2 years in Senegal

I have just about reached the 2 year point in Senegal, and it astounds me how quickly the time has passed. Yesterday, I returned to my village after being away for four weeks. First I did a two week trip to Mali in which I saw Bamako (one of my favorite cities now) and spent time in Dogon Country, a picturesque region in Mali in which reside the Dogon people.

I took a bus directly from Kaolack (in Senegal) to Bamako, picking up my friend Nate on the way to the border. While the bus ride was long (about 24 hours), it was about as painless as such a bus journey could be. It was interesting to be unable to communicate with the locals though- given that I speak Wolof in Senegal, I can communicate with almost everybody here. Or at least, I can communicate with somebody no matter where I go. But in Mali, Bambara is the most common language, though there exist so many different languages that in general, French is the lingua franca in the big towns. My French has deteriorated quite drastically since I came to Senegal, due to the fact that I so rarely have to speak it. It started to improve again in Mali though.

Bamako is a sleepy town, and the people were more easygoing than they are in Dakar. Whenever I go to Dakar, I am on edge, feeling as if people are trying to scam me. I never had that feeling in Bamako. We spent two days there in order to extend our border-issued visas, then we proceeded to Dogon country, again by bus. I honestly believe that inorder to truly know a place, when traveling through it, one must travel in the same way as the locals and truly interact with the locals. In Africa, that means taking the buses and minivans rather than hiring out 4x4s or taking planes. It just makes the trip that much more colorful. On the busride to Sevare, the town where we were to meet our guide for Dogon Country, there were people making tea on charcoal ovens inside the bus itself, just by the exit. Try to imagine that happening in the West. Each time the bus stopped, we were besieged by eager Malians trying to sell us snacks and cool drinks. The route to Sevare loosely follows the route of the Niger river.

We finally arrived about 10 hours after we left Bamako, went to our guide's house, showered, and slept. The next morning, we went to Mopti, a nearby town on the river itself, and wandered around for a while. There were LOADS of tourists, and apart from the fact that the town was on the river, there was nothing special. In the afternoon, the guide drove us to the trailhead in DogonCountry, a village called Kani-Kombole, just at the bottom of a cliff.

Dogon Country is situated around a series of cliffs and hills known as the Falaise de Bandiagara. There are Dogon villages situated both at the bottom and top of these cliffs, and some dwellings in the cliffs themselves, much like the cliff dwellings (formerly known as the Anasazi) in the American Southwest. There is sparse vegetation, though I'm sure it gets really lush during the rainy season.

Our first morning in Dogon Country saw us hiking first to the village of Tele, where we had lunch and were given a tour of the cliff-side dwellings by our guide Oumar. The climb up to the cliff-side dwellings was no joke. I suspect that the people who had to pull water from wells at the bottom of the cliff and then carry it up to their huts within the cliff were both stoic and strong as hell.

We rested in Teli, then continued to the village of Ende, where we spent the night. The next morning, we continued on the trail. After about a two hour hike, we stopped for lunch at a village whose name escapes me. We rested for a little while, then did a 9 km hike up the cliffs. This hike was perhaps the highlight of the whole trip- the hike took us up the cliff and through a stretch of trees and vines that made me think of the rainforest (though I know that it was nothing like a true rainforest). Near the top, the terrain leveled out again, and we came to a clearing between two hills that was cool and lush with gardens. The Dogon were gardening onions, tomatoes, eggplant, tobacco, and other plants, using water from a nearby stream to irrigate their gardens. Eventually we came to the village of Bagnimato at the very top of the cliff. The view from the top of the cliff was one of the most spectacular views I have ever seen. We took photos, then had some dinner with our guide. We also tried out some local millet beer to celebrate, though it must be said that the beer takes an acquired taste.

The next morning, we awoke before sunrise to photograph it from the top of the cliff. It just happened that it was a full moon the night before, and that the moon was setting in the west just as the sun was rising in the east. It was one of the most beautiful settings I have ever experienced. I hope that the photos I took are able to capture even a small part of the beauty we saw.

After the sunrise, we went back to sleep for a little while, continued through an animist village, then hiked down the cliff. This downhill hike was scarier than the uphill hike because we had to actually look down while we were hiking. Believe me, for someone who is scared of heights like I am, this was not easy. While we were struggling down the cliffs, these two girls carrying big bowls of millet flour on top of their heads just hoppedfrom rock to rock. Though both Nate and I are in reasonable shape and are reasonably agile, these girls put us in our places.

Finally, after we got to the cliff's bottom, we had lunch in that aforementioned village with the forgotten name, then continued to Teli, where we spent the night. The next morning we continued to Kani Komboli where our guide picked up his car while Nate and I hiked up the cliff again to meet the guide at the top. That night we took the bus to Bamako, then acouple of days later, returned to Senegal.

We got off in Tambacounda, in eastern Senegal. The next night, I took the bus to Dakar, where we both had to go for our COS (Close of Service or Continuation of Service depending on how you see it) conference, which was meant to prepare us for returning to the States. During it, we were to determine the date that we would leave Senegal and begin preparations for our departure. The conference was somewhat worthwhile, but the best part of it was getting to see everyone from my stage. This was the first time that we had all been together in nearly a year and a half. From the original number of 39, only 28 remain. It was nice to hang out with people again. After that we had a technical conference with all of the volunteers in Senegal, then a weekend softball tournament.

I finally got back to the village yesterday. Having chosen April 21st as my last day here, I have a whole lot to do before then to get things ready for the volunteer who will replace me. I have to wrap up some projects, set the stage for my replacement to take over others, and figure out my goodbyes.

I also have to prepare for my post-COS travels! I will be going to Casablanca with a friend of mine, traveling around Morocco for about a week, then taking the ferry to southern Spain. When we get to Spain, we'll purchase bicycles and bike north to France, with Paris being the final destination. It's kind of intimidating to be honest, but I'm going to try to get into cycling shape in my final weeks here, while getting ahold of supplies and doing research. I would greatly appreciate any feedback that anyone has because this is the first time I've ever done a trip like this before. But it should be fun!

I will have at least one more blog entry before I leave Senegal reflecting on the lessons I've learned as a volunteer and my general impressions of Africa gained during my time here.

Until next time!