The Dogon Valley was one of the “must see” things we all had on our list for Mali. We have heard so much about the area so we knew that it was something we would really make sure actually happened. I must admit, it really is quite amazing particularly in this time of year: the rains have made the whole place vibrant and green that only accents the spectacular scenery.

Of course, it was not easy to get here even after we arrived in the outskirts of the Dogon in Bandiagara yesterday. Today we began our preparations by packing a rucksack each to take with us and everything else we packed up to leave with Anne in her room at her hotel. She has decided to skip the three day trip we are planning in the Dogon and enjoy a bit of luxury for a bit (though perhaps a bit of exploring herself as well). We first began the day with breakfast at the same place we sat last night (omelette in bread and my normal “Jus de Pomme”) then we continued on through the town with a guide showing us to the a local tourist association office. There we discussed with the owner about what the possibilities were for a three day trip, what would be an appropriate price and who would be a good guide. There were essentially two options for three day trips from Bandiagara and we accepted the managers suggestion of visiting some of the southern villages. The young man who had accompanied us, though his English was excellent, was scheduled for another trip later today or tomorrow so he recommended a friend whose English was not so good. We eventually agreed on a price then accompanied the two young men to a table in the back of a local restaurant. There we were shown our chosen guide's credentials (an official guide “id card” and a certificate he had) and a contract was drafted for all of us to sign.

Leaving the restaurant we dropped our (heavy) bags at Anne's hotel room finding that she had left us a note explaining that she was going into Sévaré to attempt to get some money. We were let into the room anyway then we made our way back to our hotel only stopping to pick up Kola nuts (for the people in the villages) and some film. Waiting in the hotel for our lift to the first village we tested out our water treatment tablets I had been given before leaving The Gambia. We found the water undrinkable. It tasted a lot like a swimming pool and was not something any of us could be comfortable drinking for three days. The water here is actually quite safe but we have been very careful on this trip and do not want to end up with upset stomachs. The water filter had been accidentally packed in Chris and Sue's bag that we had left at Anne's so when the driver came at 10:30 we had him first go to her hotel to fetch it.

While they were fetching the filter from the bag I had a bit of a strange experience sitting in front of the hotel as I tried to eat a mango. As I was preparing and eating it flies were just crawling all over it and me – a bit odd.

Anne's room is actually quite nice with small portal-like windows on all sides (and at all heights) with a large bed built into the floor in the middle of the room with attached shower and toilet facilities. The hotel is also quite nice with a series of beehive-shaped buildings serving as rooms, reception and dining areas. A swimming pool is also there just off to the side.

On the way through the village again we stopped to pick up some limes in an attempt to improve the flavour of the treated water – No chance.

We were on our way.

The road out of Bandiagara towards our first stop (Djiguibombo) was very good with concrete lining the edge of the road. It was bumpy but certainly much better that what we have seen elsewhere (for example, The Gambia). The occasional ford was made of concrete as well. The car is not the best in the world (it is the same one we were shuttled around in last night while looking for a hotel) but it eventually managed to get us to the village about 20 km away from Bandiagara. The scenery was getting interesting with the village on the top of a bit of a hill with great views of the surrounding countryside.

We first visited the “Campement” of the village where we sat for a few minutes in some very low chairs (though fairly comfortable – made entirely of branches of trees or a bush the seat is basically in the shape of a “V” so sitting in it you are almost looking straight upwards) along with some other tourists that seem to be finishing their visit (they looked sunburned and tired).

I should explain a bit about what a Campement is as it was new to me before coming to Mali – it is basically a place where tourists can eat/stay typically in every small village (we would see this is particularly true in the area of Dogon that we are visiting as well). I guess this is for the comfort of the tourist but also to keep us from wandering around the village and perhaps causing some embarrassment (never mind the money factor).

We did wander around this village a bit with our guide who showed us the various meeting areas of the elders (a low doorway forces visitor o bow coming in and leaving – a sign of respect) and young men of the village. The granaries are very obvious everywhere – circular mud buildings too small to be houses with a thatched roof. According to our guide the granaries with only one (small) door are the ones owned by the females and the ones with more than one door are owned by the males. The females store foodstuffs while the males store things such as tobacco.

Heading out of the village we continued down the road (in fantastic shape as it winds its way all the way to the valley floor) that has brought us here which gradually came to a bit of rise where we could see over the edge and into the Dogon valley – we were on top of the escarpment. Fantastic!

We walked over the layers of flat rock to see the shear cliff face to our left and right as we made our way down to th alley floor. On the floor we could see two villages – the one on the right was our immediate destination though it looked so tiny from up there.

On the way we stopped beside a water fall (“Do not drink” we were told, even though Chris was going to pump the water) where we found an bathing. Continuing on it was tricky making our way down the rock hough it was obviously a known path. It was very steep and occasionally we would slip on loose stones.

The surroundings are so lush – Trees are everywhere along with shrubs, grass, and birds. It is such a vivid green and so very much alive. This only accentuates the splendour of the rock formations all around – interesting shapes and cliffs are everywhere.

Finally reaching the bottom we were all getting a bit exhausted as we walked along the simple path to our next village. The valley floor is very flat compared with what we had seen at the top of the escarpment. Very much a nice break after the climb down as well. It was very hot though as we helped ourselves to some of the (yuck!) treated water we had with us.

We walked through the village and past the small market area in the centre (with all of it's stalls set up ready for the market which, we understand, is tomorrow) and a small lake with a mosque on the far side our guide told us that there are both frogs and turtles in the lake. We did not believe him but sure enough we saw both!

It had been a 5 km trek from Djiguibombo to Kani-Kombolé (where we were now). It seemed a lot longer particularly after our descent.

In the Campement we collapsed into the not terribly comfortable chairs and chatted while we waited for our food to arrive. Lunch was to be served. We could not resist (even though it extra to the cost of our trip) a few drinks as well. Eventually our sweat dried off and we were served couscous with a tomato sauce. It was the heat of the day so we waited until about 3:30 before heading out again though not before we had a look in a room within the Campement that served as a shop.

Heading off we followed a winding trail along the base of the cliff passing by another village then onwards for about 2 km. We had arrived at our stop for this evening: Teli. Approaching the village we were swamped with children trying to sell us small round gourds painted in various colours with woven patterns on them and a removable lid.

The Campement in Teli is quite nice with the front door leading into a central courtyard that is covered with a roof of matting with rooms to the left and right. The “toilet” and “shower” facilities (two areas with walls, both with holes in the floor, smelling you can tell the difference between the two) are straight ahead and off to the left while there are ladders leading to the roof on top of each set of rooms. The ladders are interesting in that they are simply a log with notches cut out of it for steps that is then propped up against the edge of the roof.

We mentioned that we would like to have a bit of a tour so our guide arranged for a small boy to take us around. He showed us basically the mosque and not much else though we did walk down most of the streets. We passed by some ladies pounding millet who were very friendly (well, they smiled a lot).

The interesting thing about Teli is that it is at the base of the escarpment but that is not what makes it interesting. What makes it interesting is that in the cliffs wedged into a large opening are a number of pygmy houses interspersed with the occasional Dogon granary. Evidently the pygmies had settled this area before the Dogon people had arrived. The pygmies were hunters and lived off of the forest that once covered the valley floor. When the Dogon peoples arrived they were farmers so they cleared the forests and eventually forced the pygmies away.

I wanted to sleep on the roof but a bit of rain soon put that idea behind me. We were joined a little later by a Japanese tourist who wanted to join our group for the rest of the way. He is a very kind and quiet man who seems to be much hardier as he is travelling around the world by himself (making his way down to South Africa at the moment). Incredible. Also a lot hardier than us as he seems to want to sleep on the somewhat damp roof tonight.

We spent the time pumping water for drinking (damned if I am going to drink that treated stuff!) as well as having bucket baths.

Dinner was rice with chicken and sauce (boy, what haute cuisine we have been experiencing! – Yes, it actually was quite good though a bit tricky eating it with the bones in the dark).

Chris and Sue took a room while I had the room next door. Our beds were simply a thin mattress on top of a map that was on top of the dirt floor. There are no nets on the windows or above our beds so we used some mosquito coils (helpfully provided by our guide) to attempt to keep them away. We shall see.

It is actually quite quiet here considering we are in the middle of the village. Very dark as well.

⇒ Continue to Day 19 - Thursday, August 5th, 2004