Travel Stories - Mali

"dogon-trip" ("bandiagara") - day 3

introduction

In the morning my guide Adullai is, as expected, still very drunk from the previous evening (and afternoon). He can barely look out of his eyes and of course he is not hungry at all. Pascal and I eat together a very old dry sandwich and wash it away with a Nescafe. Then I say I want to leave early because we have to go back up the cliff to come back to Bandiagara. Abdullai, my guide follows but is very silent this morning. At another camp, I meet a group of American tourists on the roof who ask me how my guide can be so incredibly drunk at this time - I do not get it either, I had expected a huge hangover but it looks like he's already has been drinking again somewhere. This is going to be a very tough trip up the hill for him.

Gin in the morning

Everytime I have to wait for Abdullai while I want to get up the hill a soon as possible before the heat really gets in. He smokes one cigarette after another and I start to get tired of it. In the small not so interesting village on the hillside I meet again with a group of young boys who all know my gude. While I drink a bottle of coke, "gin" is already drunk here, sitting in a flacon. They drink it with water but still it’s not even nine o’clock in the morning. I wonder how many alcoholics are actually walking around here in Dogon country. I walk with two other boys towards the town of Sangha and we have to wait for Abdullai who can stay here as far as I am concerned - I do not need him anymore. Sangha is one of the larger places on the plateau and even has a hospital. We walk into a cave that is packed with Dogon souvenirs. There is also a children choir singing - of course for a fee. My guide tells me things about it but I can’t really understand him - I just want to go back to my hostel.

Flemish antiques

We arrive around ten o'clock at a campement and I ask my guide if it is possible to arrange transport back to Bandiagara as soon as possible. They leave and I later meet an eighteen-year-old Frenchman and a Belgian antique dealer. The boy has been here for a month and has become very ill - he is still weak and is so happy to talk to us - Westerners who give him tips on how to survive here. In one thing my guide was right - if you do not eat, Dogon will eat you. Around half past eleven my guide, who is still drunk, tells me that he has not yet found any transport - gosh, what a surprise, and that we have lunch here. I order lunch and I get into conversation with the Belgian man and his business here and how hard it is.

After lunch, while I have been sitting there for hours, I realize that I really want to leave and that Abdullai has to arrange transport. Finally we take off and walk through the not so interesting town of Sangha. We meet people and guys that all have excuses about my transport and I’m getting a little bit sick of it now. Now we walk with a group to a motorbike garage and tell my guide that I will not sit on a motorbike with him. He is still under influence and I do not want to end dead in Dogon country. Abdullai gets angry and starts shouting that I owe him money which is true. The men around know that this is getting nasty say to me that it is better to sit down and stay quite. I demand that someone calls "Oesman" (the boy who has arranged everything in town) and comes here to pick me up.

Cooling off in the pool

It is almost four o’clock if my guide tries to let me pay for the transport but I will not let that happen. In the end another guide shows up and ask me to get on the back of his motorbike. I would have preferred a jeep, but it seems better to leave here as soon as possible. Abdullai is now starting to threaten me and starts to kick things around. He can already forget his tip and I am also no longer planning to pay the last part of the tour. I do not let myself be threatened and have not paid to travel through Dogon country by a drunken tourguide. At the back of the motor we drive the 22 kilometers and come back in the hotel. Mr. Oesman is there already and starts running up to me and demands his money. I stick to my story; i don’t want to pay the last part of the trip because my trip is fucked up by a drunken tourguide. As expected he starts to threaten me now with calling the police while I’m encouraging him to do so. He walks off angry while I’m waiting for an apology. When things are getting quite again I take a dip in the pool and order a beer. It’s very sad that things has to end this way.

tips & advice (2012)

Bandiagara - Mopti: this busride will take about one hour drive but be early (7:00) at the bus stop (if the bus is full it leaves). Price 2000 CFA

Bandiagara - at the roundabout is a small restaurant where they have great food at a very reasonable price.

Name: Hotel "Falaise" (Bandiagara)

Address: in the centre of the village

Price: 4000 CFA (dormitory excl. shower and toilet)

Content:

A fairytale hotel in the center of Bandiagara next to the water tower. There are very pricey rooms around the mystical courtyard, but fortunately there is also a "cheap" dormitory. There is a restaurant inside but you can also eat in the garden. There is even a small swimming pool in the back of the garden. With a little luck you have WIFI. There are people walking around who can arrange a tour to "Dogon" country (see above and tour).