She Says – Mali!

7-9 October
We set off nice and early from Aleg, and made good time into the large city of Kiffa, where we stopped for lunch but did not seek out the Aleg hotel manager’s husband as we wanted to keep moving. Apparently we have good taste, as our friendly policeman from Boutilimit dropped in to the same restaurant for his lunch! (actually, both times we stopped at the only places we could find…) Mmmm, chip and mince sandwiches and a couple of cold drinks. There seems to be no national food for Mauritania except chip, onion and meat sandwiches! We decided we were feeling good enough and the road had been good, and so pushed on to Ayoun el’Atrous, completing roughly 500km for the day – a very long day for us, and I was feeling glad we had stopped in Aleg the previous night.

Not far outside Kiffa, we stopped to refill our water pack. I should note that the tent tube on the front of the bike makes a handy place to strap spare water bottles! While resting, some women looking after cattle in a nearby field come over to us - an old woman, younger woman and young girl stood with us in the shade. We couldn’t talk together, and we’re not even sure if they spoke French, but we tried to comment on the beauty of the spot that Xander accidentally chose (neat cliffs, lots of trees and birds), the birds singing, it’s very hot, etc. I wonder what goes on in people’s minds when they see us, why they come to see us when I assume they probably know we can’t speak with them? The women hardly said anything to us and barely spoke to each other, the little girl was shy and wouldn’t interact with me. We offered the old woman some water, thinking she had nothing out in the field, but she didn’t want it. Several times, she indicated to my bike jacket and pointed to her full-body wrap (think sarong/sari), but I can’t possibly imagine she wanted to swap, only that they were the same somehow? She was smiling and did it several times but was never pushy, so I don’t think they wanted anything, just to meet us. I wish I knew what they got out of the interaction!!!

We moved on and reached a town called Tintane, where the policeman at the checkpoint was friendly and told us to go around town. When we reached the rough piste going right, Xander thought it had to be wrong and headed through town, but loads of people pointing and car honking told us we were going the wrong way! We ended up crossing 10km of really bad track to get around town, also discovering that the bracket holding up the top box had shaken a nut loose, come apart and broken one of the brackets Xander installed back in Portugal. He later found a bracket holding one of the panniers had also broken, and we decide that a thorough welding job across the pannier system is needed! Anyway, back on the main road to Ayoun el’Atrous, we see that it has been blocked going back into town and can only assume a major washout had happened or there are major roadworks. The road itself went to pot – literally! There were potholes everywhere and Xander spent a lot of time dashing us around them – come to think of it, I think this started from Kiffa (i.e. where we decided the road was good and worth travelling on for the day!). We ended up behind a taxi driver, who Xander started using as a guide to road conditions, alerting us on things like unexpected speed bumps and deterioration in the road. The taxi driver seemed to realise this and started helping us out, putting on hazard lights and indicating obstacles for us. We reached a massive river fording - having already gone through one earlier that day, apparently this one was too big and there were a myriad of tracks leading around it. The taxi driver indicated which track was good and we followed him around, eventually finding him waiting at the road to make sure we got through. We followed him until nearly in Ayoun, when he indicated us forward and said the route is fine and to go on ahead of him (I think he thought we could travel a lot faster than we were!). And nothing requested in return! We were shocked and extremely pleased at his help and friendliness. We reached Ayoun and were stopped at the usual town-entry police checkpoint. I ran over to the taxi driver and dropped him one of our thankyou cards – the first time we got to use one for someone who wasn’t also a tourist! The policeman got very curious and seemed to grill the poor taxi driver, who tried to explain he just helped us. Thankfully it worked out OK, but I think the policeman was a bit narky because he was in the process of asking Xander for a gift of something from our tankpod, a torch I think it was, and was getting a very friendly ‘no’ in return!

The landscape coming into Ayoun el’Atrous was incredible, all rock sculptures and layered hills, very pretty. People seemed more friendly here and happy to see us, with many people saying ‘bonjour’ as we drove by. We made our way through town, which was pretty jammed up with afternoon market traffic, and got through to an auberge on the far aide of town, down a sandy track, nice! It was late by this time, I think it was 5pm so we’d had a long day, and made arrangements for the auberge to supply us a rather expensive, but very tasty, fried chicken, chips and fried onion dinner. Accompanied by overly insistent cat!

Next morning, we got instructions to a welder in town and got the repairs done - probably at a premium price, but seeing as it cost us about £10 and the guy did it straight away, it was worth it. Xander used our little camera photograph the welding work, then I took it and sat in the shade. A policeman started chatting to me, first asking where we were going and had come from, acting all important – from the number of badges all over his uniform, we weren’t convinced he was a real cop! He asked how much the camera was worth, at least I thought, then tried to buy it! He eventually left, but later returned and asked to look at the camera, so I started showing photos from the last few days and all the kids around us got interested. The cop tries again to buy the camera, or a memory card or something, I don’t know, it was very confusing! He eventually leaves me alone and I’ve got a big group of kids around watching the photos, so I run them through everything on the camera! I then realise I have a perfect opportunity, and start asking different kids if I can take their photos and get to show them instantly that it is done. Only one boy says no. It was a rare opportunity to take photos of people without being intrusive, which I don’t like. It was great fun, but camera goes away and apparently I’m not interesting any more! We tried to find internet access, but the only place advertising internet didn’t actually have computers….we then ran between several different shops and roadside stalls to buy food for dinner (goat meat, potatoes and onions for a stew) and stocked up on water as the auberge supply seemed a bit unreliable that day. It turned out they had pump problems, and it was all fixed by the evening. We were greeted very enthusiastically by several women sitting in one shop, which made a really nice change. They seemed pleased we were Australian, in fact they even knew where it was (or at least Sydney; most people think it’s in Europe!) and were very, very pleased that we were married. It was hilarious actually, especially when I ran back for water and I got greeted again so happily. By the time we got back to the auberge after all our running around, there were revolting sweaty salt marks on my trousers from riding/walking in hot weather with full bike gear on and clothes underneath!

After 2 nights’ rest in Ayoun el’Atrous, today we had a reasonably leisurely journey from Mauritania into Mali. We only had about 3 hours of driving to do, but wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to deal with border hassles. We set off early, as is becoming our pattern now (as close to 7am as possible, only just past sunrise), so we had less heat to deal with and could get ourselves comfortably over the border before the day got too hot. The ride was pleasant enough – the area around Ayoun was full of more neat sculptured rock formations, including in the town itself, and this gave us some cool scenery to start with. After that, it was back to grassland and trees (mostly acacia and the occasional baobab – yay, African baobabs!) with a number of waterholes, many many sheep, goats, donkeys, cattle and the odd camel. What changed down here was the increasing number of horses as opposed to donkeys. Anyway, so we merrily headed on in weather that switched between cool and hot winds, then I see yet another police post appearing - but something looks different about this one. I tell Xander I think it’s the border, but we soon see there is no corresponding border on the other side and no money exchange places. We go through the formalities, though this time instead of a photocopy, the policeman takes our passports away. We head on…and 2 km later we’re at the Mali border!!! OK, not a huge problem, except we were supposed to get our carnet (the bike’s ‘passport’) stamped to say we had exported it from Mauritania. Only not a big problem because if it is stamped into Mali then obviously we’ve taken it out of Mauri, but it is a formality and we want to do things right. We confirm with the border guard, who was friendly and looks amused like it has happened many times before, that we have to head back – not just to the police post, but 20km back to a town called Kobeni!!! There was nothing in our guide book or in Kobeni to indicate we were supposed to stop there, it was just another douane (customs) stop like any other that have always waved us on, and the police at the other end of Kobeni didn’t note anything to us. So we head back on a very easy ride, and Xander gets some very confused looks from the douane officer but gets the carnet stamped, and we head back again to the border.

The border crossing into Mali was extremely easy if somewhat confusing and disconcerting. First things first, Xander dealt with the police check and got our visas stamped, as I was feeling a bit dodgy. We had a stack of ougiyas from Mauritania to exchange, but there only seemed to be one guy offering to change our money. I was feeling distinctly edgy, knowing we didn’t know the exchange rate (as far as I can work out from rates in our guide book, the rate should be around 1700 CFA per 1000 ougiya) and was certain we would get a bad deal, but everything we’ve read says it is very much illegal to take ougiyas out of Mauritania. Well, it seems they don’t care at all! We moved on to the douane post, he was happy to just say hello and tell us in very good English that we have to go to Nioro du Sahel, 65km away, and deal with the carnet at the main office and get insurance there too. He also tells us the exchange rate at the border is bad so do our change in Nioro. So much for illegal money transport!!!! The next stop had a sign saying peage, French for toll. I had read you have to pay road taxes in Mali and figured this would be the first. Nope, it was some sort of other police post who recorded our details in a big book as they always do. A little further on is another tollgate set-up; ah, OK this time I think we have to pay, although the pricing sign shows only pictures of trucks and I’m hoping they take ougiyas! Nope, it’s for trucks only and they wave us through. Feeling rather disconcerted that border issues haven’t been dealt with at the border, we moved on and hoped that we don’t have to come back!

We reached Nioro easily around 12pm, although getting pretty warm by this stage. The main douane office was easy to find, although we were reassured by a moneychanger who followed us over and offered us a rate of 1200 CFA to 1000 ougiya. Carnet stamped, the officers call over a guy to take us to a nearby insurance broker, who turns out to also change money (which I think every man and his dog does around here, we had several offers in Ayoun el’Atrous and a bunch in Nouakchott!). The original moneychanger increase his price to 1500 CFA per thousand, but we move on. At the insurance office, they low ball us with an offer of 1250 per thousand, Xander tells them we got offered 1600 back at the douane office, and they go for it! I’m massively relieved at this stage, as we had quite a bit of Mauri money to change, having stocked up from ATMs in Nouakchott so we could avoid exchanging any of our limited cash until we desperately need to. Next we sort our insurance, another relief as we have now entered the ECOWAS economic zone, where many countries not only run on the same money (CFA), but almost all have the same insurance coverage (a carte brun or brown card). We sign ourselves up for 3 months to get us through Nigeria, then it was off to find accommodation, stopping for fuel on the way. We get our first ‘donnez-moi une cadeaux’ (give me a present) from a kid at the fuel station and I try Xander’s new trick of asking them ‘why?’ or ‘give me a present!’ back and it works brilliantly. They don’t hassle you again after that!

Our guidebook notes only two campements for the town, which are basically somewhere between a campground and an auberge as far as I can figure. The middle of town was extremely confusing and we find no signs anywhere for accommodation, except one slightly confusing sign indicating rooms and restaurant – we hunt for it and find nothing. We pass another sign for rooms and eventually drop in, but it seemed to be a male only dormitory (from what a tour and Xander’s limited French told him!). However, the guy calls up a hotel and someone comes and fetches us. It seemed a bit out of town, but we felt we had no choice at that point, having found nothing else indicating accommodation. As we found walking around tonight, it’s only about a kilometre outside the main centre. We settle into a comfortable AC room that is costing less than last night’s accommodation in the auberge in Ayoun, which I’m really pleased about, then have lunch around 2pm out the front of the hotel to be social with the men hanging around. We get given some watermelon when someone turns up with a huge one, and spend a lot of time saying hello to passing people and just doing some general people watching. It’s interesting to see that there is now more interaction between men and women, even physical contact – very different to the strictly Muslim countries we have just come through.

After a rest and wait for the heat to drop off a bit, we head into town. It was still hot but somehow bearable, and we manage to walk all around the markets before bumping into Ron and Sybil, who we met in Nouakchott, who were also completely lost trying to the find the hotel but at least they knew about it! We point them in the right direction, then try to track down some food supplies that aren’t fresh watermelons, cucumbers, onions, potatoes, or what I assumed to be yams or cassava! We also search fruitlessly for a restaurant. In a shop finally, getting some lunch and other supplies, we ask if there is a restaurant nearby. A guy offers to take us to one, walks all the way over town to find it’s closed, then tries another right near the original shop but it was also closed! Xander spies a butcher who also cooks meat and steers us there, and our friend helps us through the process. He seemed really pleased when we offered one of our ‘thankyou’ cards, though I’m a little concerned when he refers to it as a cadeaux (present) and I wonder if we’re doing the right thing offering any sort of ‘thankyou’ gift or if we are starting a precedent of people expecting gifts for their help, like happens in Morocco...We had already decided to be very strict on handing cards out, so just hope it’s the right thing. Xander runs off to grab bread to accompany our meal and for lunch tomorrow, plus some lovely cold drinks, which we really need by this stage! I have become addicted to Hawaii, a fizzy tropical fruit drink we first found in Morocco. The lamb is soft and well-cooked and very tasty, and the red meat is welcomed into our diet, which has been a bit scant of late between difficulty in obtaining food and difficulty in eating while we’ve been unwell. We see Ron and Sybil walk past, so figure they got their way to the hotel! On our way back, we get passed by three French vehicles obviously heading the same way, confirmed when one checked directions with us. Busy night at the hotel tonight then! It looks like it’s almost the only accommodation option around, although Xander thinks the second restaurant we were taken to for dinner was an auberge as well. We found a bank with ATM; however, it didn’t seem to like my card so no money-joy there, but we have plenty to get us through to the capital, Bamako.

So we are absolutely ecstatic to be in Mali, as it is already very different and very ‘African’. We are seeing women in amazing brightly coloured clothes, and some with the mouth-tattooing that we first learned about from Michael Palin’s Sahara, which I believe indicates women of the Fulani tribe. People are extremely friendly and happy to see us, waving from the roads, saying hello as we pass, and even the women are more interactive, which makes a nice change from the Muslim countries. Kids are extremely interactive, including lots of high-five/hand-slap/hand-shake actions that bring smiles all around. There’s been a fair bit of cadeaux-requesting as well though, but we seem to be deflecting that pretty well. There’s been no evidence of official corruption unlike in Mauritania, where we seemed to be getting more requests for presents as we moved along, though none between Ayoun el’Atrous and the border. Everywhere seems to be playing music, which is fantastic as we felt Mali would be our first opportunity to get out and enjoy the local music scene. Bring on Bamako!

Wildlife update - All through this morning, I kept seeing an amazing blue-coloured bird that looks something like a British jay or an Australian kingfisher, with brilliant blue wings that can only be seen while flying, as the bird seems duller when resting. So nice to see brightly coloured birds again! We got to watch a few small birds in the auberge grounds last night, particularly a finch-looking bird with splotchy red markings. As we approached Ayoun el’Trous through southern Mauritania, we saw many large dull-brown eagles scavenging off the roads, but not that frequently on the millions of donkey/cow/camel carcasses, as I think these dry out almost instantly! Donkeys seem to have suicidal tendencies, often standing in the road – not that I can blame them, they seem to be slightly better treated here than in Morocco but not by much. The other big wildlife highlight has been the lizards, they are everywhere now! We had a really big one perched outside our window in the Ayoun auberge, with a spiky orange-splotched neck and spikes running all down his tail. It was hilarious to see him dealing with the heat through the afternoon like we were - his method to completely flatten out on the shady windowsill, ours to flop on the bed in the AC. We called him Gojira (after Godzilla), as the local name we were given for the smaller lizards was something like ‘mugeira’. Around the rest of the auberge were much smaller lizards, extremely flighty and difficult to observe, but very common. We got a better chance to watch them today while having lunch at the front of our hotel, where there were lizards everywhere. This included one big lizard who had his clear territory marked out, returning to the same spot even after venturing elsewhere around the hotel. At one point, he leapt up into the bottom of the bike, presumably cleaning up some of the millions of large grasshoppers that we have been collecting on the bike (ew, but makes a change from butterflies! Anubis seems rather partial to them…). The lizard then walked up the bike’s front tyre, climbed across the dashboard and seat, before jumping off again, all in around 15 minutes. I guess the bike met with his approval?! The other highlight has been the butterflies – on the Mauri side was a lovely fluttery butterfly that was white with brown-tipped wings; in Mali, it has been a big, pale yellow and black-spotted butterfly that has one pair of wings that are much larger than the other. Groovy!