Hippos and Crocs and Monkeys, Oh My!

One driving day, we ended up bush camping on a sacred hippo reserve and in the morning, we went to see the hippos.

Nine of us got into the boat and one by one, six guides piled into the back and started pushing us out into the lake.




Hippo lake!

It didn't take long until we spotted us some hippopotamus. They lurked in the water almost daring us to come closer.












They splashed around, opened their mouths (which is pretty impressive), and just lounged about. I was amazed by how huge they were, even from a distance.




Purty... See any hippos?


The same day in the evening, we went to another 'sacred' lake for crocodiles.


"I'ma getcha!"




Yawnnnnnnn...

Our guide showed us to a croc who was lying in the sun. Then he sat on it! I was surprised and then even more surprised when he asked us if any of us wanted a try. And, really, how many times in your life are you going to sit on a live crocodile?




In my head I was thinking, 'Please don't wake up!'




Sharlene and her croc

Then the finale came. With him our guide had brought two live chickens who were destined to meet their maker.


Poor, poor chickies




Dinner time :(





I didn't wake up that morning thinking I would meet a crocodile and probably neither did the chickens...

Just yesterday, we went to a village that as a community project, protects and takes care of the monkeys. On our monkey walk, we learned that the monkeys were considered sacred and it is illegal to kill or harm a monkey. They are treated like people and have people funerals.mThey even had their own grave yard.









These monkeys were so cute and good natured. We were given a few peanuts each so they would come right up to us and we could feed them.




Mommy and baby







I made a friend!




Three monkeys :)




Hello!

After seeing the monkeys we walked around the village called Boabeng Fiema.





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Bamako and the Adventure

Here I am in our 7th African country (and 9th total for me). From England to Spain, to Morocco, to Western Sahara then Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and now Ghana, I have been traveling for over two months now. Bring on the next eight!

See how we have rerouted from the original plan:




From Senegal, where we spent Christmas and New Years, we crossed into Mali and spent 10 days Bamako. We stayed there for so long because we were were waiting for Nigerian visas which, in the end, were impossible to get in Bamako. While I was there, I went to two museums, listened to live music, went shopping in the markets, went to church, got yummy street food, wandered around the city and had some good relaxing time. We stayed at a lovely place called The Sleeping Camel, a hotel/campsite run by former overlanders, and met some great people. I definitely recommend it.




A boat in the museum



Museum artifact


I enjoyed Bamako, but after spending almost a week in one place, it got tedious. So Jenny and I left to go to Ségou, a town north-east of Bamako. And there our adventure began.

It being Sunday, we first went to a Christian church service nearby that a lady had invited Jenny to while they were both crossing the street. Everybody there was so welcoming and kind. There was dancing and singing, all of which was in French or the local language, a greeting session, a sermon, communion, tithe, and then more singing and dancing. I loved the sound of only people's voices and drums. I sang the French songs out of a booklet and clapped my way through the ones in I had no hope of understanding. The sermon was about following God's plan for your life (in French, "grand rêve" literally "big dream"). Since it was in French, one man kindly translated for us. But it was nice to know I understood a lot of the French.

After church, we took local transport to the bus station to buy bus tickets to Ségou. We were hassled by guys wanted us to go to their company and a fight almost broke out between them. Jenny and I managed to slip away.

Our plan was to get there by dinner time. We found a bus that was supposedly meant to leave at 1 o'clock. But as we are now on African time, we left around 3:30. And the three hour bus ride actually took around five. The bus was filled with locals and really well behaved babies. Every so often it would go from calm and driving to stopped on the side of the road and vendors would come on and chaos would ensue. Selling water, fruit (I bought some yummy papaya), sandwiches, bread, muffins, and frozen juice. The people make a living off the truck stops so they were super motivated. After 5 minutes, the vendors pile off and we started driving in silence again. We arrived in Ségou just after 8pm. The heat had taken away any appetite so we set about finding our place to sleep.

Jenny and I ended up sleeping in a Catholic mission recommended by the Rough Guide. The hostel dorms we stayed in cost us only 4 USD each (and we had the whole dorm to ourselves too!) The whole place looked old like a castle.

After a nun showed us to the dorms and gave us the key, we got situated, talked to two French couples and went back to the room. We closed the door somehow the door got locked/jammed and we couldn't get out. We were locked in a Catholic Mission! After a good 20 minutes of trying our best to open the door, Jenny called the number in the guide book and, in her best French, tries to explain we were calling from inside the dorm, we were stuck, and could they come and let us out? Its a good story now but pretty embarrassing then when we were rescued.


That horrible door




Jenny and the door



Dorm



Catholic Mission grounds



Entry gate


We left the next day and went into the main part of town. It was nice to have a relaxed change of scenery to the hustle and bustle of Bamako. We had breakfast and walked along the Niger River and throughout the markets. We left to go back by bus to Bamako later in the afternoon and got back to the Sleeping Camel by 7:00pm, tired but happy for our adventure. Aaahh, home sweet camel :)

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St. Louis

The day after Christmas, the 26th, I got to go into St. Louis. Since our campsite is pretty far out of town, we took a taxi to get there but it was worth it.

Senegal was colonized by the French and parts of St. Louis has a distinct French Riviera feel to it. Much of the city is on an island and you have to cross a bridge to get there.




Houses along the water.



The bridge connecting the island to the mainland (mainland on the left and the island is on the right.)




Me on the bridge.


After looking around the city, meeting up with the flashpackers (our name for those who stayed in town) and going through the market, we went out for drinks then started walking and searching for a place to eat dinner.

We came to a little restaurant and stopped. The place itself wasn't so impressive. It didn't look like much nor was the menu spectacular. But what we heard was some amazing live music.

Inside were 5-7 men. One was singing and he had a unique, solid, raspy voice. Another was playing the marimba and others were playing drums, some sort of stringed instruments, and other instruments I don't have a name for.

They were incredible! I took video but I'll have to upload it at a later time- the wifi connections here are pretty slow. But here are a few pictures:




The blurry guy is the singer (who is blurry because he was dancing). To his right is the marimba player. Others are playing drums and various instruments.



Toni and Judith dancing with Michael enjoying the music.




This was the first time we heard authentic African live music. And the day was very appropriate- my dad's birthday was on the 26th and he always wants to listen to live music on his birthday. Happy Birthday Dad!

I bought one of their CDs and learnt their name is Africa Tempo. The drummer and singer both autographed it for me- and the singer gave me his number. It felt a little tame after the five odd marriage proposals I got walking in the markets in Mauritania ;).



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Oink, Oink, Oink, Merry Christmas!

We made it to St. Louis, Senegal for Christmas! And let me tell you: I am so glad we did. Of course, anywhere we were, we would have had a nice Christmas but this camp site is fantastic. And Christmas was lovely. But I don't want to get ahead of myself, I'll start from the beginning.

We crossed the border from Mauritania into Senegal on the 23rd. It took quite a few hours. Border crossing aren't really a walk in the park and a few bribes had to be paid.

We drove into St. Louis and stayed for an hour. Eight people from our group left the truck to stay in town for the five nights we're here and I changed some money (the currency is the CFA). Then we drove to our campsite, which is about 20 km out of town.

The next day, Christmas Eve, we had breakfast and then did a truck clean. We always wash dishes after each meal but this was more like a spring clean. We took everything out, scrubbed everything down and left it all nice and clean for Christmas. Then the rest of the day was free.

Imagine palm trees, hammocks, sand, swimming, kayaking, 80 F degree weather with a tropical breeze, cold drinks, and sleeping under the stars and you have this campsite. By far my favorite.

Christmas day, my alarm clock consisted of Nancy jumping on me at 8:15 saying "It's Christmas! It's Christmas! Merry Christmas Baby!" I woke up.

We had breakfast and and opened the stockings Santa (in cahoots with helper elf Nancy) had left. Only they weren't stockings- they were Santa hats hanging from the palm trees. After that, we played white elephant.



A few of the "stockings".




Kay, Michael, and Kris at breakfast time.




My stocking, filled with treats and goodies.





Jaquie, Michael, and Nancy and all the gifts under our tree.





Nancy, Anna, Judith, and Jenny


Our two Christmas pigs were delivered. That's right- TWO.

Steve used to be a butcher so he prepared the piggies:







Tasty, huh?









The piggies were spit roasted them from morning to 5 o'clock.




Steve and Kris with the piggies.




Roasted piggies.





Steve, Anna, and Kris pulling the piggies off the spit.




Carving the piggies.


We ate around 5 o'clock and had our party the rest of the night. Merry Christmas!



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Mauritania

Against the FCO warning, we travelled through Mauritania. Because it is a dangerous place to be (us Americans barely got our visas), we had to travel quickly. We had one night in Nouahdibou, three nights in Nouakchott, and one night bush camping near the Senegalese border.




Camels after crossing the border


My favorite place was the capitol, Nouakchott. We camped very close to the center and the main market. I was surprised at how, if I wanted, I could get anything there. There were so many things. Need a traditional dress or a Hannah Montana backpack? Go to Nouakchott!

There was also the veggie and fruit section and the meat market. The night I was on cook group, we bought some beef (to make beef stew) from the market. Next to said meat flew hundreds of swarms of flies, a few goat heads, and various animals innards. It was sketchy looking meat at best. I was concerned but nobody got sick because of it.




A small part of the market


After being in Morocco, which was a combination of more western and middle eastern culture, I can definitely sense we are in sub-Saharan Africa here.

On a separate and slightly strange note, I ate at a super burger place called Ali Baba's. It was literally the best burger I have ever eaten. I certainly never thought that I would find that in Mauritania.

I sat up on the beach for the first time too!




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