Merry Christmas

I have had an amazing few weeks. To start, I went to Timbuktu. Whatever you may have thought about Timbuktu, you were probably correct. It took us 3 days by boat to get there, and when we did we found the barren, sandy, dusty, dry almost non-descript place that you wanted it to be. Spent 2 days there, which was more than enough. The place is full of nothing, if you can picture it. The jeep ride out was great and horrible at the same time. 8 hours down a dirt path and you definitely felt like you were coming back from nowhere, as a trip from Timbuktu should be.

The day after getting back from Timbuktu we headed out to Dogon Country for a trek through the villages. The Dogons are still living pretty much as they were 200 years ago, with very little sophistication in their lives. The only exception being the Ronaldinho jerseys, but really you never can get away from them. I can't describe the experience yet, it is just too fresh and amazing so if you want to know more click here. I'll post my pictures when I get somewhere with decent internet access.

From Mali we head through Burkina Faso (which is currently at the early stages of a power struggle, so that will be fun) and head into Ghana for the new year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!