It feels weird to type. I haven’t used in a computer in 3 weeks ! I’ve learned so much in the past few weeks and can say with certainty that it was an adventure. It was, in a word, awesome. While waiting for everyone to arrive at the office and packing the cars, I was sitting with 3 of the interviewers and one asked me, « Are you ready ? » For once, I got the grammar spot on and replied in French, « I was born ready ! » and they doubled over laughing. It seemed like a good start to this little jaunt.
We left Bamako on a Sunday afternoon, cars packed so full that I wasn’t sure there would be room for all 24 people in them, and drove north for 5 hours. The road turned to dirt and sand after 3 hours and we didn’t see pavement again.
We slept at a health center the first night in Nara and ate omelets for breakfast at the bustling market in town the next morning. I watched the man crack an egg into a glass jar, add chopped onions and pepper, and shake it before opening the lid and dumping it into a hot frying pan. I also ate the most delicious bread I’ve ever tasted –baked over a fire in the oven and so hot to the touch that I dropped it onto my omelet. We sat at the counter in the open-air market stall which had a corrugated metal and cardboard roof supported by big wooden beams. I turned around and saw men leading two camels through town and kids riding carts pulled by donkeys. We were close to Mauritania and heading to villages just 3 or 5 km from the border.
To say that logistics are challenging in these harsh field conditions is an understatement. The last road sign that I saw was about 4 hours into the trip on the first day. I never once saw a map. We had to carry plenty of extra gasoline because you just never know when you’ll need it nor when you’ll find it. Drivers, in my opinion, are all-around logisticians –navigators, mechanics, and networkers. They determine the route without ever consulting road maps (they don’t exist), fix the cars when something breaks, and never hesitate to stop and ask for directions. One day, they chatted with a man who offered and then drove an hour on his motorbike to show us the road from his village to the next. Sometimes, someone whom we’d asked for directions would saddle into the front seat and ride with us for a bit, steering us in the right direction. Mostly, they simply rolled down the windows in the car and asked people working in the fields which way to a certain village, but it always seemed kind of exciting, relying on people to show us the way. But most importantly, the drivers were the best DJs – Fode Baro’s Foufafou album on cassette tape was the soundtrack of the trip and there were plenty of dance parties in our car. Africans love to dance and I made friends fast by joining them.
Just a few days into this adventure, our car got stopped in the sand. Yup, totally stuck. Fortunately, the other three cars had taken the road less traveled when the tracks forked so at least it wasn't all four cars stuck. They stopped and ran through the tall grass and all the men tried to push and lift the car out of the sand. No luck.
One of the drivers brought another car over, thinking that one could tow ours out of the sand. Good thought, until that car also got stuck ! It was all fun and games for those of us watching and taking pictures, until we realized that the sun would dip below the horizon in only another 30 minutes. The village where we were headed for the night suddenly seemed very far away. And what about dinner ?! I needn’t have worried. Finally, with the help of a third Land Cruiser, some contraption to pull the car, and a lot of muscle power (ALL the guys in our group), the cars were back in action and I went from taking photos to peeling potatoes for dinner.
We’d sleep in villages at the health centers or in schools, sometimes inside, but mostly outside. My tent was made of out mosquito netting and it was amazing to sleep under the stars every night - without any lights nearby, there were far too many stars to count and the sky was gorgeous. The villages are so peaceful and quiet. Only the sounds of donkeys braying or roosters would make me stir. Or someone snoring in a neighboring tent.
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