Heading home from Mali

We arrived back in Bamako Monday afternoon and returned to the Sleeping Camel. We had thought to try one of the other places as recommended to us by fellow travellers but Chris was feeling very unwell and we wanted somewhere easy to find. Last time we were here it was very crowded and noisy but we are the only overlanders here and the place is almost empty. The only noisy things are the bats but we are so used to living with their loud squeaks and shrill shrieks that it no longer bothers us. Bats seemed to get bigger the further we travelled: in Tamale, Ghana they looked like flying foxes and were out swooping around even during the day when they were not hanging upside down in the trees above us,

Since my last long post in Kumasi our first task was to escape the city without going directly through the centre and the chaos of the market. We managed to set off in the right direction to get on to the bypass only to find it was one big roadworks so it took just as long. After that, progress was good but on the main national road south - north every small settlement has multi big rumble strips and at least 2 huge roadhumps so we have to virtually stop to go over them. We had thought we would stop overnight in Techiman (the home of Ghana Nuts!) but with more than an hour of daylight left, we set off on the road to Wa. We were pleasantly surprised with the road quality and the picturesque scenery, and no more speed humps. Before dark we came to a larger town called Wenchi where they had 2 hotels advertised off the main road. They took a bit of finding down rough back streets, the worst tracks we have seen as in places the road was washed away. The first one we came to was very smart, with a beautiful garden to sit out in, air conditioned reception advertising free internet and expensive rooms. We asked if we could park in their carpark overnight and offered a good payment for doing so but were firmly refused. They had no other guests so we couldn't understand the logic. Anyway we eventually found our way to the older big hotel down an even worse track and it was hideous. By then it was dark so we had to retrace our tracks rather than trying an alternative as we could not see low hanging wires. There were frogs hopping about in the road in our headlights. Back on the main road we decided to use the new filling station forecourt as our night's stop and that worked out fine, if a little noisy with Friday night traffic and goats.

On Saturday I was not feeling particularly well (a virus I think) so was not up to doing any driving on the really good road. We had a short stop in a village called Banda Nkwanta where they had an old mud and stick mosque and we were offered a tour by the future tribal 'king' nick-named Japan Boy. To raise funds for the upkeep the village had opened the mosque to tourists, including women. It was all very low key and I really enjoyed seeing the inside, hearing a brief history and climbing on to the roof through a very small hole while balancing on steep steps. We passed the turnings to Bui National Park, the Wechiau Hippo Sanctuary and a sacred crocodile lake but we did not feel like leaving the lovely paved road to trundle down dirt tracks. The hardsurface eventually gave out 80 kms before the border so we were back to slow going. Chris had driven over 400 kms in the heat (42C) by the time dusk was approachig. We only had another 16 kms to Hamile, or Hamale, on the border with Burkina Faso, so we stopped for the night at another filling station but this time it was still being built and there were workmen on site all night for security. We were woken next morning when they were trying to bump start their tractor. The only charge - Chris bought the men a beer as one of them had gone off on his bicycle to get some for us when we arrived.

It took an hour to drive the last stretch to the border on rough dirt road but after an early morning rush of heavy traffic it was very quiet. We were through both border formalities by 9am. We had successfully used our Visa de l'Entente to re-enter Burkina. There was a good new road all the way from the border direct to Bobo Dialassou, then back on to the Trans Sahelian Highway. By then Chis was really suffering from heat exhaustion and I was better so I did a lot of the driving. We were at the Mali border at Koloko at 3.40pm and no question about our expired visas from before. We decided to find a hotel in Sikasso so Chris could get a proper rest in cooler conditions as the vehicle heats up so much during the day when driving continously. There were a lot of mosquitos in the room and the net provided had holes so we were pleased to be able to use our own. I left Chris to sleep while I made myself something to eat.

We arrived at Hotel Tata, Sikasso almost at the same time as Maurizio, the Swiss cyclist we had met at the Zebra Bar at Christmas. I met up with him later to hear of his travels. He had continued south in Senegal, then to Gambia, the Cassamance, Guinea Bissau and Guinea, then on his way from Bamako to Ouaga via Sindou and Banfora to be in Cotonou, Benin by the end of March, then onwards to Nigeria.

Chris was still feeling pretty rough in the morning so once out of town I did all the driving to Bamako. There is always so much interest on the roads: people walking and cycling, often with strange loads, small buses packed to the roof, schoolchildren in their smart uniforms, villages with thatched houses and compounds, women pounding millet or mashing yams, roadside stalls with wood fires for cooking, pots being stirred or meat barbecued, pumping water and washing at wells, markets and people travelling to them (for family - yesterday I saw women with large loads on their heads walking along the main road to market, the distance from Castleton to Hathersage or Chagford to Moreton). I have seen a motorbike with a bundle of goats in a net, bicycles festooned with live hens and guineafowl, a cow sitting tied to the top of a full-sized bus and sheep stuffed in the back of cars. Then there are people holding up their hunting catch for sale: partridge, rabbits, lizards or more frequently ground sqirrels or rats spreadeagled on wooden 'skewers'. When driving, you always have to be alert for broken down lorries and buses, with leaves and branches placed in the road as a warning.

I am relieved to say that Chris is much better (still shaggy haired - I did exagerrate a bit about the ponytail, Paul!) This morning we left early to find the Mauretanian Embassy through the busy traffic of Bamako. I had fogotten how many mopeds there are. With our visa applications in for collection tomorrow, we then went to the Police Immigration Office to extend our Mali visas from our first visit at very little cost, so we were pleased we hadn't wasted time in Accra getting new ones. Our application had to be accompanied by a letter and fortunately there was another European who gave us his letter to copy the wording. We bought some provisions at the nearby supermarket and had cheese and pickle sandwiches for lunch. All being well we should leave here tomorrow afternoon ater collecting our passports and visas.