting there earlier this year, fighting terrorists and extremists who had taken over the place. Mali is a wonderful place, but, good idea to check the safety situation before you go!

So far the top ten has had two countries in Europe, and one in Africa. Next time we journey to another continent. Which one will it be?

10 – Slovakia

9 – Romania

8 – Mali

7 - ????

Kindle Writings on Mali:

Dhaka to Dakar  -Chapter Nineteen: Mali

Dhaka to Dakar: Book Three - Across Africa

My Mali Part Three

Bus travel in West Africa is an early morning affair usually. It’s nice to just find a bus service really as it’s much cheaper than bush taxis and other forms of transport in the region, and I think the bus out of Mopti to Segou, about halfway to the capital Bamako, left before 6am.

Getting ready for departing Mopti, Bani Transport

My friend and I decided on that bus because we wanted to get to Segou  early enough in the day to walk about and see things. We had run out of days to get to all the places we wanted to so this way we had a full afternoon in Segou to see the river and life in the town.

It was always good to be out of the bus before it got really hot in the early afternoon, and by lunch time we were in Segou. The guesthouse was simple enough but again there was a dorm room, this time with three beds and the third remained empty. We had a TV in the room but showers and toilets were downstairs via a rickety old metal spiral staircase.

There was a decent restaurant at the hotel too which helped a lot. After we finished lunch it was siesta time. Throughout West Africa I found that places all shut down after lunch for a couple of hours before reopening. Towns become a bit quiet. Who can blame them in that heat?

Ferry and life, washing, Segou

We were following the Bani river southwards in Mali, and Segou was another town built on it. Although I didn’t go to any museums or see anything amazing, I quite liked Segou as a sleepy town with bustling river life. The river was where people bathed and washed their clothes. Boats lined up – big boats compared to the small ones in Mopti. On the rocks by the river people spread their wet washing to catch a few rays of sunlight. I don’t expect it took a lot of time to dry in high-30s heat.

Segou also featured many mules, I saw plenty by the river. But time was short in Segou, one afternoon and then off to the capital Bamako. What a journey it turned out to be!

I had been warned to take a reputable bus company as some of the cheaper, less official companies had a lot of issues and often stranded passengers if something went wrong with the bus. I was soon to find out that those issues also can be encountered on the better bus services.

Bani was supposed to be one of the best, but not long out of Segou and the bus was having problems. I shuddered at the thought of having to wait for a new bus once we were already on the road, but the driver opened up an engine panel at the back of the bus and seemed to think everything would be okay.

And for the most part it was, however, as we approached Bamako, maybe 30 kilometres from the centre, the troubles resurfaced. It had been a fun bus trip with a happy atmosphere on board. The buses aren’t always that comfortable in West Africa, sometimes they really pack ‘em in, but generally people have a smile on their face.

But just before Bamako the bus was stopped again and the panel was opened again. This time it seemed there was no remedy. Bags were removed from the top of the bus – they love to stack buses, taxis and mini-buses as high as they can with luggage on the top.  All of a sudden no one was around. Everyone, including the driver, had disappeared. Well. What was there left to do? Had to hitch a ride into town somehow, and I found myself on a coal truck headed into central Bamako. Then in a share taxi.

Bamako Street

Eventually I found my way to the guesthouse where I took a mattress on the floor for not much money at all. Bamako was another fleeting visit. There’s not a lot to see in Bamako, but the markets are rather interesting and there are some decent bakeries and restaurants, good if you’ve been stuck on simple food for a while.

There was a great arts and crafts market I visited, called the artisans' market. This is where people worked at woodcraft and other such things, a great place for souvenirs and the like. When I went to the fetish market – where you can get all types of things, many voodoo related, was interesting too. I took a photo and the owner was very upset and angry, I showed the photo to him and suddenly he was very pleased. I offered to delete it but he didn't want me to. In fact he asked me to take another, this time with him in the photo.

Wood carving at the Artisans' Market.

In Africa generally you have to be very careful about taking photos when people are involved. Often they will ask for a gift – money (cadeau) if you ask, which you should do if you are photographing people up close, or often even midrange. As travellers we love to take photos as our memories, and now that film is a thing of the past nobody worries about how many they are taking, but as a local I can only imagine how sick they must get of tourists and cameras.

And the fetish market. A little creepy. The kid just wandered into view half a second before I went 'click'.

Bamako has statues (some of crocodiles, big ones) churches and mosques. It’d be easy enough to pass a few days there before getting bored, but it is no high on tourist attractions. Mali though, especially for the region is.

According to news reports, things appear to be going the way of the French Army in Mali, and if they are to be believed the local Malian people are happy about that. It’s very sad to read or hear about a place I visited having troubles, especially with terrorism and the like. I’m hoping for a speedy return to normality, and that once again Mali will be attracting the tourists like it did before. It’s a very rewarding place to visit.

If you'd like to know more on Mali, or other places I have written about, I have some interesting stuff on Kindle:

Andrew Boland Author Page

Images of Mali and Senegal

Bit of time on my hands today, so here are some more photos. We start with the Senegal River at St Louis, Senegal; then Bamako, Mali outside the main post office; getting on a bus in Mopti, Mali; an interesting building in Dakar, Senegal; the Mosque at Djenne, Mali and finally a street on the Ile De Goree, Senegal.

Nothing easy, but safely in Bamako; Looking to Dakar

Well, here I am in the Malian capital of Bamako, and getting here was a bit of a challenge.
We took the bus from Segou which left at about 10am. Almost immediately the bus had to stop and they needed to tinker with the engine. This had me only mildly worried. On we went and the trip had taken nearly four hours and we were perhaps thirty kilometres out of Bamako. Then the bus just died. The engine stopped, and they couldnt get it going again. We were all left to our own devices to solve the problem, the bus company had nothing to say on the matter. So, Paul and myself hitched our way in on a green van carrying bags of coal. A unique experience to say the least. I accidently disconnected the drivers speaker and hqd to reconnect it.
Once inside Bamako We were put on local transport, supposedly to our hotel. No sir, we got to the centre; and then a nice policeman found us a taxi who knew where to go, so at about 3.30pm we found our hotel. Quite a day, but that`s African travel for you.
Tonight I fly out, inshallah, to Dakar. Yes that final goal is well within sight; although anything can happen yet... The airport is definately open though, so that`s a good start.