Tarmac and Desert

We have now arrived in Bamako, the capital of Mali. It is roasting here, up to 37 C in the shade, and I am sure that things will get hotter.   Thanks for all the mail you've been sending. From Nouakchott to Nema the road was newish tarmac and we drove a good 400km each day.  We didnt stop really for anything other than toilet stops, lunch and a quick stop in any towns for food etc.  The scenery started off as typical desert, rolling sand dunes, flat sand as far as you can see.  The second day out we drove through a bunch of huge escarpments, pretty impressive, and a nice change from flat sand.   One night we camped in the middle of this huge dirt field, no trees or bushes or anything.   These long convoys of flash 4X4 s drove past, turning into the end of our
field.   They were full of heavily armed men, some of which came over to check us out.  A cigarette or two later and a rumour was going round that it was the presidental convoy.  They didnt park up for long, a few hours at the most, before driving off into the night again. We had a lot of hassle in Nema getting our passports stamped to leave Mauritania.   Nema is not on the border, but you are meant to see the police there as part of the formalities.   After four hours, much haggling and US$70 later, the two trucks were allowed to leave.  We had dinner late that night, camped just outside town in a dry riverbed.   The following day we crossed into Mali.  The customs checks were very quick, no problems with any alcohol we might have had. The immigration however....more negotiations and more money.   We have already paid for our visas, but still we need to pay more "fees".   We managed to pay less by saying that we didnt need a receipt, I wonder whose pocket that money went into!! Mali is a huge contrast to Mauritania.   Almost as soon as we got across the border, things were looking greener, in a relative desert sense.  There were more trees and bushes, more crops were being grown, there were even a couple of large waterholes and a lot of cattle and goats.

The road from Nema across the border to Nara and beyond was hardly a road.  Leaving Nema we took a slight detour through the desert and had to retrace our steps and get on the right "road".  Some people got a bit upset, but this trip is all about stuff like this, getting off the beaten track as it were, having a bit of adventure, taking the odd "tiki tour".  We werent far out of Bamako when we finally rediscovered tarmac.  A new or better road is being constructed but a lot of it is still just dirt, reasonably graded, but still holed and corrugated.   Parts of it had been oiled, but we werent allowed to drive on those, cant be spoiling their nice new, flat roads!! We are in a campsite here in Bamako, with two other trucks from different companies, four trucks in such a small site is very cramped.  The pit toilets are getting smellier and smellier.  We are here until we get our Nigerian visas, so maybe another day or two. Later today we are going to the National museum which is said to be one of the best in West Africa.  Then we hope to find somewhere with some live music. From here we head towards Timbuktu maybe depending on the river and boat prices.   Christmas will probably be in the Dogon, and new year somewhere in Burkino Faso. Hopefully more exciting than the Christmas and New Year we spent in Ascuncion. We hope you all have a good Christmas and New Year, dont get too cold!!   Think of us eating slops in the heat of Africa.