The Heart of Algeria

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****

I arrived in Algeria about 2 days ago....pretty much on my death bed :).  That "wonderful" meal I had my last day in Bamako sent my entire body into a tail spin.  It was with much help from Bamako airport officials, doctors and translators that I made it off the floor (usually in pools of my own vomit) and onto my connecting flight through Casablanca to Algers, Algeria.  I feel lucky that they even let me fly...although everyone was very convinced that it was the "poisson" I had eaten for lunch and nothing more.  Thankfully we were all right.  I now sit here in Hassi Messaoud, Algeria very healthy.  My current residence is a beautiful hotel on the base of a private company that provides logistical support for businesses that operate in oil and gas.  I am staring out into the great Sahara desert.  The landscape is dotted with oil wells and torches (flaming oil...it is lit to burn off excess in wells).  The security here is beyond compare.

A glimpse of this incredibly oil rich part of the country.

The town I am in is considered the richest in Algeria, but corruption runs rampant.

No mayor has ever made it a full term without ending in jail (tax dollars from oil always end up in their private bank accounts and not used to further infrastructure and other needs of the town...which is quite evident).

Companies like Haliburton, BP, Exxon, and Chevron call all be found here.

It is called the "Heart of Algeria" because this is where the bulk of Algeria's oil is extracted....and with all the pumping that occurs here it truly is its heart.

Before my trip, when I told people that I was going to Algeria, I was usually met with a straight face and then raised eyebrows...and then the conversation diverted elsewhere.  I guess it isn't everyday that American heads to Algeria as a tourist, but I had received an invite from a friend which seemed hard to turn down.  We have started this 10 journey about 1000 km south of Algeria in Hassi Messaoud (we took a private charter plane provided by the base I am staying at to get here) before heading more north to Batna, Biskra and then to the Mediterranean coast. Hammams, lesson on how to make couscous and basking in the sun by the Med are all part of the trip itinerary.  What I am particularly enjoying is conversation and listening to more than my own humor :)...I do enjoy traveling alone, but there is something special in sharing experiences with someone.

Our 3 hour road trip today took us out of the oil town and into midevil town of Ghardaia. This town is well preserved and works diligently to keep hold of the traditions of the M'zab people.

The town of Ghardiai is behind me.

Technically this picture should not have been taken :).

This is how the women in Ghardiai dress.  Their hayek is made from white linen.  They only allow one eye to peep through the veil so they can navigate quickly through the winding cobblestone roads of the hillside city.  They are literally like ghosts ...as soon as you see them they are gone.  They wear this attire as much for religious as traditional purposes.  The city is self sufficient in the sense that they have tried to create an insular society.  They solve thier own problems, have their own schools and marry only within the M'zab people.

One of the minarets in Ghardia.  This one was build in the 11th century.  The "new" one was built in the 13th century.  Sharia law is what is followed in this town.

Oh, how the Camel Crossing signs amused me....especially since they all seemed a little different.  Some camels had tails, some were tall, some were fat...it was like they were all hand painted......but the best part was......

When we saw a real, live, wild camel!!!

This is how he posed after we called after him. :)  Show off!

Life here on the base has been quite luxurious with food everywhere, laundry service, pool and a beautiful gym.  I have been comparing it to life on a cruise ship...but instead of in water, I am in the middle of the Sahara....and I don't have to pay for Diet Cokes or espresso :).  Frankly it has been a nice spot to recover from my 18 days in Mali :).

Tomorrow we are going to see some of the great dunes this desert has to offer....I got a small glimpse today...more pics to follow! MA'a salama ("good bye" in Arabic)





Final Mali Musings

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****

This morning as I went for a walk along the banks of the Niger River here in Bamako I said some of my final "A ni ches" (hello in Bambara) to the people of Mali I passed.  My flight to Algeria is tonight (actually at 1:25am on Friday morning...but I am going to the airport at 10pm tonight)...my visit to Mali will conclude in a few hours.

My last night in Mali was spent here. 

 This isn't one of the hotels built by Khaddafi.  Apparently Libya's "Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution" has great intrest in investing and building in Mali.  He has 3 very large hotels here in Bamako and is building another large one in Timbuktu.  I don't know the reason why.

I was suppose to have spent the last 2 nights here in Bamako, but my guide seemed to keep putting off picking me up in Segou. For 3 days he told me he was coming.  Each time the hour arrived when he said he would be there and wasn't I would get another phone call or text with a new time he would show up. Being a pretty flexible person, I rolled with it the first 5 times...but the 6th time I snapped :).  He received a pithy text from me expressing my frustration and that I would find my way back on my own...and that I didn't want anything to do with him going forward (my only major stress on this trip has been all my dealings with him).  Determined not to take the bus back to Bamako (because I see more buses on the side of the road broken down than I actually do on the road...plus they are always so piled high with cargo that they look like they will tip at any moment as they travel the piste at a near 45 degree angle...seriously!), I got up early, showered and set out to find some other taboubous who might be headed back to Bamako in a 4X4.  The minute I opened my door my little prayer was answered.  The Italian couple who I had seen in Djenne and talked to the night before in the hotel reception was walking to grab breakfast and then head back to Bamako!!  They were more than happy to take this American girl with them....ah, I could breathe a sigh of relief.  I was going to be able to leave the country afterall :)...I had been a bit worried :).  Back in the room I went to pack!

The day before in Segou I got a little lesson on how to make bogolan.  Bogolan is hand woven cotten that is dyed with leaves and/or bark of trees and then painted with mud.

The mud, although grey in the bucket before application, stains the fabric a rich black.

I was given a choice of designs to stencil on my bogolan.  My instructor told me to first chose the pattern I liked best and then he would tell me its meaning.  I picked the design that represents marriage....go figure. :).

This student was proud of her work! 

Now to go wash the mud off in the bucket outside, dry it in the sun and take it home!

My little piece of patchwork laid out with the other masterful pieces. In this cultural center for bogolan they wove the cotton by hand, dyed the cotton in pots of boiling leaves or bark over open fires and painted on the mud designs.  They also had a wonderful shop with all the finished works plus other fabulous African art from Mali.  I found a bogolan table runner and the cutest little skirt...but it was a little too small.  BUT that isn't a problem in Mali....off to the the tailor we went to make sure it fit just right!

After a quick measure and scooter ride, we ended up here.

The 20 minute tailor job, turned into 2 hours :)...but the result is an absolute perfect fit.

The skirt is a bit too short for any of my stops here in Africa...but I will give it a test run in Eurpe in a few weeks :).  It is sooo cute...and only $20 (scooter ride and custom tailoring included!)

I just finished probably the best meal I have had in Mali.  It was the local fish, capitaine, in a buerre blanc sauce with sauted local veggies and a salad (which is the first I have had in 3 weeks! Not a lot of salad eating here).  I sit here very satisfied....satisfied by a great meal and satisfied by an overwhelmingly enriching time here.  I just had a small glimpse of this wonderful country, but I leave it with great impressions.  Life in Mali is by no means a cake-walk, but there are enviable aspects.  Family and community is where life starts and stops here in Mali, elders are respected and there is always time for greeting and taking tea with friends, neighbors or those passing by.  Life is slow and basic.  Laughter and joking comes easy and the music is beautiful and soulful.

One last little story from Mali before I sign-off to leave for a part of Africa that will be completely different. Yesterday I went for a walk in my beautiful residential neighborhood to admire the colonial architecture from when the French were here (I am also surrounded by embasseys...Saudia Arabia, Tunisia, Russia).  Out on the walk I stopped in a quaint hotel that is known for its chef that was trained in France.  It was about 4:30 in the afternoon.  I placed myself at a table in the courtyard near the pool and ordered a glass of vin blanc (white wine) and a crepe with mango jam.  A few minutes passed and my server came back to me a bit shyly and asked, "Is it possible to wait a minute for your glass of wine? The bar man went to go pray."  Priceless.

Final image from Mali! 

The little kung-fo boy that followed us through old Segou (I stopped there with the Italian couple and their guide).  He was constantly showing off his moves...here is just a sample of his technique :)

I will miss most the children of Mali.

Two things to wrap up from this leg of the trip: 1) I did learn how the goats get on and off the top of the bus luggage racks. Their feet are bound so they are tossed up like they are a piece of luggage and unloaded the same way! Tough to be any animal in Mali :) 2) My guide has been trying to make up for the happenings in Segou....he took me out to dinner last night and is taking me to see his sister today so she can read the "cora leaves" to me....basically a little fortune telling Mali style :)...hope she tells me that I will arrive safely to Algeria :)

Rewind to Mopti and Sevare

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****

I have just completed a day of pure laziness...and it was wonderful!  My biggest outing was this morning when I decided to walk to the muslim cemetary (incredibly uneventful except I got lost).  After about an hour winding through the streets of Segou relatively unharrassed by people wanting to sell me something (which I considered a small blessing), I arrived back at my hotel.  I took coffee, then about an hour later ordered hummus (the hotel is owned by a Lebonese family) and a Coca.  I read a few more chapters in my book and then decided to move the party poolside :).

My piece of heaven in Segou!

I widdled away the entire afternoon here...got a little bit of color today to prove it :).

Before I forget to mention it again, I have to talk about all the Obama shirts, backpacks and bags I see on a daily basis.  Usually it is little kids sporting well worn t-shirts that are decorated with the stars and strips and Obama's big ole head right in the center.  Typical wording on  the shirt includes "hope" or "change" or "yes, we can."  Generally speaking they do love him here.  A question I typically get asked is, "How is Obama doing?" However, like at home, support is waning.  I have been surprised at some of the opinions expressed to me.

This guy studied this Obama shirt for a good few minutes...I couldn't wait any longer to see if he ended up buying it!

Now to go backwards just a few days to my time in Sevare and Mopti.  Mopti is a major port town on the Niger river and trading center between the north and south (I would have taken a pinasse from Mopti to Timbuktu had safety circumstances been different). Sevare is a 10 minute drive south of Mopti and was the towned I stayed at before and after my trip to Dogon Country.  I was able to get a small glimpse of each of these towns during my 2 night visit.

The woman's market in Sevare.

It happens everyday.  

A boy by the name of Allah guided me through the market.

This part of the market was the vegetable market.

Allah's mom works in this market selling potatos and sweet potatos...I got to meet her.

The colors of the Mali countryside is usually red, brown and green....but the markets are vivid array of colors.  There is always so much to take in.

Oh, Goodness...the chicken market.

I received a bit of a shock when the chicken seller killed one right in front of me...I wasn't expecting it or that much blood.  Needless to say my little friend, Allah, got me out of there rather quick.

These are the rice fields on the way from Sevare to Mopti.

At the mosque in Mopti I was greeted by this herd of children all clamoring for a picture....so they got their wish :)

Salt from the Sahara!

There are slabs of it for animals to lick as well as finely granulated for cooking.  I bought myself a little back of the cooking salt....50 CFAs (10 cents).  Best deal so far in Mali...I had to ask again if the salt seller was serious about the price.

A look at all the pinasses in port in Mopti.

My guide from the Dogon, A.G., also took me around Mopti.

Shea butter...all natural!

These guys were off loading a ton of smoked fish. 

As they took them off the boat they packaged them in the big cardboard boxes.  Some would be sold in Mopti, others were headed to Timbuktu and even Burkina Faso.

Sunset on the Bani River.  Mopti is surrounded by the Niger and Bani rivers.

My swiss friends!!!  It was like a little homecoming...we had slept in the same campemente in Dogon one night and really enjoyed eachother.  It was fun to run into them in Mopti.

A.G. has us pinasse it back to our 4X4 to go back to Sevare.

Mopti at night.

Tomorrow I head back to Bamako.  I think I have to be in the car with my original guide, Mo, for the 3 hour drive.  He is quite the hustler...and I am sure he will use the time to try and extract as many pennies out of me as he can in the last 48 hours we have together (he has been doing that for the last 14 days so why stop now).  He is kinda the high stress type...like a little piece of NYC in Africa.  Frankly I am not a fan of him...but he is who I am stuck with. He is the one aspect of this trip I would definitely do differently next time.

Back to my hotel to share some conversation with one of the young guys that works there...then back to the room to make sure all my laundry is drying (I guess I wasn't that lazy today cuz I did do laundry!). 

Catch ya again in Bamako....which will be my last posting in Mali!

Today could have been my favorite day in Mali so far!

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****

My original plans for tonight was to write about my last destination, Mopti and Sevare....but I had such a FANTASTIC experience today I wanted to get typing about the unique events I witnessed today. 

First of all, I don't think I can stress enough how much I enjoy this little town of Segou.  Since I can't go to Timbuktu, I don't think there is any other place I would rather be.  I love that it is on the river, quaint, walkable and that I feel incredibly safe.  My hotel is amazing here with delicious cafe au laits in the morning and fresh capitaine (a yummy fish caught in the Niger river and a local favorite) for lunch.  They have a beautiful pool which I hope to take advantage of tomorrow and comfortable rooms where I sleep like a baby.  Oh, and everyone knows my name here....not in a "Cheers" kind of way, rather the venders all love to yell my name as I walk by them.  Today I was flanked by 4 venders plus my guide....they all wanted me to look at their goods or go into their shops :)...and "no" is not in their vocabulary. The toursist season is low right now...so us few in town get bombarded.  I think there are 3 shops I promised to visit tomorrow....I already visited 4 tonight that apparently I had promised to visit at some point...their memories are sharp as tacks!!  Some were even waiting for me as I got back from my boat tour up the Niger...unfortunately I can't buy everything, so some I leave disappointed.  C'est la vie.

I started the day at the local Catholic church.  I am not a church going person at home....but I have been to church here in Segou the last 2 weekends.  The Catholic mass is the same around the world so I find comfort in the familiarity of the service....even though it is spoken in French and Bambara.  I also like that it is a rare occassion where I am completely surrounded by women.  Most of the time I am with men here in Mali.  The guides are men, the hotel workers are men, the servers are men, a lot of the venders are men, everyone just sitting on the side of the street are men....so my life is men, men, men.  Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of men in general...but I love the opportunity in church to feel part of the community of women.  Since we are segregated from the men, I get to sit amongst them, admire their attire, their hair and all the intricate braiding, watch them tend their babies, laugh together and share the sign of peace with them.  I just really appreciate that time with them.

After church I headed to grab coffee which turned into lunch.  My favorite local guides stopped by during lunch to set me up on my destination of choice for the afternoon, the small village of Kalabougou.  It is just an hour pinasse trip up the Niger to this village where the women are responsible for creating the beautiful pottery found in Segou.  I think my experience today is one of the most fascinating that I have ever witnessed in my life....the work of these women is so incredible and the heat that they create their work in is staggering.  I may have overdone it on photos today, but I am still in awe of these women and their craft.

In route in the HUGE pinasse to Kalabougou.

It was just me and my guide on board....plus the pinasse captian!

A Bozo fisherman casting his nets for the evening.

He will collect the fruits of the nets in the morning before market.

Just as an interesting note, the Bozo ethnic group is not allowed to marry Dogon people....it is an agreement between the two tribes.

I had the whole Pinasse to just me!  Crazy!

A mango tree on the banks of the Niger with a medium sized termite nest below it.

I have seen them MUCH bigger. Nasty buggers!

I will never tire of the children of Mali.

They are the cutest things, usually bare behinded and all!, and I love how they yell, "taboubou, taboubou (white person, white person)" as I walk by...usually waving thier little hands frantically or running, running to grab my hand and walk with me for awhile.  Today, I had the cutest little girl come up to me and in her most clear and annunciated french she asked me my name (thank goodness that is one of the 2 sentences I know!) and then told me her name was Uma Pace.  Stuff I just can't get enough of....

The brand new mosque in Kalabougou....just finished in September.

The women are collecting water fromt he community well....again no electricity or any modern convenience in this village.  No doctor either...pregnant moms have their babies at home.

So this was one of my first glimpses into the work of the women of Kalabougou.  All week long the women create pottery from the earth of their village.  Only on Saturdays and Sundays do they actually fire them.  Their furnace is piles of dried twigs, leaves and grass draped over the dried pots...and then it is all just set on fire.

Women adding more fuel to the "furnace".

Underneath the black, the clay pots are firing.

The heat was INSANE!  This is only the work of the women in the village.  No men partake at all.

And this is your duty if you are born into this village.

This is the president of the association of women in the village that create the pottery.  She is pounding the "fruit" that is used as the resin on the pottery once it is removed from the fire.  This yellow fruit, mixed with water, is what the pot is dipped in to give it a lovely shine.

Here you can see some of the pots on the edge of the fire.

I was surprised how many of these women seemed very pregnant...the heat they were working in made me wonder how it might affect the health of mom and baby.

Cooling of the pot before it is dipped in the resin.

Some of the finished, cooling pots are also pictured.

These will all go to market in Segou.

This is the step before drying and firing.

Everything is 100% done by hand...even the smoothness of the pots is somehow molded just by the skilled 2 hands of the woman working on it.  Astounding.

These pots are drying to be fired next week.

Behind is a pigeon coop....according to my guide, old men don't like to eat pigeon, but young men do.

I am not sure at what age the change from liking to disliking happens...but apparently it does :)

This is me with the chief of the village.

My guide was more about execution than set-up...so the pic is a bit lop-sided :).

This man has 3 wives and 26 children!!!

Like most in Mali, when I told him I don't have children he got very distressed....."children make life better" according to the chief.  Hopefully someday I will find out for myself.

Working in that heat with baby in tow!

The women of Mali are truly a marvel...what incredible, strong women!

Ah, the children that I made cry!!

The older gentleman wanted me to take a pic of them....so I did....but this big white girl sent the 2 girls into fits of hysteria when I even tried to get close to them to show them their image.  Everyone was in hysterics but me....I didn't mean to scare them!

More of the precious children of Mali.

The laughter when they see themselves in the camera is medicine...I swear!

This is usually how you can find me in the villages of Mali....a child holding my hand as I walk.  At some point the mom usually calls out or the child just heads home.  I will miss that.

Pots being loaded into the cart to be taken to the pinasse that will bring them to market tomorrow in Segou.

Market starts at 8am!  Looking forward to it!!

See...I did get carried away with pics of this afternoon!!

Completed pots next to the debris that will be burned to fire more pots.

They all get so serious for their pictures....but before and after they are giggling away!!!

The village as I walk back to the pinasse to go home.

There is my coach :)...waiting to take me back to Segou.

I only have a few nights left in Mali.  It makes me a little sad.  I have never been anywhere like it...and as much as it has caused me frustration, tested my resolve, fortitude and adaptability, I couldn't be more in awe of  the land and its people.  It is true that "Africa is tough", but its people are so much tougher and their character and spirit is immeasurable.  I have learned a lot here...and will be looking for the lessons that Mali can still teach me in the few days that lie ahead.

Just as one last funny note, today I was walking with my guide and, of course, someone hit me up for money....so i muttered under my breath (so I thought), "everyone wants money"....and my guide just said back, "Of course, this is Africa."