Updtd 19/1/10
THROUGH THE SHADOWS OF NORTH WEST AFRICA
(A drive by car from Cayssac (Lot départment), France to Toma, Burkina Faso, Africa)
Foreword 31 July, 2012
This blog was written concurrently with the events described in 2009. It was posted on another site at that time but has since been deleted and unable to be recovered. It is now re-posted as it was originally written.
(Entries in blue are from my blog and were done in French and English. The French portions have been translated into English. Entries were made as the journey progressed so some are in the present tense and some in the future. Entries in black are from my diary as we progressed.)
Introduction 8 October, 2009
Due to my perception of popular demand I have opened up this blog which is about our forthcoming trip into north-west Africa.
Why are we going?
How are we going?
Where are we going?
When are we going?
Why? Between us we are sponsoring the education of 2 children who live in a small town in Burkina Faso and our aim is to travel to visit them. We started the sponsorship in 2008 and have received letters from them in response to those we have written. In addition to seeing “our” children we will be seeing others who are also being sponsored by the same charity / association. Not only will the journey be just to see the children but we intend to visit elsewhere in the general region.
How? We are travelling there by car, an old Peugeot 205, and expect to take some 3 weeks to travel the 8000 km from home to our destination. Our return will be by air.
Where? Our destination is Toma in the province of Nayala in Burkina Faso. To get there we must travel through France, Spain, Morocco, Mauretania, Mali and finally into Burkina Faso. Readers may well have to look at a map to see exactly where Burkina is as I had to when I decided it was a journey I wanted to make.
When? Departure date is set for 17 October so we are at D-9 as I write. We cross the Straits of Gibraltar on 21 October and hope to arrive at our destination around 9 November.
And, who are we? A collection of friends / fellow sponsors being Charmian and I, travelling in our own car, accompanied by Pierre Souchon and his wife Janine in their car and also Gilbert Pradayrol and Pierre Frégeac in a third car, both the latter motors being Mercedes. Some other friends will be arriving by air in Ougadougou to meet up with us and see “their” children. Charmian and I are the only English, the rest are French.
The organisation through which the sponsoring is done is “Parrainage Burkina Faso” based in the department of the Gers, France. Some 170 children in Toma are sponsored through this association. Not only do people sponsor children, ie gift money, for their education and a square meal per day but small loans (about E80) are made to people, mostly women, in Toma which they have to repay over about 12 months. These loans enable the borrower to set up or expand a small business they may have. (To give you an idea of money values the UN calculates that the average wage in Burkina is about US$430/person/year (World Bank).)
Further entries will be made before departure but once we are on the road postings will be irregular.
9 October, 2009
The introduction was done yesterday. I am going to write this journal in French and in English as my readers have, for the most part, a good knowledge of both languages. (Text throughout this document has been translated or written in English by me.)
So, what must I do before making a long journey through several African countries where I have never been before?
First, visas for Mauretania, Mali and Burkina Faso. For the 2 latter, no problem: applications made to consulates, but for Mauretania I am told one can obtain a visa at the frontier.
Second, insurance: one obtains insurance at the frontier of each country visited because French insurers do not cover the countries which interest us apart from Morocco. I had to wait quite some time before getting a definitive reply on this point.
Third, vaccinations, above all against yellow fever where an international vaccination certificate is compulsory. Then there are vaccinations against hepatitis and other ailments....
Quite a few other things to do also. A slight worry at the moment: our international driving licences have not yet arrived from England. It is already 2 weeks since the application and postal strikes in the UK are going on at the moment.
Last Saturday we went to Auch for the AGM of the Association. About 30 people were present. The balance sheet was shown and other interesting information was disclosed including the fact that there are 300 microcredits ongoing at present. About 95% of loans are repaid. I wonder if large organisations such as banks, countries even, have such success with their loans.
For us the journey will be 4 days from home to Tarifa in south Spain. There we will meet our friends for the crossing to Morocco. We anticipate some 9 days in Morocco, 5 days in Mauretania, 3 days in Mali before arriving at our destination, Toma, in Burkina Faso. We will have to go to Ouagadougou to meet those arriving by plane and bring them back to Toma which is about 3 hours travel from the airport.
I thought it might be helpful if I put up 3 maps showing Morocco, Mauretania, Mali and Burkina Faso (BF) so you could see exactly where the countries we are visiting are in relation to each other. Unfortunately, the detail is not quite good enough to see where towns are located. (Click on the maps to enlarge them.)
I have worked out our route through France and Spain and Pierre S, who drove to BF in 2008, has set out the planned route and stops all the way to Toma. The route through France will take us to the west end of the Pyrenees crossing them south of St Jean Pied de Port. From there it will be through central Spain, past Madrid, Cordoba, Malaga to Tarifa where the ferry takes us to Tangier.
In Morocco we shall move in convoy through the centre of the country passing Fes, on south to the Atlas mountains, then eventually west to Agadir on the coast. We continue along the coast as far as Nouakchott in south Mauretania, then east for some 700km before turning south towards Mali, through Mali to the large town of Bamako and on to BF and Bobo - Dioulasso (which you can see on the map above when enlarged) and, eventually, to Toma (which you cannot see, but is some 100 - 150 km NW of Ougadougou). All this should take 24 days, allowing for a spot of sightseeing here and there. We hope for no breakdowns! The irony of this is that this will be the longest journey I have ever undertaken at one time in the cheapest and oldest car I have owned (1991 model!).
So why an old car? I understand that in BF and, indeed, other countries people want old cheap cars (cheap for us in Europe) so we will leave them behind when we depart either for the Association or others.
We will be well loaded up with clothes, shoes and various other items to give to “our” children, their siblings, parents and other children sponsored in Toma by members of the Association.
No international driving licences as yet: postal strikes in the UK are slowing or stopping mail!
If you would like to make any comments as this blog develops please do so. When I wrote my chronicle 4 years ago it was very welcome to receive some feedback from readers as the journey progressed.
11 October, 2009
D -6
“You’re mad!....”
……”it will be dangerous!……”
………………….”I’d love to do such a trip!”
A few remarks made by people to whom we have spoken about this trip. We are doing the journey along a route already proved with one person who has experience of it and another who has travelled in NW Africa. We have had advice from a third party who knows the route well. But in life one is never immune from bad events!
Should readers wish to make any comments while I am writing this blog I will be delighted to read them – as long as they are good!
The young people we are going to visit? Mine, a boy of 14 has a mother, 6 elder sisters and a younger brother in his family. Charmian’s girl is 15. She lives with her sister, her brother and her mother. There is no father in these families. The children are sponsored up to the level of the baccalauréat on condition that they move up a class each year. If their school work is not good enough for one year they are allowed to take that year again. If they have to remain at that level for a 3rd year the sponsoring stops. This is a condition imposed by the Association from the start.
Here is a photo of my “pride and joy”, that is the car which is going to yake us to Toma! Let’s hope it is reliable!
14 October, 2009
“Every march begins with the first step” D – 3
We are all ready for the first stage! Adrenalin running well now, Charmian not sleeping at all!!
Weather forecast good but cold for France for the week-end but in Mali and Burkina Faso temperatures are shown as 23C in the early morning rising to around 39C in the day at present, therefore likely to be slightly lower in 3 weeks time when we get there. In BF it is the dry season now but in early September there was very heavy rain and flooding in Ouagadougou (the capital) with tens of thousands of people out of their homes, apparently, and some loss of life. There was not much mention of this in the French press; the BBC reported it in their Africa news section online. It was a major disaster with some 150000 people being forced to leave their homes in Burkina Faso, with most being in Ougadougou.
We had a final coordination meeting last night. Most hotels now booked en route, ferry crossing booking to be done at Tarifa rather than in advance (in case of delay getting there), vehicles loaded, umpteen copies of documents produced as officials like such copies I am told, and our international driving licences received yesterday.
Who said: “Every march begins with the first step”? Watch this space for the answer!
17 October, 2009
Departure D1
Cayssac – St Jean Pied de Port
Km 304314 Distance 409 km
Departure 0825 hrs Arrival 1525 hrs Time 7 hrs
Lodging: Hotel Le Central
Weather: sun
A cool morning. We passed from the dry of the causse, brown vegetation, to the lush green of the foothills of the Pyrenees. St Jean was full of the bustle of tourists, even a pilgrim or two.
The anticipation of the journey has been replaced by the actual event.
18 October, 2009
Into Spain D2
St Jean – Siguenza
Km 304719 D 327 km
Dep 0850 Arr 1410 T 5h 20’
Lodging: Parador
Sun & dry
A beautiful day started with the crossing of the Ibanete pass to Roncevalles, past Pamplona into the brown and dry undulating country of northern Spain. Very long views; “battalions” of eolicos lined the crests; many dry maize and sunflower fields . (Very good road from Pamplona to Almazan; no traffic.)
Siguenza is an old, medieval town with a 12th century cathedral and its Castillo converted into an excellent parador.
19 October, 2009
To southern Spain D3
Siguenza – Antequera
Km 305047 D 612 km
Dep 0840 Arr 1630 T 7h 50’
Hotel Plaza San Sebastian
Sun, warm after cold start 3- 18C
An easy drive apart from near Madrid. Long views across valleys to succeeding ridges and crests; many olive groves south of Cordoba.
20 October, 2009
South Spain D4
Antequera – Tarifa
Km 305676 D 219 km
Dep 0820 Arr 1315 T 4h 55’
Hotel El Codrniz
Cloudy 15 – 20C
Lovely scenery south of Antequera but but awful traffic at Malaga. Hoped to see the Jaguar garage at Marbella but somehow we missed it!
We idled around Tarifa in the afternoon, saw no windsurfers east of Tarifa as there was little wind and the sea was flat.
Pierre & Co seemed to be travelling satisfactorily. I could not get their tickets for the ferry crossing as I had no date of birth for them as required by the ticket office.
20 October, 2009
South France, Spain Days 1 - 4
The first steps have been taken. The dry, brown landscape of the Causse gave way to the lush green of the foothills of the Pyrenees, and the bustle of St Jean Pied de Port, full of tourists and a few pilgrims. St Jean lies on the Chemin de St Jacques and is is close to the coming together of the principle 4 Ways pilgrims take on their way to Santiago de Compostella in NW Spain. Over 27000 have passed through St Jean this year already. Tourists abounded in the town.
Across the Pyrenees, past Pamplona heading towards Madrid over country with very long views over rolling, dry, brown contryside; fields of dry maize, dry sunflowers, fields ploughed awaiting next year´s sowing. Brown, sand coloured villages, their churches dominating all other buildings, are the norm. On the sharper crests are battalions of "eolicos" (wind turbines); solar panels frequent flat areas. Suddenly we come upon Siguenza, its castillo dominating the valley and town beneath it: our destination on our second day.
Siguenza old town is medieval with narrow streets, Spaniards promenading even if not having lunch at 4 on a sunny afternoon. The castillo has been the home for bishops for some 700 years; now it is a parador.
On Days 3 & 4 brown coloured dwellings yielded to white buildings but still the arid landscape continues, right down to Tarifa, Spain’s southernmost point. Across the Straits loom the mountains of North Africa. You feel you can almost reach out and touch them across calm waters and under leaden skies. No rain so far.
Pierre & Co are close to Tarifa; we meet tomorrow at the port.
The quotation? Said by Mao Tse Tung.
Distance travelled so far: 1562 km
21 October, 2009
Spain, Morocco D5
Tarifa – Chefchaouen
Km 305915 D 120 km
Dep 0750 Arr 1220 T 4h 30’
Lodging: Casa Hassan
Clouds, rain
There were endless formalities with the Moroccan authorities at Tangier. It one hour to disembark and clear the port after a bumpy crossing. At the port an offer was made to buy the car! Everybody wanted tips.
The roads were poor and twisting but the scenery was impressive: high hills / mountains which were sharp and rugged.
We had an interesting walk around Chefchaouen. Everything below “ladder height” is painted blue to reduce the level of insects. There are many little boutiques in the town.
22 October, 2009
The first views D6
Chefchaouen – En-Rich
Km 306035 D 490 km
Dep 0750 Arr 1810 T 10h 20’
Hotel Jurrassique
Rain, clouds, bright sun
A wet exit from Chefchaouen but by Meknes the clouds were dispersing. An impressive cedar forest was seen south of Azrou – enormous trees. We skipped Volubilis (Roman ruins) which I saw 40 years ago in 1969 but Pierre F and Gilbert visited them while Pierre S and Janine went on to a wine tasting at Volubilia wines. We had had a bit of a mix up as to who was doing what and it was not helped en route when Pierre S discovered that the winery was nowhere near Volubilis but miles further on.
We eventually met up at “Paysage d’Ito” for a picnic, at a spot with a breathtaking view to the west across a flat greenish plain to distant mountains.
The Hotel Jurrassique is very Moroccan. Mine host, Said, was very welcoming. Rooms were dark. His development of the area around his hotel is impressive: fruit trees planted at the rate of 1000 / year. The hotel is situated in a valley, the Gorge du Ziz. This was our first taste of the really impressive scenery to come.
23 October, 2009
Central Morocco D7
En-Rich – Gorges du Dades, Ait Ouffi
Km 306526 D 341 km
Dep 0850 Arr 1800 T 9h 10’
Lodgings: chez Pierre
Warm, clear, magnificent
Awesome! There is no other word to describe the scenery! Through gorges, wide open valleys, mountains always visible, an atmosphere whose clarity was outstanding (one could see 50 km or more easily). The views were long and superb.
Rock formation on the mountainsides were varied and impressive, gorges were narrow with very high sides and round each bend there was something different.
On the road between Goulmina and Tinerhir all the children waved, smiled, shouted “Bonjour” and wanted to touch hands. Adults were more reserved but still friendly.
Route: south of Rich – Ar-Rachidia – Goulmina – Amellago – Ait-Hani – Tinerhir – Boumaine – Dades – Gorges du Dades
24 October, 2009
To Agadir D8
Ait-Ouffi – Agadir
Km 306867 D 508 km
Dep 0850 Arr 1930 T 10h 40’
Hotel El Bahia
Sun, v clear, 25C+
Another day of spectacular scenery but the mountains were more distant: views 50 – 100 km. The country was dry with little or no vegetation for a lot of the journey. We passed through Ouarzazate (gateway to the Sahara); this was an ambition realised for me.
Ouarzazate looks affluent. All the buildings were pink – from the surrounding country come the bricks / stones or wattle and daub to make them.
We visited the outskirts of a village ???? to see the old part falling into disrepair and therefore abandoned. The Moroccans do not fix or repair their wattle and daub houses; they just abandon them and move into newer buildings.
We visited a saffron outlet at Taroudant. Saffron bulbs (like small onions) yield the saffron strands (end Oct / November). One gm costs E3.50. It takes one hectare of land to yield one kilo of saffron.
Also in the Sousa ? valley (about 100 km east of Agadir) trees grow which have a nut. The outer sheath is eaten, on the tree, by goats which climb into the tree. The nut is left, falls to the ground and is picked up by the farmer who uses it partly for producing oil, and a perfume company (L’Oreal) uses the liquid crushed from it to put into perfume. Result: the nuts are now very expensive and the locals have planted more trees to increase the harvest. The trees are called arganiers.
Finding our hotel in Agadir was difficult at night because no streets have street names on signs.
We had an adequate supper in a square, outside, opposite the hotel for E5 each including water and tea.
24 October, 2009
In Morocco: Tarifa – Tanger – Chefchaouen – Meknes – Ar-Rachidia – Boulmane-Dadès – Ait-Ouffi – Agadir
At Tarifa my last words were “no rain up till now”. Well, 2 hours later it poured! A happy meeting for everybody at Tarifa’s port at 0800 hrs.
Crossing of the Straits of Gibraltar in one hour, then another hour for the disembarkation and port formalities. I was propositioned for my car, in the port itself!
Our 3 vehicle convoy drove from Tangier to Chefcaouen by a winding route through high hills if not mountains (2000m). One could see people everywhere, even right out in the country. Chefchaouen is an attractive town with its little streets painted different shades of blue – to deter insects. The staff at the hotel and restaurant opposite were very friendly.
We left Chefchaouen in rain; after Meknes the sky cleared and soon we were seeing magnificent views which became the norm for the next 4 days. The clarity of the atmosphere was extraordinary – for at least. One could easily see mountains 50 to 100 km away.
We followed a road through the Gorge du Ziz, du Todra and du Dadès, each remarkable for the variety of rock, and the height of the mountains on each side. We crossed a dozen or so fords. Children smiled at us everywhere, adults less so being more reserved. As soon as one stopped in a village children rushed up to our cars asking for something: money, sweets....
One is struck by the huge areas, even on the plains, wher it is impossible to cultivate – lack of water, ground too rocky – but where there are flocks of sheep and goats minded by a shepherd, often far from a village. We saw our first camels – or dromedaries, as they had only one hump. One, which ran along beside the car, stopped dead when I shouted at it in “Arabic”!
I had the honour of changing from my 205 to go in a Mercedes 190 for a few hours: it was comfort and great luxury!
We made a short visit to a saffron cooperative. Near Taroudant saffon is grown and sold for E3.50 / gm, thus being quite a good price in Morocco. They say that the plants (like crocus) yield one kilo of saffron from one hectare of plants.
We also saw “arganier” trees which are used for perfume and oil. It is interesting that the tree is “hostile” to man so it is goats which do the harvest. How? They climb into the trees and eat the nut shell. The nuts then fall to the ground where people can pick them up. The nut is treated to make oil and a product used by perfume producers.
Spent the night at Agadir: dinner + water for 6 people for E30!
Daily distances: 120, 490, 341, 508 km
Total distance: 3021 km
25 October, 2009
South Morocco D9
Agadir – Tifnidilt
Km 307375 D 360 km
Dep 0810 Arr 1800 T 9h 50’
Hotel: Ksar Tifnidilt
Sun, 25C+
Seeing the fishing vessels in the port of Agadir was an experience! There are all old rust buckets! Moored 7 deep there must have been 200 at least. The regime seems to be that they spend 2 months in port and 2 months at sea. The vessels were big.
After 40 km of motoring we finally reached the country. We had lunch in a small restaurant at Sidi – Ifni. The restaurant Pierre had intended for us to visit was closed and had no telephone.
After 354 km the African Adventure began (at last!). A 6 km piste led to our magnificent hotel, Ksar Tifnidilt, situated in barren land on a hill. To get there we had to drive through 6 areas of sand: we all got stuck at least twice (not at the same time fortunately) and had to be towed out by one of the hotel staff. The front towing eye of my 205 was ripped off when being towed out. Charmian had a complete sense of humour failure, blew her top and told everybody how “complètement stupide” it all was to be driving through sand in heavily laden cars.
We had an excellent dinner (couscous) and amusement. Lights out was when the generator was switched off (1050hrs).
26 October, 2009
Western Sahara D10
Tifnidilt – Le Bedouin (nr Laagoure)
Km 308043 D 307 km
Dep 0915 Arr 1800 T 8h 45’
Lodging: Camping Le Bédouin
Mist, sun, 26C+
Only 2 of us got stuck in the sand: Pierre F and me. I needed to be towed out backwards as I had dug myself in quite well and the sump was resting on the sand. We took one hour to reach the main road! It was only 6 km and we were accompanied throughout by the L/R from the hotel.
We had met a group of English people travelling in 7 very sophisticated L/Rs, properly equipped for desert driving. All were privately owned. One driver worked for L/R so was enthusiastic about the L/R vehicles. They were amazed that we had reached the hotel in our cars. They were touring Morocco and doing some 5000 km having come from England (via Bilbao) (www.protrax.co.uk).
The hotel was surrounded in mist until about the time we left. Quite normal in the morning we were told.
We drove but kept stopping: at Tan – Tan, along the coast to look at the cliffs and fishermen, at Tarfayu (fishing port). We arrived at Le Bédouin camping site after driving along a 4 km rough track. No incidents this time! Wehad a large square tent to sleep in, quite comfortable, a good dinner (“foie gras du desert”, then “chameau en dettes”).
27 October, 2009
South Western Sahara D11
Le Bédouin – Dakhla
Km 308043 D 570 km
Dep 0845 Arr 1805 T 9h 20’
Hotel Le Sahara Regency
Mist, cloud, 25c+
Many miles of dead straight, flat road; many stop by the police at entances / exits to villages where they demanded our “fiche individuelle” and the number stamped in our passports on entry to Morocco and our profession.
We stayed in a proper hotel in Dakhla (4*). We had a good supper of paella in “El Bahia” restaurant but very slow service.
I managed to up date the blog on Pierre’s computer and use the hotel’s wifi system the next day.
28 October, 2009
At Dakhla, South Morocco D12
At Dakhla
Km 308658 [D 39 km]
Hotel Sahara Regency
Mist, sun, 28C
We made a revision of stopping places for several nights on our journey in order to reduce the distance it was planned to travel each day and also because it was decided not to visit the Banc d’Arguin (too much risk of getting stuck in the sand so Charmian’s outburst at Tifnidilt had an effect!).
We looked at the markets in Dakhla: fish, spices, vegetables, clothes but bought nothing.
The car was returned having been mended. Yesterday the engine cut out 2 or 3 times when the car came to rest, eg at a police road check. The hotel mechanic took the car away this morning to fix it. Part of the alternator was at fault and the battery’s level of distilled water was down below the top of the plates, never having been topped up (as I had assumed that the battery was a sealed unit).
Charmian and I had a nice lunch at a Best Western hotel on the quayside, then spent time organising the car and ourselves while the others passed the time eating and visiting dunes and the beach.
We celebrated Pierre S’s 60th birthday (tomorrow) with 2 bottles of Lussac – Péognan 2000 red wine, foie gras and a conserved truffle, all brought from France by Janine. The wine was very good with our dinner later. The truffle struck me as fairly ordinary – but, no doubt, it has a taste to be acquired. I must be a Philistine!
Tomorrow the plan is to start at 0900-0930 so as not to be at the Mauretanian frontier between 1200-1400 hrs. It is anticipated we will spend less time getting into Mauretania and less time leaving Morroco. I reckon we will arrive at our camping site after dark.
Mauretania has been painted as a black country: we must travel in close convoy, it is a dirty place, expensive.....
28 October, 2009
Agadir – Tafnidilt – Le Bédouin (nr Laayoune) - Dakhla
Pierre S took us to the port of Agadir to see the fishing vessels: very large trawlers, very rusty, spending 2 months in port and then 2 months at sea.
The African Adventure truly began 354 km south of Agadir. To get to our hotel at Tafnidilt we had to go off road for 6 km, along a rocky and stoney and sandy track. Did I say sandy? Well, we are on the edge of the Sahara Desert! All 3 vehicles got stuck in the sand, separately, and more than once and had to be towed out.
At dusk we saw our palatial hotel run by a French couple. Splendid accommodation, excellent couscous for dinner.
Our escape from this magical spot took one hour and 2 boggings-in. Along the way to our next stop we saw fishermen casting their lines from crumbling clifftops 50m above the sea., their permanently pitched tents on the clifftops where they live and often many kilometres from the nearest town / village.
“Le Bédouin” is a camping site, again 4 km off road, so we slept on couches aka mattresses in big rectangular tents. The surrounding country is desert. Spending one night at the same site were 25 cyclists en route from Paris to Dakar on their bicycles (7700 km over 10 weeks – www.bike-dreams.com) .
Kilometre after kilometre of dead flat stony and sandy ground near the sea and crumbling cliffs was the menu for Tuesday, 27 October, finally arriving at Dakhla. However, it had become an eventful day: my car (the 205) lost all electrical power, the engine just cutting out 2 or 3 times near the end of the journey; Gilbert twisting his ankle on uneven ground and falling just outside our hotel thus requiring a hospital visit. His lower leg is now well strapped up.
Tomorrow, 28 October, a day of no travelling. The day after we cross the Tropic of Cancer (22 deg north) and move into Mauretania. We are now about half way to Toma.
Computers for clients in Morocco in our hotels have been non-existant, and on Monday, 26th, in a cyber café I could not even reach my own site (and nor could others in England), hence my inability to post news. Also broadband / ADSL appears not to be the norm. It will almost certainly be the same or more difficult to post as we move south.
Overall impression so far: Morocco, a very interesting country to visit, ruggedly beautiful in most of the places we have been, a friendly people but in the Western Sahara, ie south Morocco, there are far too many police stops – at the entrance and exit from every town or village.
Daily distances: 360, 307, 570 km
Overall distance: 4258 km
29 October, 2009
From Morocco into Mauretania D13
Dakhla – Bou Lanouar
Km 308658 D 461 km (incl going 20 km beyond our camping site and having to return)
Dep 0930 Arr 1830 T 9h
Lodging: Camping Bou Lanouar
Sun, hot
From Dakhla to the Moroccan frontier miles and miles of flat country, a dead straight road, almost no traffic at all, and a few dunes. The real desert! We crossed the Tropic of Cancer just south of Dakhla.
The frontier crossings were an organised shambles! You hand in passports, 20 minutes later you get them back. You hand over your carte grise, car import papers and passports and get them back; have your passports checked again (all this on foot in the heat, no shade), move forward in the car, get out, hand in the passports for all details to be copied into a ledger. Finally, after another cursory look into your passports by yet another person you move into No Man’s Land. It took 1h 20’ to get through Moroccan formalities.
In NML we met up with our guide who led us through. As soon as you arrive in NML various people pounce on you: to guide you, to lead you, to arrange car insurance for you, to persuade you to go to a hotel....
The track through is appalling: rock and sand for 4 km, twisting and turning. You could get lost easily. There were numerous car wrecks along the route we took to Mauretania.
At the Mauretanian frontier our guide took our passports, carte grise and the Moroccan entry /exit papers for the car. He organised the car insurance (dhm100 or E10), and took E20 for each visa. We received the passports, etc back and moved on to a shack for the car visa (dhm100). (While the policeman was filling in the form he was saying his prayers as the muezzin has sounded (through a portable loudspeaker).) We also gave the guide some euros for him to change into Mauretanian UMs.
Eventually we leave, having taken 20 minutes to cross NML and 2h 20’ to clear the Mauretanian formalities. We pay off our guide (dhm100 person, therefore dhm600) and proceed to our camping site. We passed through at least 5 police checkpoints in 60 km. The “fiche individuelle” is very useful and is often handed over.
Policemen / military men wanted gifts, they wanted to buy the car and everything in it. Children demanded “cadeau” as soon as we stopped.
We finally found our campsite having driven past it by 20 km. We slept in a round stone hut on a mattress on the floor. Supper: a large plate of pasta, potato and chicken.
30 October, 2009
Mauretania D14
Bou Lanouar – Nouakchott (NKC)
Km 309120 D 389 km
Dep 0820 Arr 1330 T 5h 10’
Maison d’hôtes Jeloua
Sun (hot), wind (driving sand)
A breakfast, mostly supplied by Janine, outside a shabby building marked “cuisine” marked the start of a sunny day.
Charmian and I slept well in our round stone hut on a mattress. The others slept badly, variously inside and outside their hut.
Shortly after getting onto the main road (excellent surface to NKC) we had our first police check. Then followed a flat 380 km to NKC with some 4 or 5 stops before NKC for customs, for gendarmerie, by the army.
Very quickly the wind got up quite strongly and for half to one third of the journey we drove with poor visibility (2-300m) because of driving sand.
We had lunch in NKC in a good pizza restaurant and eventually we found our hotel, which is nice.
We went to the port by taxi to watch the arrival of the fishing catch. Quite a spectacle: people selling fish, fishermen bringing in their boats, taking out a few boats. Gilbert said the fishermen are mostly Senegalese and their long narrow boats are painted in a manner very similar to Senagalese boats.
Our “tour” took us to the artisan market market: beautiful walking sticks in black and white ebony (UM17000 was asked).
The central streets of NKC are sand and occasionally a strip is made with tarmacadam, and potholes abound.
31 October, 2009
Central Mauretania D15
Nouakouchott – Boutilimit
Km 309509 D 153 km
Dep 1045 Arr 1400 T 3h 30’
Hotel Europcar
Sun & wind
Through sandy streets filled with broken cars we drove to the exit from NKC. Pierre F’s car had a problem: it would not start because the key was blocked in the ignition. It took 1 ½ hrs for a “mechanic” to come to take away the offending steering lock and return. The actual work took only 10 minutes (cost UM8000).
We had an easy drive along a rolling road through red sand to Boutilimit. At one police post the policeman complained of a headache and his family with a fever: 6 Dolipran pills were handed over by Gilbert (a useless gesture). (Gilbert had asked me if I had Dolipran pills so I found them in our medical pack and handed them over supposing they were for him. When I discovered they were for the local policeman I was furious!)
Boutilimit: a small town of square buildings, tents, friendly people and children, built on red sand with the main road - and only road -going through it. The hotel looks good but turns out to be lees good than it appears.
31 October, 2009
Western Sahara, Mauretania D12, 13, 14, 15
Dakhla – Bou Lanouan – Nouakchott – Boutilimit
At the time of writing (31 Oct) in Boutilimit in the afternoon I am listening to the “muezzin” calling the faithful to prayer (happens 5 times a day) in a temperature of 36C.
My car was fixed by the hotel mechanic in his garage. We visited the small “boutiques” / market stalls of Dakhla, enjoyed our first day of non driving, and doing little as there was not much to see.
On Thursday, 29 October a dash of some 400 km brought us to the Moroccan frontier at 2pm. We were finally through the Mauretanian frontier at 4.55pm. So, why the delay? Well, first, time is not of the essence! It could be a long story but I will summarize! Passports have to be checked (3 times), details logged by hand, telephone checks made, car registration papers verified and a check made that the vehicle being exported is the same as the one imported into Morocco. A similar procedure occurs on arrival in Mauretania, and car insurance has to be bought, plus visas for people and each car. Everybody else is suffering the same fate; there is a lot of waiting: officials like to talk to each other, talk to you. (And if you arrive at lunch-time you wait, or at night you wait till the next day because the border posts close down!)
Between Morocco and Mauretania there is No Man’s Land, a strip of land belonging to no country and 4 km deep. No road exists: there are tracks across rocks and sand. The place abounds with people trying to buy your car and / or everything in it, trying to sell you Mauretanian currency, offering you a hotel room in Nouadhibou (the nearest town at 40 km distance), wanting you to buy the obligatory car insurance (European companies’ cover stops at the Moroccan border). Being No Man’s Land no law exists there.
The 2 frontier posts are not intervisible and it would be easy to get lost so Pierre S had organised a guide to show us across and to assist with frontier formalities on the Mauretanian side. He was also to take us to the Banc d’Arguin (to help us visit the islands to see migrating birds) but we had to cancel that part of the journey (20 – 30 km across sand was considered inadvisable for 2 wheel drive motors).
Finding a camping site in Mauretania is not easy! We found ours after over-running it by 20 km, and asking several people (even a few hundred metres away from it who did not have a clue!). We slept in round stone huts – most welcome when the prospect was erecting a tent in a strong wind. One of our huts was decorated with rugs / mats on the wall all the way round and on the floor. Much of our day had been spent driving through sand whipped up by the wind. Visibility varied between 200 and 700 m or so. It was the same or worse the next day as we drove towards Nouakchott (NKC).
NKC boasted a fascinating fishing port: hundreds of fishing boats (5 -10m long) painted in bright colours, as in Dakar, Senegal, apparently, and mostly owned by Senegalese. The whole port was a mass of activity: fishermen landing the catch, women and men selling fish, really broken vehicles driving off with a large container of fish balanced on the roof, folk just standing and talking and watching (a national pastime).
A taxi tour of NKC sufficed to get to know the town’s uneven sandy streets filled with “boutiques” and small one and 2 man businesses. There is vegetation, surprising after seeing 600 km of sand, rock and scrub- like bushes. East of NKC there is more vegetation and a lot of rock and sand. We did not see much evidence of any cultivation in Mauretania.
Daily distances : 0, 461, 389, 153 km
Total distance: 5261 km
1 November, 2009
East through Mauretania D16
Boutilimit – Kiffra
Km 309663 D 446 km
Dep 0730 Arr 1545 T 8h 15’
Hotel: Auberge de la Maison de l’Hote
Sun, light wind
Boutilimit turned out to be quite a large town but complete chaos at 0730 am. Last night at 9.30 pm there was not a light to be seen but still a fair number of vehicles on the road.
From Aleg to Kiffra the road was good apart from one or 2 potholes. Speed was restricted by animals which would appear out of the bush at any moment: camels, donkeys, cows and goats. There were many dead carcasses at the roadside.
Red sand gave way to savannah, then white sand; nearer Kiffra (150 km) rocky, high hills appeared.
There quite a few police and customs stops and one Sûreté Nationale. All wanted a “fiche” with personal details. We have given out over 20 of these, each. (One needs some 40 preprinted before travelling.)
Our hotel was recommended by Olivia at the Maison d’Hôtes at NKC. I discovered that my front tyres were very worn on the inside, therefore the toe-in must be wrong. I swopped the front tyres for the rear. The toe-in was probably knocked out of true by the bad roads.
The towns through which one passes are chaotic: cars and people and donkeys going in all directions. Shops are filthy; everything is sandy. Waste is everywhere, in towns and outside, and it’s all plastic or tins. Quite the dirtiest country I have ever seen!
Where there was water, eg lakes, standing water, even a river, the locals seem to do little to exploit it. The Moroccans were much better.
2 November, 2009
Mauretania – Mali D 17
Kiffra – Nioro
Km 310110 D 348 km
Dep 0745 Arr 1830 T 10h 45’
Hotel:
Cloudy, rain (light)
(Border xg Mauretania-Mali took 2 hours.)
We paid E10 (approx UM3000) for the cars to exit Mauretania. On the Mali side a customs official tried to get me to bribe him so I would not have to pay F.FCA10000 at the next customs post for a “laissez passer” for the car. I did not pay. There was no second customs post: the whole thing was a fraud. Gilbert and Pierre were in and out in about 2 minutes against my 10 minutes detention.
The insurance agent in Mauretania (who was selling car insurance) wanted to buy my car. We took out one month insurance for E20 (good for all French speaking African countries).
The road between Kiffra and Ayoun was appalling (for 280 km): potholes, craters, dry fords, animals crossing, a few people. Animals included goats, camels, donkeys, cows and the road was lined with dead carcasses. My score was nearly 2 camels, 1 cow, 1 donkey, 2 goats! A camel was really a near miss!
There was a 5 km diversion at one point along a red sand track; much washboard and very hard on the car. (Pierre S advised to travel fast over the washboard as it was easier on the car – but he had little idea what it was like in a 205 compared with a Mercedes.)
The filth of Mauretania continued to the frontier. The types of houses changed, from Bedouin tents to small, simple houses, well painted or decorated on theoutside, with straw roofs covered in a sort of tent material.
When we arrived at Nioro Pierre S wanted to visit the soldiers’ bar (=foyer) to have a beer. I had a “wine” in a plastic bag: awful! The bar was disgusting. A soldier outside was cooking brochettes de chameau: OK!
Our third try at a hotel found the one in the Routard guidebook. ( For reasons unknown Gilbert did not like the sound of the Rourtard recommendation but it turned out to be easily the best of a poor bunch.) It was roof over our heads! Charmian was not well and stayed in while 5 of us went to “restaurant” where we ate meat and frites by a dim light, cooked over 3 wood fires with chickens perched on beams over our heads! Not bad at all.
All cooking in Mali is done over wood fires (except in hotels, I suppose.)
3 November, 2009
On to the capital of Mali D18
Nioro – Bamako
Km 310512 D 430 km
Dep 0815 Arr 1630 T 8h 15’
Hotel Séguéré
Cloud, sun
The road to Bamako was good to the outskirts of Bamako. We shared a “pastèque” with 8 young boys who turned up at our picnic site.
At the entrance to Bamako (at Kati to be precise) there is a customs post. They wanted to see our “laissez passer” for the car – but there wasn’t one. It should have been issued at the frontier we were told by the friendly “douaniers”. They advised us to go to the HQ of the Douanes in Bamako to get the laissez-passer.
Once allowed through we found our way to our hotel on the south side of the River Niger, which must be 1000m across.
The city is a mass of moving humanity: thousands of mobylettes, cars, taxis, buses, people, hand-pushed trailers, even goats occasionally, all in an air of considerable pollution and heat.
The hotel was satisfactory, run by a French lady. Charmian and I had salads on the hotel terrace (C not too good) while the others went out.
4 November, 2009
Bamako D19
At Bamako
Hotel Séguéré
Prior to setting of to the Customs Pierre S found he had a flat tyre so we took his car to a tyre “agent”. While being fixed Gilbert and I went to the city centre by taxi to withdraw cash (in F.CFA) from an ATM. Gilbert also changed some euros for FFCA with one of some 50 men trying to sell local currency for euros (he did it at F656 to E1).
After the tyre was fixed we went to HQ Douaniers but were sent into town to the “Guichet unique des Douaniers”. The Chef de Brigade, when we eventually met him, finally gave us his telephone number and name so that he could be contacted by the customs agents at the Mali frontier if need be when they saw we did not have a laissez passer for the car.
I updated the blog. We lunched at the Hotel Aquarius and walked the nearby streets in the afternoon.
From our hotel balcony there was a delightful view over the Niger in the evening.
Françoise (the hotel manager) said the journey to do in Mali is from Mopti to Timbuktu by river (3 days) and return by river or 4 x 4 (taxi-brousse or hired). One can visit the villages on the river and one sleeps in camping sites beside the river at night. Hire of a “pirogue” (long, narrow boat) is some FCFA 150000 / day (=E230) so it is best to do this in a group.
There is another trip round a lake north of Mopti which takes about 4 days and is also very good, apparently.
4 November, 2009
Mauretania, Mali D16, 17, 18, 19
Boutilimit – Kiffa – Nioro – Bamako
Let a thousand mobylettes bloom – at red traffic lights!
Well, what I am talking about? We arrived at Bamako on Tuesday, 3rd November, in the afternoon, and it was something to see: hundreds if not thousands of mobylettes going in all directions. At every red light one is surrounded by mobylettes which push forward to be in front of the first cars, taxis, buses....One inhales the fumes and I don’t know what else. While in the countryside in Mali one travels for miles without seeing a vehicle in towns there are vehicles and people passing by helter-skelter everywhere. It’s worse than Paris!
At Boutilimit at our hotel where there was a conference going on before our arrival a journalist offered me his brand new 4 x 4 for the equivalent of E65000, and, at the same time asked me to sell him my 205! At 2 in the morning we were awakened by a group of people (? from the town) shouting and singing in the hotel corridor and who tried to enter our room. It was explained to us in the morning that it was a group returning from a marriage...
The red sand around Boutilimit gave way to white sand; near Kiffa we discovered rocks in extraordinary formations. All along the road were animal carcasses: camels, cows, goats, donkeys, dogs. These animals live in the desert savannah and they sometimes cross the road alone or in flocks – without looking to see if any vehicles are coming! As there bush is right up to the road often it is impossible to see them before they arrive.
For more than 200 km between Aleg and Kiffa the road is appalling. It is not smooth, there are potholes everywhere, craters, sand, people, and animals which can charge out of the bush at any moment. I almost hit 2 camels, one cow, one donkey and 2 goats over 2 days!
The Bedouin type tents were replaced by small houses made of stone and a sort of roughcast coating with roofs with a straw like covering which preventing rian from entering and which served as insulation against the sun’s heat. In Mali buildings appear to be made of wattle and daub (straw, earth and water mixed) and a dark colour (in villages).
Leaving Mauretania and entering Mali took 2 hours. An anecdote: a Malian policeman told us, while we were filling in forms, that he had an elder brother whose wife had just given birth to a boy. The brother wanted a foreigner’s forename name for his son selected from the foreigners crossing the frontier that afternoon. The policeman decided to draw lots amongst we 4 men. He took our Christian names, made the draw and I was the winner! Thus one of my Christian names will be adopted by a Malian for his son! Isn’t that good?!
I was struck immediately after crossing the border by the cultivation that the Malians do more or less all along the road to Bamako. We bought a water melon which we shared with children who found while we were picnicking at midday. While passing through the countryside almost all children wave, and sometimes women, sometimes men. And when we stop they demand “present”. Women carry many things on their head – which is most impressive. They have to have a very good carriage. Charmian observed that they are often elegant, walk very upright, dressed in their long, coloured dresses.
A small difficulty at Bamako, or rather at the entrance to the town, where we discovered that needed a “laissez passer” for our cars. Nobody explained this at the frontier. Tomorrow we will have to sort this out with the customs at Bamako (if not it could be difficult to leave the country).
We have a splendid view from our hotel over the Niger, a river a kilometre wide. We can see the comings and goings of the pirogues (long, narrow boats), the sun setting behind a hill beyond the river, small children playing beside the hotel.
Thanks to all who have sent messages. I read them this morning, 4th November, at 0725 hrs while the others were still sleeping! Rest day today at Bamako. Pierre’s birthday went well. We celebrated it in style in Dakhla by drinking a good French wine.
Daily distances: 446, 398, 430, 0 km
Total distance: 6535 km
5 November, 2009
Mali D20
Bamako – Sikasso
Km 310943 D 369 km
Dep 0820 Arr 1610 T 7h 50’
Hotel Le Wassoulou
Sun, light cloud
From our pleasant hotel run by Françoise Bounoud (?) we set out for Sikasso through the chaos which is Bamako. A stop at a supermarket (small and selling nothing fresh at all) and not air-cocnditioned; a little difficulty finding the correct road because there are no signposts until one has left the city. We had a good road to Bougouni (180 km), after which the road was very bad (potholes) almost all the way to Sikasso.
Our hotel was OK. We are in thatched bungalows. No air – conditioning because lightning struck a few days ago and knocked out the main generator. Lights were not put on until 19h30 (by generator). Supper was poor: roast chicken and rice (grown locally). White / roséwine from Spain cost F9000 / bottle (=E13.70).
6 November, 2009
South Mali D21
Sikasso – Banfora
Km 311312 D 158 km
Dep 0900 Arr 1315 T 4h 15’
Hotel La canne de Sucre
Sun, 37C
Left hotel at 07h20 to look for a patisserie called “Bamboo” near the obelisk of Sikasso. We did not find it after 40 minutes of searching but found another where the “pain au raisins” were huge and good!
At one point we had to drive 40km along a red track; quite smooth for once so could do about 70 km/hr.
We had a nice hotel at Banfora: the garden was filled with plants and huge trees.
We visited a waterfall at Karfiguéla wher Janine, Pierre and Gilbert bathed. Fine views across the plain below. Then we visited the chalk rocks mightily eroded by wind and rain. We were supposed to see these at sunset but were late arriving and the sun had already dipped below the horizon.
We returned to the hotel in the dark (we were in a taxi bus (F.CFA45000 + 5000 for the guide, Jean-Marie). We even saw a train – of considerable length with people walking along its roof (“thieves” our guide said).
7 November, 2009
At the capital, Banfora D22
At Banfora
Sun
Charmian not well again; she slept during the day. I bought more “Dolipran” and “Imodium” (F4430 = E7). I updated the blog at an internet shop, taken there by Akar (a chap who just turned up in the street and wanted to help, no doubt in the hope of selling me his jewellery or being paid) who later showed me a pharmacy which was open (2 others we tried were closed).
Late afternoon I heard drums playing, went out to investigate and Akar and others were playing from their boutique: Akar on balafon, 2 others on drums and a man on maracas. We all sat opposite (the rest of the group having returned from an outing) having a drink. After the others had left to reload their cars Akar gave me a demonstration on a drum – wonderful to watch!
7 November, 2009
Mali, Burkina Faso D 20, 21, 22
Bamako – Sikasso – Banfora
From 45° to 12° north of the Equator we have now reached the southernmost point of our journey. Toma, our destination, is north east of Banfora. The problem of our cars not having a “laissez passer” was resolved in Bamako – but it took all morning to do it! First problem: Pierre S’s car had a flat tyre which took some time to sort out. Second problem: getting to the correct customs house in Bamako. The first one we were directed to, outside town, was the wrong one. The second one in the centre of Bamako was the good one and, eventually we paraded in front of the “chef de brigade” (a captain) who was the senior man apparently. After Pierre S had told the (sad) story of our failure to obtain a “laissez passer” for the cars when we entered Mali he merely gave us his phone number saying, “Have the douaniers at the frontier telephone me and I will tell them to let you pass”. Thus, problem solved – and that’s exactly what happened at the frontier.
Going into the capital city (our hotel was at some remove from the centre and to the south side of the River Niger) by taxi proved to be a good way to travel. The taxi, a Mercedes, with its windscreen multi-cracked, sounded like a tank, but it moved! And during the journey we did not hit anything in spite of being sorely provoked by mobylettes coming from all directions. The atmosphere in the city is heavy with pollution – and it will be like this for many years to come as the very large majority of vehicles are old and belch forth diesel fumes.
The “boutiques” and markets I find fascinating to watch: such a variety of activities, considerable ingenuity by people to make things, or indeed to make things work, and so many people on the move all the time. And, as mentioned before, the watchers, both men and women, who just sit and watch and talk and sleep and who, sometimes, try to get you to buy something.
These same scenes were evident at 8 am in Sikasso yesterday morning when we were out looking for a patisserie to have breakfast. Sikasso is a verdant area and there were fruits and vegetables to be seen in the markets, much more so than previously.
We crossed into Burkina Faso with no more than about an hour to 1½ hours delay. Not a lot seemed different across the 2 sides of the border. Still plenty of interest in my car and in one of the Mercedes!
When a vehicle breaks down on the road in the countries we have visited, and lorries which are usually much longer than in Europe and very highly stacked, thus grossly overladen, are frequently broken down, tradition often has it that, as they do not always carry a warning triangle, the driver places branches or stones on the road in front of and behind his vehicle. You will recall that I have mentioned that carcasses of animals were seen frequently further north along the side of the road. Well, today it was different: we came across a human body lying in the middle of the road. There was not a soul in sight, but branches had been placed on either side of the body as a warning which told us that people had been there and, presumably, were dealing with the situation. This was not a good experience.
A very pleasant hotel awaited us in Banfora when we arrived at lunchtime and a trip through sugar plantations to visit a waterfall at Karfiguéla. Some of our number chose to bathe in the 27°C waters. On the way is a most impressive alley of enormous mango trees (old and tall) and “cailcédrat” trees plus quite a variety of other fruit trees, rice beds, sorghum and millet. Nearby, we climbed to the top of some strangely shaped rocks to look at the view and sunset – but we had just missed it! Dommage!
Today (7 November) we take another rest day for some local exploration. Tomorrow we move to Bobo - Dioulasso, and arrive at Toma, on 9 November (D 24). We go on to Ouagadougou, the capital, on Tuesday to meet the others of our party who arrive on Tuesday and Wednesday. What there are in the way of cyber cafés in Ouaga remains to be seen; future publication here could be difficult……..
On Thursday we return to Toma to see “our” children and spend a few days there.
Daily distances : 369, 158, 0 km
Total distance: 7062 km
8 November, 2009
Last day in Mali D23
Banfora – Bobo – Dioulasso
Km 311479 D = 85 km
Dep 0830 Arr 1030 T 2h
Hotel l’Auberge
Sun
Last night’s hotel expensive: F34000 (for 2 nights) + F58000 for food, drinks (and Charmian was not eating all the time!).
The countryside to Bobo was lush; nice hotel with pool which we used. These always had to be carefully vetted to see if they were safe to use: clean and treated enough.
Charmian bought material and had a 2 piece skirt and top made to measure within 3 hours for F19500 (=E30). Later, we bought a chair, carved with a crocodile on its back, for F15000 (=E23) and I played “awalé”, the oldest African game apparently, against the boutique owner. Won 1, lost 1.
At 18h00 we went to Mass in the cathedral: beautiful singing. The cathedral was full 15 minutes into the service, and it is big. People were dressed up (as I can be seen from the photos I took in the morning). Many of the congregation, including women, arrived on mobylettes. We walked! The streets were strangely quiet afterwards as all the market stalls had packed up.
9 November, 2009
Mali – Burkina Faso D24
Bobo – Dioulasso - Toma
Km 311564 D 263 km
Dep 0820 Arr 1300 T 4h40’
Lodging: Centre Marial
Sun, hot (38-40C), dry
Charmian’s mobile no longer works! Pierre S managed to close it down and nobody here can unlock a SIM card. Another sense of humour failure! She had no luck with her MasterCard either: only VISA works.
An excellent road from Bobo to Dégoulou (about 180 km), then red track for 80 km, not too bad (able to do about 40km/hr).
On arrival at Toma where vegetation is much less copious than near Bobo we met Hester and Sérafim (Heter’s son and Pierre / Janine’s filleul) at her “bar” in the main street.
We met “our” children: very difficult. They were very shy, hardly spoke, were reluctant to look one in the eye. They had drinks and supper with us. They ate like horses but still did not talk much. We took them home in 2 cars with me carrying Rose’s bicycle and her but there was still not much conversation!
10 November, 2009
Burkina Faso D25
Toma – Ouagadougou
D 192 km
Dep 0900 Arr 1330 T 4h30’
Lodging: Hermitage
Sun, little cloud (37-38C)
The Abbé Pierre, who runs the Centre Marial, took us to the “Jardin de Marie” where he has built more accommodation: a house with 3 bedrooms, shower and sitting room. The building was all right but the quality of the work was poor.
There is a garden with tomatoes (in season), ground nuts, red currents, mangoes and other plants. It has considerable potential. Water comes from 2 “forages” (= boreholes).
We drove to Ouaga: 90 km by track which was not good. There was an excellent road from Koudougou for 100 km.
We met Josef at a Shell station at the entrance to Ouaga (near traffic lights). He will arrange the sale of the cars. However, at his “garage” and “car wash” he achieved nothing today – when he was supposed to have them washed and cleaned. We now have to deliver the cars for all this tomorrow and there is to be a buyer’s viewing.
We had a very good meal at the “Hermitage” (F5000/night) after Dominique, Danielle, and Colette arrived on time. At the airport meeters and greeters are not allowed in: they wait outside.
Rooms at the Hermitage are basic but clean (recently repainted). Run by Denis (0026 70 37 56 87 ).
11 November, 2009
In Burkina Faso D26
At Bouassa, Ougadougou
Sun (37-38C)
Breakfast in the early morning shade (25C) was quite pleasant. Then we went into Ouaga, the polluted city!
The cars went in for washing and cleaning: later they were immaculate. Viewings by potential buyers took place while Charmian and I were in the town centre trying to get cash on a MasterCard (impossible) and an airline ticket (possible but only with a cash payment).
At lunchtime we went to the Centre Artisanal where there were very skilfully made tablecloths, mobiles, metalwork, drums, shirts, dresses..... Charmian bought a calabasse and a bread-basket. (On arrival at home we discovered the calabasse had been broken before we had even bought it. The “room” where we bought it was quite gloomy.)
Dinner chez “Les Bonnes Soeurs” at “L’eau vive” (there are several in France and one or 2 in other countries, eg Spain).
Georges Villepin and the rest of this year’s party (8) arrived with the most colossal amount of baggage. We had a celebratory drink at a bar near the airport (it lasted far too long).
12 November, 2009
Toma D27
Ougadougou – Toma
Km 312109 D 207 km (incl within Ouaga)
Centre Marial
Sun (38C)
Another open air breakfast (25C) at 07h30, then into Ouaga for Josef to get buyers to look at our cars. Eventually both Pierrres sold theirs; I await news about mine but there is a potential buyer at F700000 (=E1068), an offer I have accepted. Josef now has to fix it up. As we departed Ouaga at 13h00 and arrived Toma at 18h30 in the dark.
We had to obtain visas for Mali which took some 3 hours to prepare while we out in the town.
13 November, 2009
Toma D 28
At Toma
Sun (37 – 38)
There was a sorting of all clothes, shoes and other items brought for the children. There are a lot of items. We have brought a good quantity for our 2 in the car.
Near the centre of Toma there is a “depot”, filled with water bowsers and hand- or domkey-push / pull carts. These bear Rotary International and SOHEL logos. They have been there for less than one year. Why have they not been distributed? (Although they have been there for several months – see tyres deflating – an earlier consignment was distributed. The man who organised this, Charles Ky, was killed in a motor cycle accident and his replacement, if any, has yet to consign the present stock.)
We tried to visit Germania in the “bank” but she was out. We did visit the CAF (Centre d’A???? et de Formation), the church (which is big), Hester’s bar, the épicerie, the resto Prestige where we had supper in the evening.
I updated the blog in the afternoon (498 visitors to date), worked out how much money to borrow for the rest of our trip (which equals the air fare).
Pierre S’s Mercedes problem was identified (contact de stop) and a part is being sent from Ouaga (on the daily bus). My 205 appears to be sold: Josef is taking money off the buyer. I will believe it when I have the money!
Various children came by in the afternoon but not ours. Gilbert disclosed that he had left at home all the things he had put by for his girl!
We had supper at the Prestige. Zacharie was more talkative; Rose started well but did not say a lot and spoke very softly. She threw her chicken bones on the ground when she did want them any more. At the end of supper (2045 hrs) they were quite happy to cycle off into the night to go home. In Europe I would never dream of letting 2 children of their age go home alone but in Toma it is quite normal.
13 November, 2009
Filed under: Africa
Banfora – Bobo-Dioulasso – Toma – Ouagadougou – Toma
At Banfora in a very comfortable hotel with its exotic garden in a lively town.
In the evening we met up in a bar in a dusty street opposite a small boutique where a group was playing: drums, wooden balafon (resembles a xylophone), then one or 2 dancers in the street. A very African atmosphere of course, and, above all, afterwards when the group pestered me for a beer “to encourage them”. (We had already encouraged them!)
On 9th November, as planned, we arrived at Toma, a town spread out with dark brown buildings often wattle and daub. Lodgings with the abbot in the Centre Marial; meeting and meal with our sponsored children. There was a certain shyness with the children amongst whom were some who did not not know their “godparents” because this was their first meeting. Janine explained that it would be better at the next meeting.
The next day Colette, Danielle and Dominique arrived by plane at Ouagadougou where we spent the day. Then, on 10th November 8 more people from the Gers and the President of the Association, Georges, arrived. Thus, finally, we were 17 altogether to spend a few days at Toma.
A small difficulty for us: the purchase of an air ticket has to be done with cash. Bank cards are not accepted! Therefore, we had to find an ATM to have cash – but MasterCard did not work, nor did the other cards we had except one (VISA), but with a limited withdrawal amount.....Finally, we managed and we can escape by plane.
Last evening a few people found the heat in their dormitory difficult to bear so there was a debate in the morning about finding another place to sleep. This evening we are having a meal with our children.
Daily distances: D23 85km, D24 263km, D25 192km
Total distance to Toma : 7602 km
14 November, 2009
Toma D 29
At Toma
Sun (37-38C)
“On n’est jamais à l’abri de l’imprévu en Afrique.”
Two events give rise to the use of this expression today: Rose, we discovered, has a 2 month old baby boy, named Aimé Astrid; after supper a funeral party of about 20 turned up to stay in dormitories (very close to where Dominique and Vérinique are sleeping outside in their beds under mosquito nets). The body, fortunately, has been taken to the family home (it is supposed!).
Pierre’s car is not fixed so he is to drive on his own to Ouaga on Monday (today is Saturday). I offered to go with him but he refused. Thus, our programme remains unchanged.
Zacharie arrived at 10 am and Rose after 11 am, both having been to school for about 3 hours. Both seemed pleased with their clothes, etc given to them.
After lunch with them we visited their homes and met their mothers. Zacharie’s mother spoke no French, only Burkinabé. She hastened to put on a smart dress which had been hanging on the clothes line.
We were invited into the house; 3 rooms (about 30 – 40 sq m) and a small garden enclosed by a wall and surrounded by millet fields.
At Rose’s house there were at least 5 separate buildings, a small garden all enclosed by a wall. This is in the town.
We met Rose’s mother, Elodie, Rose’s grandmother and her grandfather (mother’s side). Elodie is the daughter of André-Marie Ky (and Charles – Aimé Ky, deceased in 2008). André – Marie runs the Association in Toma; selects which children are t have sponsorship (parrains / marraines) and keeps the reocord of marks of the children in school, whether they stop school, become pregnant, etc.
Germaine is the banker (in the Mutuel).
Zacharie’s mother is Perpetie Toé (but was married to M Foro, who has died). His sisters are: Odette Foro (who lives in the house) and Léonie Foro and baby, Maimouna Ouedraoya.
Rose’s baby (2 months) is Aimé – Astrid, a boy (in spite of the name being a girl’s name).
Rose and Zacharie came for supper. When we took Rose home through the town centre it was filled with people talking, drinking....
15 November, 2009
Toma D30
At Toma
Sun (37C)
Mass took place between 07h30 and 09h40, very well attended with all the women and many men well dressed.
Our children met us and we went to the market which is quite reasonable on Sundays. I bought Zacharie some trainers (F4500) and Rose a skirt and shoes (F8000), and Charmian’s flip-flops. Rose brought her baby with her.
Today “the Lunch” took place after 6 girls had danced extremely well for us. What was not good: the adults sat in front of all the children; the children ahd to eat a pasta and meat dish with their hands (no spoons or forks were provided).
What was good was that there drinks all round (eventually), the discipline of the children, well behaved. There were good speeches by Georges Villepin and Janine Souchon (now deputy president) ( a speech without notice), and an average address by the local “president” of the Association.
In the evening Rose and baby and Zacharie and various other children (Sérafim the Younger, Sérafim the Elder, Aurélie, Benoit) had supper with us. Zacharie, to whom I gave a wind-up torch, is improving all the time.
At supper I thanked Pierre and Janine for their of the trip and everything else they had done.
16 November, 2009
Burkina Faso to Mali D31
Toma - Bandiagara
Km 312377 D 363 km
Dep 0640 Arr 1815 T 11h35’
Hotel le Cheval Blanc
Sun, veiled (38C)
“Life is never dull” Charmian wrote in her evening text. Why? We had 3 punctures in 140 km and 2 replacement tyres at Ouahigouya. The first puncture was 25 km, repaired later on but the tyre went flat 20 km from Ouahigouya. The other rear tyre went flat too and was completely worn out so the “spare” had to be blown up sufficiently to enable us to reach a “boutique” in Ouahigouya. Two replacement tyres were fitted (F25000) and have held out so far.
We drove some 300 km on track today and a lot was bad.
At lunch about 30 children turned up and watched us eat. We shared our brad with them – but all the little hands wanted a piece.
Eventually we reached Bandiagara at 18h15. Frontier formalities were painless and me mentioning that I was in the military to the Mali gendarme saw us sail through very quickly, thus overtaking about 10 Frenchmen They could be useful in the future.
The nice hotel is very original. We sleep in a stone “igloo”. The rest of the group have gone in the 4x4 to the “Pays Dogon”. We skirted round it to reach Bandiagara.
17 November, 2009
Mali D 32
Bandiagara – Mopti
Km 312736 D 72 km
Hotel: Y a pas de problem hotel
Sun, slightly hazy (30-32C)
This is Mopti: the River Niger, wide and slow flowing; women washing, naked, in the river; women washing clothes in the river; men swimming in the river; men peeing in the river; goats being washed in the river prior to ritual killing; a cow decapitated beside the river - all within a distance of 200m of each other.
As one walks along from out of the shadows appears a man to sell someting. One asks hi to go away but still he follows, babbling away. After he finally leaves us another appears, and so on.
Mopti boasts a new mosque: quite impressive and like the Palais de Tall in Bandiagara. They are small buildings with spiked castlelations. The people seem to be of Christian and Muslim faith predominantly.
Our hotel rejoices in the name of “Y a pas de problem hotel”. We used the pool and garden in the afternoon. Charmian bought some BBQ spiesses for F5000 (=E7.60) after hard bargaining for some of a different design and metal for which the seller wanted F60000!.
Several groups were using the hotel: Russian, Scandinavian. I updated the blog.
18 November, 2009
Mali D 33
Mopti – Bandiagara
Km 312810 D 76 km
Hotel Le Kambary – Cheval Blanc
Dep 0830 Arr 1000 T 1h30’
Hazy, sun, wind
In Bandiagara a Dogon chief’s walking stick: wood “calcédra”, black and carved. The vendor sold it because the chief needed the money. I paid F12000 (reduced from F15000). (It was subsequently broken during our flight to Paris but Charmian glued it together and it seems all right.)
In the afternoon we relaxed by the pool for a while and I swam in it. It was just a hole carved in the rock to a rectangular shape. It was not lined, was of natural colour, thus dark, and its bottom was of irregular depth, but the water was clean, brought up from a borehole.
18 November, 2009
Filed under: Africa
One is always at the mercy of the unexpected in Africa. Three examples: first, when we met one of our children she disclosed that she had a 2 month old baby boy, at the age of 15; a funeral procession arrived at our lodgings in Toma at 10 o’clock at night ( fortunately the body had already been left with the family); third, after we had separated from our friends early on Moday morning (16 Nov) we had 3 punctures within 140km (after travelling some 8000km without such a problem!).
At Toma the meetings and meals with our children (and others) improved all the time as their inhibitions reduced. We met their mothers and other family members and visited their houses. All were very welcoming. On Sunday there was a big lunch for all the sponsored children - some 140 (out of 170) turned up - and we were entertained by a group of 6 young girls who danced extremely well for us.
The entire group of adults had brought from France a lot of clothes and shoes and other items which were given to the children.
Pierre S’s Mercedes developed a problem: sticking accelerator, so he had to go to Ouagadougou to have it fixed. On Monday we split up: Charmian and I to go to Bandiagara and Timbuctoo, the others to the Pays Dogon, all in Mali.
To reach Bandiagara from Toma necessitated 300km of red, dusty track, a lot of which was poor quality (30-40 km/hr) but the hotel in Bandiagara is good. All the rooms are in separate stone "igloos", air - conditioned too.
In Mopti, 70 km from Bandiagara, one is forever pestered by people wanting you to use them for something: buy a bracelet, a chech, go on a boat trip on the Niger, visit the cliffs of the Pays Dogon, sell your car…..
At Mopti the River Niger and swamp is vast. We travelled through swamp country for 6 km before reaching the town and river bank. Whole villages are on small islands in the "middle" of the river. Trade plys up and down the river in narrow, pointed long boats One can go to Timbuctoo on the edge of the Sahara Desrt by boat (3 days), well recommended to us by several people.
As always the market, beside the river, is teeming with people operating from their tiny shops, or on foot, or from a small table at the road / track side. Most towns have few, if any, tarmac roads: they are tracks, usually very rough and dusty. In the wet season they would just be red mud.
The education system is virtually the same as in France but not all children in Burkina Faso go to school as their parents cannot afford the fees and uniform and books (often on loan). Life for many, probably most, is very hard yet they all seem cheerful, smile and wave as we pass and often cross the street to shake hands, saying "Bonjour" and "Bonne arrivée". Being Francophone countries French is spoken and taught (indeed in schools in Burkina Faso tuition is in French). It is quite striking that in all the time we were in Toma not a single person came out to us to demand money or a gift or pester us. Everywhere else the hand is outstretched in one form or another.
A few evenings ago, before dusk, I wandered out of our Centre (= hotel) at Toma and saw 3 small children about 100m away. They saw me, there was a pause, cautiously they waved at me, I waved back and immediately they rushed towards me, the red dust rising as their bare feet scampered across the open space - just to shake hands. Having done that, all smiles, they wandered off.
19 November, 2009
The move to Timbuktu D34
Bandiagara – Timbuktu
Distance about 350 km
Dep 0915 Arr 1820 T 9h05’
Hotel La Colombe
Sun, hazy, wind
We were collected by Ibrahim, accompanied by Boubakar, in a 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser (16cv) to go to Timbuktu. Boubakar is the owner / guide of the vehicle. After seeing all was well he went off, leaving Ibrahim to drive us as arranged.
We took the track to Kendié, Borko and the N16. The surface was awful because every 500m or so there was a dry ford crossing, to be taken at 5 – 10 km/h. However, at one point there was a tremendous view, looking down 2-3000 ft to the valley floor. Visibility was poor due to dust blown up by the wind. It took over 3 hours to reach Douentza (about 90 km on track and 40 km on a bad road). My plan of going via Sangha was scotched by Boubakar because it would be too slow and I wanted to be in Timbuktu in one day.
After a short stop in Douentza we started on the track to the Timbuktu ferry: 195 km which took 3 ½ hours. The ferry crossing was 70 minutes - and we were lucky to find it waiting for us: 3 vehicles only. It was the last ferry of the day.
In 195 km of track, rocky and sandy, we met 8 vehicles going the other way. We were 3 vehicles on the ferry and a few foot passengers. After the ferry there was a tarmac road for 10 km to Timbuktu with its sandy streets.
All along the track from Douentza there animals: goats, donkeys, 1 or 2 camels, and occasionally people. There were millet fields, some sorghum and, near water, onions. Mostly the vegetation was trees, scrub and savannah grass. There was no sand till we crossed the River Niger, just dust and stone / rocks.
There were some most impressive rock formations just outside Douentza on the track to Timbuktu.
20 November, 2009
Timbuktu D35
At Timbuktu
At 07h30 we were walking in the town but unlike other towns in Mali many shops were still closed. A new mosque is being built, financed by the Aga Khan, and a new hotel financed by Libya. There were quite a number of new and refurbished buildings giving the town the impression of being more well-off than other Mali towns. Main streets have tarmac, smaller ones are all sand.
I bought Charmian a new phone card (F2500) and postcards for her to send. A trip into the desert resulted in getting stuck in the sand. Ibrahim would not use my suggested alternative route out, but after letting down the tyres (to about 1.0 bar) we got through (and nor did he use 4 wheel drive).
We took a Touareg with us into town. In return he said we could photograph his encampment free at sunset. I decided not to go: I did not wish to be bogged in the sand in the dark!
I bought a 4m chech (F4000) to wrap around my head and have been practising. Looks good – will wear it in 2 days time when I am driving.
No internet connections worked anywhere so the blog could not be updated.
We ambled the streets, sat by our pool (foul water), decided to leave at 05h15 tomorrow, and I sat on the hotel steps to watch the passers-by.
21 November, 2009
An ambition realised D36
Timbuktu – Bandiagara
Distance about 350 km
Dep 0515 Arr 1630 T 11h15’
Hotel Le Kambery – Cheval Blanc
Sun (19 – 39C)
Since being a child Charmian has wanted to visit Timbuktu, regarded as the nd of the world. She has now realised that ambition.
We had an early start to make sure we caught the first ferry at 6am. When we arrived we were the 12th vehicle but just managed to squeeze on. It took 35 minutes to cross this time on a larger ferry.
We had a fast journey of 3 hours to Douentza, then very slow from Douentza to Bandiagara on the Pays Dogon route via Sangha (6h15’).
Some fine scenery in the Pays Dogon and curious villages. Onion plantations and many millet fields. Appalling track!
Back at Bandiagara I had a slow puncture repaired on the 205 (F500 = E0.75).
I spoke English for the first time since we left Cayssac other than to Charmian. Strange! I was asked if I was on holiday and was not quite sure how to reply. This trip has been an experience rather than a holiday!
22 November, 2009
Mali – Burkina Faso D37
Bandiagara – Ouagadougou
Km 312888 D 406 km
Dep 0550 Arr 1350 T 8h
Hotel: OK Inn
Sun
Dawn was just breaking as we left the Cheval Blanc for 230 km of track to Ouahigouya, then a very good road to Ouagadougou. The frontier crossing took 1 ½ hours but there no delays as we passed through police, customs and police again on each side and drove some 40-50 km from the first to the last check-point on each side.
At Ouaga we found our hotel eventually (on the Route de Po); the entrance is through a lorry park. Quite good but the pool was unusable (not too clean and being re-tiled around the outside).
23 November, 2009
Ouagadougou D38
At Ouagadougou
Charmian was not well all day, probably because there were ice cubes (not from bottled water) in her gazpacho soup last night.
I took the car to Josef Ky. It was sold to his younger brother for F700000 (less F35000 for organising the paperwork, and less F30000 I gave as commission to Josef (Pierre F gave F40000, Pierre S nil). As we drove into Ouaga Josef explained that with fines and duties to pay on the car it would cost close to F2m in total. Duties are based on the car’s value.
In the afternoon it took me quite some time to find a bank which had euros in stock, then it took half an hour to buy them with all the cash I now had in F.CFA.
The artisan boutiques near the Rond Point des Nations were good: I bought a shirt, offered at F12000, counter-offered at F4000, and bought at F4500.
Last night as I came in from my evening walk a woman outside said she “wanted to speak to me”. I declined. This afternoon, while awaiting a taxi, I asked the guard what she might have wanted. She was propositioning for sex, apparently. At supper (on my own) another man slid into the seat beside me saying, eventually, he could find a woman for me. I told him I was merely talking to the guard and did not require a woman as I had a wife upstairs.
23 November, 2009
Timbuktu / Tombouctou D32 - 38
Filed under: Africa
This is Mopti: the River Niger, very wide and which scarcely flows; women who bathe in it, nearly naked; women who do their washing in it; men who swim in it; men who pee in it; goats thrown into it for washing them prior to their ritual killing; a cow decapitated on the bank of the river - and all this within a distance of 200m!
We were walking along the river bank when a man appeared from the shadows and who wanted to sell us something. We said no, asked him to leave us but he accompanied us for some way whispering about all the things he could do for us. After he had finally left us alone another man appeared, and we went through the same ritual…..
Our hotel in Mopti rejoices in the name of “The no problem hotel” ("Y a pas de problème hotel"). Strange name - particularly when the electricity does not work!
We reached Timbuktu after 9 hours on the road on Thursday, 19th November, 2009. A very long track (195 km as far as the ferry) during which we passed only 8 vehicles going the other way. Crossing over the River Niger by ferry in 70 minutes, arrival after dusk.
A mythical town at the edge of the desert: a richer town than others we have seen in Mali: new and repaired buildings, a few proper shops, and less people to pester us!
We made a short trip into the desert where the experience of getting bogged in the sand did not escape us! We met a Touareg in the desert, took him into town and he invited us to return to his encampment to take pictures (free) at sunset but the possibility of bogging in again prevented me from accepting.
Timbuktu is a place where the majority of goods come from elsewhere either in convoys of loaded lorries crossing the desert, or on camels (less than previously), or by river, or by track.
Two nights in Timbuktu fulfilled Charmian’s ambition, that is to visit this spot established centuries ago on the edge of the Sahara. I say a mytical town but there is nothing mythical about it. It is a dynamic town of 36000 inhabitants, visited by many tourists who arrive by bus, truck, car, plane, pirogue and who provide the town with quite good income.
We left Timbuktu on Saturday, 21 November at dawn. We travelled across the Pays Dogon, still in Mali, where the Dogon Malians live either in cliffs or in villages at the foot of the cliffs. What a track! We returned to Bandiagara from where, next day, we sped to Ouagadougou in our own car in preparation for our departure from Burkina Faso.
The African experience nears its end, but it is not over until the fat lady sings! With a day to go and then actually leaving the continent I still remember that one is always at the mercy of the unexpected.
A bientot…from France!
24 November, 2009
Ouagadougou D39
At Ouagadougou
Sun
Charmian was better but delicate, not eating much: an omelette at lunch only.
We visited the artisan centre by the Rond Point des Nations. We bought 12 spiess (BBQ spikes), stretch frames and an awalé crocodile. I bought shoes next to the gare routière. The latter was a sight! Total shambles, vehicles overloaded and in poor order.
Our taxi driver, Madi, was the recipient of various items we did not need, and he took us to the airport (F5000) at 23h45. Getting to the departure “lounge” was a trial: 6 passport checks, form filling, police “interrogation”, and a 7th passport check before getting on the plane.
25 November, 2009
Burkina Faso – France D40
Ouagadougou – Paris
Dep Ouaga 0330 Arr Paris 1215
Hotel Le Jardin des Plantes
Cloud, rain, 11C in Paris
We had a good flight (departure at 03h40) to Casablanca (3h15’) but had a 40 minute wait to disembark at Casablanca, with no explanation.
The flight to Paris was fine (2h45). We arrived in heavy rain, the first arin we had seen for 4 weeks.
The hotel is good but expensive – but it is Paris!
Charmian said to me as we were enjoying a kir and hot chocolate in abrasserie in Paris:
“I feel as if I’ve just come back from Timbuktu!”
Said without reflection.
As I looked at the wealth of Paris and compared it with the Ouaga of a few hours ago I feel a pang of melancholy. The continents are worlds apart and life in Africa is very, very hard for most people.
26 November, 2009
Home D41
Paris – Cayssac
Dep 1020 Arr 1715 T 6h55’
Cloudy, rain
A small breakfast in a café near the hotel preceded our short walk to the Gare d’Austerlitz.
The express train delivered us to Brive in 4 hours. There was a 2 hour wait before our train for Gramat where Brigitte was waiting to take us home.
Heating on, all well – we had returned! What an adventure, experience but not really a holiday!
27 November, 2009
Filed under: Africa
We were sitting in a brasserie adjacent to the Blvd St Michel in Paris drinking kirs when Charmian said to me:
“I feel as if I have just come back from Timbuktu!” indicating she really felt she just come from the remotest part of the world.
The unexpected did not happen on our last 2 days in Burkina Faso but getting out was a trial. Seven different inspections of our passports took place, but we were allowed out! At Casablanca there was a 40 minute delay in letting passengers off the plane, but the trip to Paris went smoothly and we encountered quite heavy rain on arrival, the first we had seen for some 5 weeks. In Africa it was day after day of hot sun….
A car trip of 24 days to our destination shrank into less than 8 hours flying time for our return.
Memories there will be:
Touching for a moment the lives of “our” children with whom we will continue to correspond;
The real problems of the daily struggle for food in Mauretania, Mali and Burkina Faso for numerous people;
Travelling countless kilometres on tracks because roads do not exist both in towns and country;
The welcome we received from many people along the way just wanting to say hello;
And also the upturned hand and demands for a gift from some individuals including officials and small children….
to name but a few.
As I stood on the ferry crossing the River Niger returning from Timbuktu an English woman addressed me (apart from speaking to Charmian I had not had a conversation in English since we left home at least 5 weeks previously) and asked me if I was there on holiday. I had not thought of our voyage in Africa as a holiday: I preferred to call it “an experience” – which it has certainly been – and, on reflection, an education.
Some statistics:
Total distance travelled in Peugeot 205: 9372 km
Diesel bought: 415.39 litres
Fuel consumption: 22.56 km / litre
or: 4.43 l / 100 km
Cost (see Africa expenses 2009): E6332
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