Dambé - The Mali Project documentary

When you find some time, I highly recommend watching this documentary, Dambé - The Mali Project, about two traditional Irish musicians who travel to Mali (where I spent my two and a half years in the Peace Corps).

It has some great footage depicting typical Malian life/scenes (albeit sometimes inaccurately - but that's a minor detail)... Most of the popular places are represented, many where I spent a lot of my time: the Niger River, Bamako, Djenne, Mopti, Dogon Country, Tombouctou and the Festival au Desert near Essakane (most remote music festival in the world, where I went with my family when they visited).

There is some great music throughout as well as a good bit of history and general information on the challenges the country is facing.

Utah Photo Album

Ok, so not exactly Central America but I've finally gotten around to uploading some photos from a road trip to Utah back in April of 2009.  I'd edited the photos and created an album but for some reason never got around to uploading them to share.  Pretty much all over Utah including Zion Canyon National Park, Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley, Valley of the Gods, Escalante, etc.

Click here to view my Utah Photo Album.  I've switched to photoshop.com as my photo sharing site since my picasa account is pretty much full (and I like the interface better). Make sure you're viewing them full size and I also suggest using the full-screen view mode (button at top right).

Enjoy!

Leaving for Panama

Well my 17 days in Costa Rica are coming to a close.  Tonight, I board a bus to make the 15-18 hour journey down the Interamericana Highway to Panama City. 

I'm only online for a bit now but will say that Costa Rica has been a great time traveling around with Ramona.  We started in Dominical for a few days on the Pacific Coast, down further south to Drake Bay and Corcovado on the Osa Peninsula before jumping back across to the north Atlantic side to Tortuguero near Nicaragua and on down to Puerto Viejo just near the border of Panama.  We were quite fortunate and had little rain apart from the evening shower even though it is technically the rainiest month of the rainy season (thanks El Nino). 

I would characterize the trip as a lot of wildlife.  Lots and lots of wildlife - whales, turtles (both moms laying and babies hatching), 3 types of monkeys, lots of lizards, snakes, frogs, otters, crocodiles, caymans, sloths, spiders and countless kinds of birds - i'm sure I'm leaving some out but that's all I can think of off the top of my head.  Needless to say, I have lots of photos which over time I'll try and get a few up once I arrive in Panama.  Till then...

Don't know if I've ever hopped around this much - next destionation: Central America

And the travels continue...

I've neglected my blog for a while and to all you eagerly awaiting an update, I apologize. 

So much going on (both present, past and future) that I won't get into too much detail but here is the short version:

I got back from traveling through Asia on my way home from Peace Corps in December.  Went home to Colorado for the holidays (with a quick trip to FL to visit my grandma and attend a good friend's wedding) and ended up spending the winter there as I continue to search for long-term gainful employment.  By April, I became restless again and slowly but surely got my travel legs back underfoot:  Short trip to Utah visiting its beautiful national parks, another out to Ventura, CA for a mini-family reunion and then out to D.C. for my sister's graduation.  And I was only warming up.

By early June I was leaving Colorado for the entire summer.  Seven weeks in Switzerland, a week in Seattle, two weeks near Montreal, back to Seattle for another week (both times for weddings), road trip out to Burning Man in Nevada and onto Idaho to visit still more family.  This brings us up to about a week and a half ago.

Since then I've been preparing for my next destination: Central America.  I'll travel through Costa Rica for two weeks before heading south to Panama where I'll be based for two months in Panama City.  Why/how so long in Panama you ask?  Finally found something to work on!! Though, not long-term and not really gainful - only two months and I'm almost working for free, but hey, it's something and it's something I think I'll like! 

Don't have too many details on the project but it is a tourism website that acts as a portal for accommodation and tours.  My main focus will be adding content (ie more accommodation and tours), though I'll do more than that...

My rough count is over 32,000 miles flown since June which doesn't even include all the driving I've done.

Lastly, I got a new camera so stay tuned for more photos...

Thailand and Cambodia photos!

Still working on the photos. Almost done... I just finished going through my photos from Northern Thailand and Cambodia. Take a look at them on my picasa album!

I should have Vietnam up by the end of this next week and then start typing up my stories... :-)

Enjoy!

China photos!

I'm gradually whittling away at my figurative stack of photos - I just finished uploading all the ones from China for your viewing pleasure...

My picasa online album

Enjoy!

Photos from India!

Sorry to have been MIA for so long. I've now been back home in Aspen for about two weeks and after the holidays been trying to go through the thousands of photos I took on my journey through Asia. I'm done editing India and have most of them online in my picasa online album. Go check them out and please leave comments!

I also have a lot of stories I plan to type up and get on here. I wrote in my journal a lot (as I think I mentioned before) and just need to type them up. For now though I'm focused on the photos. Either way, stay tuned for both many many more photos (best get a start now so you don't get too far behind! ;-) and my enthralling tales about all my adventures!

P.S. - if anyone knows of a way I can get a ski pass here in Aspen, I would love to know. I'm dying not being able to get on the slopes!

Quick update

I'm just online for a few minutes but being as I've been neglecting my blog and have a few minutes before my hour is up at this internet cafe...

A few things I find it hard to belive - I can't believe I haven't written since India! Wow. I left Mali almost 3 months ago??? Which means I've been traveling for as long... all equally unbelievable. Mali seems ages and worlds (in some ways is) away from where I am now yet also it doesn't feel like I've been traveling for that long either. Then again, if I think about all I've done and where I've been, back to seeming like a lot. Hmmm...

I'm currently in Bangkok after leaving Cambodia this morning - I had to make an unexpected trip back into Thailand so I can get to Laos where I'll arrive tomorrow morning making three countries in less than 24 hours (odd because you really shouldn't have to travel through one to get to the other). The short version is: I couldn't get my visa for Laos at the border with Cambodia and since it has been the Water Festival in Cambodia this past week, everything, including the Laos Embassy, has been closed. Thus my detour through Bangkok.

I'm about to run out of time but I'll just add that I counted up all my photos as I just backed them up yesterday and I have 5000 and counting (this is without any editing mind you) so after some time back home I'll have plenty of albums to post. I'll see what I can do though and get you a few while I'm still on the road.

Photos from Northern India

Ladakh, India

Last days in India

Let’s see – a lot has happened since I last wrote an entry – I’ve criss-crossed this country and then some. I’m writing this off-line so may repeat a few things as I can’t remember exactly where I left off.

I had an amazing ride down the mountains from Leh in Northern India (this is back on September 16^th) – both the scenery was amazing (amazingly beautiful) and the ride itself was amazing (amazingly long and bumpy). Really though, the ride wasn’t all that bad and was far better than I’d anticipated – the views more than made up for the lack of comfort. We left Leh about 5am and drove through some great landscapes. The highest pass we drove over was actually higher than I wrote in my last post: it was over 17,500 feet! (5300+ meters) Wow. Talk about thin air. And I was just driving through, not having to walk more than a few feet from the bus – kudos to anyone who hikes up at these high altitudes! It took a full day of driving and we still only were able to descend down to 11,000 feet (Leh was almost 12,000). A nice rest at a guesthouse that even had running hot water and we were on our way again at 7am. We finally pulled into Manali around 3pm and I promptly got on another overnight bus to Delhi two hours later.

I took a couple good photos but all have that spec of dust on them so I’ll need a little Photoshop before I can be satisfied. In fact, I rushed my decent from Leh back to Delhi partly because I didn’t know how long it was going to take to get my camera cleaned (in addition to applying for my Chinese visa). Taking a full two days to handle those two simple tasks, I was on my way further south to Rajasthan and Jaipur.

First though, let me tell you how incredibly frustrating it was to get my Chinese visa! The extensive list of documents, letters, forms, copies, etc. was ridiculous: two page application, one passport photo, photo copies of my passport data and Indian visa pages, cover letter stating my purpose for visiting India (where I intended to stay, how I would financially support myself, etc.), confirmed hotel reservation for the duration of my stay (silly since who would believe I was going to stay in Beijing my entire trip), copies of my flight information with confirmed departure flight, invitation letter from a friend already residing in China, copies of her passport data, visa and residency permit pages, past three month’s history of my personal bank account (since that was insufficient I also needed a letter of financial support from a family member with copies of their past three months bank account transactions)!!! On top of that, since you need your passport to travel around India (to stay in hotels, buy train tickets, etc.) I also needed a letter from the Chinese Embassy stating they had my passport while I was applying for a visa, a letter from a travel agent explaining the same thing, extra copies of my passport data and visa pages, and the receipt from my visa application. Ahhh!!! It wouldn’t have been such a pain in the @#$ but they kept leaving things out that I needed or would then tell me that I needed to write something differently – I had keep going back all day waiting over an hour in line each time! So frustrating!

Ok for those of you from the US or Europe that just skimmed over that last paragraph – go back and read it. That experience is nothing new to many foreigners from pretty much any country other than Europe and the US who have applied for a visa to the “west”. In fact, for them it is even more complicated with marriage certificates, deeds for property, more letters, forms – the list goes on and on. Essentially, just know that is what they go through if they ever want to. I knew it was a hassle but it was a humbling experience for me in a way.

Ok, back to Jaipur. I found this great website called couchsurfing.com – something that I’ve actually been doing throughout most of my travels but now I can do it much more simply and be a little more content with going to sleep at a stranger’s house whom I’ve never met before… I stayed with a wonderful woman named Yogi up in Delhi and she connected me with numerous others since which have had great influences on my trip thus far.

In Jaipur, I ended up staying in what has become the Jaipur Aiesec (a student group I was in back in University that helps to organize internships abroad) trainee house where I got to meet a bunch of great people. I didn’t get to spend much time with my actual host but did get to chat a fair bit with the various trainees staying there – from Colombia, Turkey, Tunisia, England, Germany, Poland, etc. Arun and his family were gracious hosts and pointed me in the right direction for my brief visit to Jaipur. I skipped some major sites so will have to do a return trip and hope to see them on my way back through whenever that may be.

On my second day, after taking a few pictures my camera just totally died! I was devastated! If you know me at all, you’ll know that photography during my trips is a big deal to me and not even being able to take photos was really hard. It is one thing to have some dust on the sensor that can at least be photoshopped out later but an entirely different story when you can’t take anything at all. I must have sat at the bottom of the Amber Fort (which was quite impressive) for almost an hour trying to figure out what to do: my next destination – literally that day – was Agra and the Taj Mahal. I couldn’t go to the Taj and not take a photo! The nearest place that could fix my camera was back in Delhi… after Agra though I would just keep going in the other direction, so if I was going to get it fixed, it had to be now. I walked around the Amber Fort, admiring the place and recording it with my eyes. In a way, it was an interesting experience since I am so used to traveling with my camera. To go somewhere so beautiful and not take any – to just appreciate it for what it was. I still prefer having my camera.

By lunch time I was back on a bus north to Delhi so I could be at the Canon place the next morning when they opened at 8am. To do this, it meant staying in Gurgoan, the tech/business park and lucky enough for me I met a nice guy on the bus up that offered me a flat dry place to sleep for the night.

I’ll leave it there as I’m going out to meet some friends for dinner in Delhi…

As always, stay tuned!! ;-D

(Oh and I have tons of photos – I just haven’t found a good place to upload them yet… don’t worry I’ll get some up eventually!)

It's snowing!

Well first, I'll bring you up to where I am and how I got here...

Writing from Leh, Ladakh, Northern India at almost 12,00o feet...

The rest of my trip out of Africa and onto my first plane in over two years (a bit of a feat for me - in fact might be the longest stretch I've ever done in my life) went well. I left Kumasi the next day (after my last post) and travelled by bus down to Accra with one of my friends from Mole Natl. Park. We crashed at her friend's place and just chilled for the next few days - went to a beach and hung out, made some friends and finished my book (Shantaram, which I highly highly highly recommend). I got a chance to see an old friend from my last trip in 2007 and went off to the airport for my flight on Friday, September 5th. I left Africa. Wow, can't believe I'd been on that continent for over two years! I still don't really know what to say... I guess the best i can come up with is that I was ready to move on. Don't know exactly what I'm moving on to but none-the-less, move on.


(Sorry I'm going to have to make this short as the power is out and I've just been told there are one a few more minutes of battery... yeah, still in a developing country)


I flew Emirates to Delhi via Dubai and having a ten hour layover, I had to leave the airport. My flight landed at 6am and my next flight wasn't until 3:30pm. I figured I would go grab breakfast somewhere and then an early lunch with a little sight-seeing before heading back to the airport. Not so simple. First it took over an hour to get from the airport to downtown and more importantly, second, it is Ramadan - nothing was open to eat! I'm used to Mali and being respectful to the Muslims who are fasting but at least there they accept that there are other people who aren't fasting and as long as you're discreet, it isn't a big deal to eat and drink. Dubai on the other hand, you can get a fine for eating or even drinking water in public. After hitting up some hotels (too expensive) and then a mall (food court closed) I found a Carrefour (a large supermarket) where I could at least guy some food (I found TimTams!!!) - anyhow, after getting this lovely food, it was by now almost noon and I was starving.

However... i couldn't eat my food! I asked around where I could hide away for a few minutes but the only suggestion I got was go sit in a bathroom stall! Eventually, I found a closed restaurant where I hid to eat. Next, I was off to the airport for my flight! And thus was my experience in Dubai! The mall I choose to go for their food court also was the one with Ski Dubai - wow, talk about something extremely out of place!

Overall, my opinion of Dubai is: not worth it. If you're en-route to somewhere else and can stop there for a day, sure. Otherwise, it is just a giant shopping mall with crazy buildings that shouldn't be there. On any undeveloped land all you have is sand - essentially, the entire place was sand and they've built this crazy city where it doesn't belong. Sure the tallest building in the world is there but really - Dubai isn't worth it. If you want to go driving on sand dunes or ride a camel, there are better places.

My time in Dubai did have a highlight though: when I was back at the airport and went to sit down to wait for my flight, I sat down and looked up to find none other than a Cinnabon! Talk about fortuitous! That totally made my day. Remember, I'd been living in Africa for more than two years - Cinnabon was one of those things I dreamed of having... not something I really ever went to in the states, but live in Africa for two years and you'll understand.

Well, the batteries seem to be lasting (no fast high pitched beeping yet) so I'll keep typing...

I arrived in Delhi about 9pm on the 6th, a day and a half after I left Ghana. My wonderful aunt arranged to have someone pick me up and I'd found a place to stay using couchsurfing.com. Really a great introduction mostly because it let me ease into India. Sure it is my first time here, but it wasn't as much of a shock as it would have been for someone coming from Europe or America - Africa is different sure, but it wasn't as in my face as it could have been I suppose.

I took it easy in Delhi and only really got out to sight-see my third day there (my second was a monday when everything is closed). I didn't really have any plans upon arrival as to what I would do with my next month in India. In fact, I hadn't even opened the outdated lonely planet from 2003 I got just before leaving Mali. Some people might be shocked to hear that I didn't really have a plan (whatsoever) but really, some of my best trips have been ones where I just figured it out when I got there... and I did just that. The woman that so graciously offered me here hospitality and a place to stay when i arrived took me to a friend's house the next day. That friend used to write for guide books in India and lead trips in the Ladakh region of Northern India - needless to say, she was a bit inclined to suggest traveling up there and the next day I bought a ticket north to Leh.

Little did I realize what I was getting into! For starters the airport I flew into is the highest commercial airport in the world at almost 12000 feet! I would have to adjust to the altitude, ok I'm from 8000 feet in Colorado, shouldn't be too big a deal... oh wait, I've been living at sea level for the past two years - nope, I arrived a little after 6 am, was checked into a hotel and lying in bed by 7 where I stayed for the next 12 hours! Wow. I have never been away from altitude for so long that I really felt the effects - sure I've had a small headache or a tiny shortness of breath but this was a whole nother level. Now I know, and can really sympathize with all those tourists coming to Aspen. (I will say that 12000 feet is a little different though...) :-p The view out the window was magnificent by the way - I'll try and get some photos up when I head south and internet isn't so expensive.

Next, I had to borrow some clothes so I didn't freeze when I got here. 12000 feet means pretty cold - I wasn't planning on coming up here (remember, I didn't have a plan and even when did think about what I might do, going north where it's cold was pretty far down my list). When we landed, the pilot annonced the local weather: 3 degrees! (37 F) It was a bit of a shock to say the least. Delhi was 40 (104 F) and I'd just come from Mali where during the hot season, it got up to 52 (125.6). I'm now about to leave tomorrow morning and I've asked for additional blankets just about every night since I arrived - I'm up to at least 7 and I'm still cold in the morning! I'm going to have some adjusting to do when i get back home to colorado, but at least there I'll have some proper warm clothes...

Leh feels like Tibet. It is nestled in-between Pakistan and China in the Himalayas and there are lots of beautiful monasteries perched on the sides of mountains. Amazing. Again, I'll try and get some pictures up another time. Part of the reason I came here right away was there has been a festival here with lots of traditional dances and other various activities. The other, and more important one is the later I waited, the colder it would be.

I'll just say that it was great and I'm really happy I came. I'm ready to get going though as it snowed a bit today and as we'll be driving south over some of the highest motor-able passes in the world (over 5000meters/16400feet) - it is time to go. I don't want to be stuck here for the winter! Of course, I'm really just ready to see more of India!

Ok, the beeping started on the batteries... Oooo! Before I forget, I saw the Dalai Lama today! (No time to proof-read so sorry for any errors!)

I'm not in Delhi

Just a quick post to let you all know I'm alright and was not in Delhi today. I'm up northern India in Leh in the Ladakh region and should be heading south in a day or two.

I don't know many details, but there were a series of bombings around Delhi today. Click here to read an article.

My trip is going well and will try and put up a full post about my travels before I head south.

Elephants!!!!

I'm going to have to interject into my story about my trip last may and come back to that later.

Right now, I'm in Kumasi Ghana after going to Mole National Park. I spent three days traveling from Bamako, Mali (oh by the way - I'm done with the Peace Corps... minor detail I'll come back to later). I made great time (if you would consider 3 days on African transport tolerable) and got in late the night of my arrival. Got up early (6am) the next morning to go on a "safari" - really just walking around with a guy carrying a big gun to see some animals. We didn't have to go far, they were all over the place! In fact, on the night before when I arrived, there were some warthogs blocking to door to my room - nothing a few pebbles couldn't fix. Anyhow, we saw a bunch of different kinds of antelopes, more warthogs, baboons, monkeys, and elephants! Wahoo! I tried three times since I've been here in West Africa to see elephants and finally got my chance - thrid times a charm as they say.

I'll keep this short (as my posts from now on may become) since I'm writing this from an incredibly slow internet cafe - and I need go catch my bus to Accra. I'll upload photos when I find a faster place.

I'm going to the beach just west of the capital for two days before going back from my flight on friday to Dubai and onto Delhi India!

Peace Corps to Pare Ranks of Volunteers

Thought you might be interested in this Washington Post story about Peace Corps' financial woes. I might note that the annual Peace Corps budget is equivalent to what amounts to a rounding error in the calculation of the overall US federal budget...

Despite Bush's Goal of Doubling Program's Size, Tight Budget Forces Cuts
By: Christopher Lee Washington Post Washington, D.C.

The Peace Corps, the popular service program that President Bush once promised to double in size, is preparing to cut back on new volunteers and consolidate recruiting offices as it pares other costs amid an increasingly tight budget, according to agency officials.

The program, which has a budget of $330.8 million, is facing an anticipated shortfall of about $18 million this fiscal year and next, officials say. Much of the gap can be attributed to the declining value of the dollar overseas and the rising cost of energy and other commodities, officials said. That inflates expenses for overseas leases, volunteer living costs and salaries for staff abroad, most of whom are paid in local currencies.

Those factors "have materially reduced our available resources and spending power," Peace Corps Director Ronald A. Tschetter wrote in a July 22 letter to Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), a member of the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds the program. "Tough budgetary decisions must be made now in order to ensure a financially healthy agency next fiscal year," he added.

The agency estimates its foreign- currency-related losses at $9.2 million for fiscal 2008 alone, spokeswoman Amanda Beck said yesterday.

In part, the program is caught in the political standoff between lawmakers and the president over the federal budget. If, as seems likely, Democrats delay final passage of the spending bills that fund the government until after Bush leaves office next year, programs such as the Peace Corps could be forced to operate at current funding levels indefinitely, administration officials said.

Beck said the agency could experience another $9 million in losses in fiscal 2009 in a "worst-case scenario" in which the agency has to operate under a year-long continuing resolution.
But that scenario is very unlikely, McCollum said yesterday, noting that her subcommittee has signed off on the agency's $343.5 million budget request and its Senate counterpart has approved $337 million.

"It's only going to be a short amount of time before a new budget gets through, and the Congress is committed to moving Peace Corps in an upward direction," she said, adding that the agency should ask for short-term supplemental funding if it needs it.

Beck said the "best course of action" would be for Congress to approve the president's full budget request. In a July 21 letter to Tschetter, McCollum wrote that she had "serious doubts" about the agency's plan to close regional recruiting offices in Minneapolis and Denver by Jan. 1.
"It is my goal to see a growing number of highly qualified, diverse and determined Americans of all ages committing themselves to serve our country as Peace Corps volunteers," she wrote. "Achieving this goal will require . . . a strong nationwide recruiting presence."

Tschetter described the closures as "mergers" with other offices in Chicago and Dallas that are part of a move toward a "field-based recruiting model" expected to save $1.5 million. Thirteen people will be reassigned to other jobs in the agency, officials said.

The tight fiscal climate also means an anticipated scaling back in new volunteers next year by 400, wiping out planned growth and leaving the overall number of volunteers at about 8,000, according to Tschetter. Volunteers serve for 27 months and are paid a stipend of about $2,500 annually.

Managers at Peace Corps headquarters in Washington have been asked to cut their budgets by 15.5 percent. The agency even plans to stop providing copies of Newsweek magazine to volunteers in the field, something it has done since the 1980s.

"It just seemed like an extravagance," Beck said. "Everything is under consideration, including the director's travel."

Kevin Quigley, president of the National Peace Corps Association, a nonprofit group of former volunteers, said, "I worry about what the [budgetary] implications are for the next president, who we anticipate will have plans to expand Peace Corps."

Established in 1961 by President Kennedy, the Peace Corps provides skilled volunteers to other countries while promoting mutual understanding between Americans and people of other nations. About 190,000 volunteers have served in 139 countries since its inception.

The 8,079 volunteers today number the most in 37 years but are far fewer than the goal of 14,000 by fiscal 2007 that Bush set in his 2002 State of the Union speech.

Expanding the program remains a popular idea. Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has pledged to double the size of the Peace Corps by 2011. Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), his Republican counterpart, has praised national service and said there should have been a stronger national push to encourage people to join the Peace Corps and other volunteer organizations after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Pictures from our hike to Telimeli

Walk from Doucki, Dongol-Touma to Telimeli

Hot Season Trip – Guinea (Part Deux)

As things tend to, I keep saying I’ll come back and write the continuation of a story, post, etc. but I always get consumed and carried off by whatever and wherever life takes one here in Africa. I will stop apologizing – it’s just the way things are.

Now let’s see if I can start where I left off: Getting off the beaten track of the touristy Fouta Djalon (beaten and touristy is actually a stretch, I was already off the track) and onto the remote road between Pita and Telimeli which truly is a track - at best.

After some delays getting from Labe to Pita due to some sort of strike – not a good omen for this fragile country – we arrived in Pita and set off to find Koumi-Berri, the chef du syndicate for vehicles towards Doucki. The sept-place still had some spaces to fill (with us it was already eight) and we took advantage of the time to stock up on supplies for our trip into the bush. Being unsure what we would be able to find, we played it safe and bought everything we would need for the few day stay in Doucki and the couple day trek from there to Telimeli. Having limited space and heavy bags (we would be carrying everything we had packed for the next month), the food consisted largely of spaghetti, maggi cubes, small cans of tomato paste and a couple onions. It was going to be a bit bland but it would get us there… Inch’Allah.

Two hours waiting in Pita, an equal amount of time crammed in a Peugeot and then a quick 2km walk to Doucki – we arrived just after dusk to the great hospitality of Hassan Bah. Hassan is a character – he speaks French, Italian, Spanish, and English along with a slew of local languages – a rarity doesn’t quite cover it. About ten years back, a Peace Corps Volunteer, working in a next-door village, stumbled upon his wealth of knowledge about the surrounding area and helped him establish himself as a local guide. He has since perfected his trade and now provides a unique, if rustic, experience for those wishing to explore the surrounding hills, canyons and cliffs. The benefits of his tours – bringing foreign tourists along with their foreign cash – have been spread amongst his family who in turn spread it to the wider community. It is a great example of the community being truly invested since they see the direct and positive impact of it on their lives. Although – it has not extended so far that they didn’t start cutting down large tracts of forest to clear land to plant rice… but I will get to that later.

Chris and I got settled into our mud hut, took cold-water bucket showers, and had a nice meal of rice with manioc leave sauce. After another night of good conversation we retreated to the candle lit hut for a little reading and sleep – it was to be a big day tomorrow. We arranged to go on a large loop through the surrounding area with Abdurahim (Hassan’s brother since he was busy with family obligations after a recent death in the family). He was to take us through most of the major sites in the area – with help from that Peace Corps Volunteer – they all had been given catchy names such as “Indiana Jones” and “Hyena Rock”. This part of the Fouta Djalon is referred to as the “Grand Canyon” of Africa and rightfully so, it was by far one of the highlights of my time in Guinea. In fact, after Dogon Country in Mali, it is the most picturesque place (other than some of the beaches I suppose) that I’ve seen on my travels here in West Africa. If you were to take Dogon, make it a canyon, add lots of green, take out all the little animist villages, make it even more remote (if that’s possible), and you have something close to this beautiful area of the Fouta Djalon.

Doucki is situated on the top of one side of the quasi canyon and we set off the next morning passing “Hyena Rock,” descending past the “Bob Marley Stage” and down to the valley floor. After walking along a little stream for a while, our guide materialized an eclectic lunch of rice, avocado, tomato, maggi, and sardines – surprisingly good (at least to someone who doesn’t have access to avocados…). From there we needed to get back up to the top of the cliffs, 1000-1500 feet above, by making our way through a narrow crag in the cliffs – aptly named “Chutes & Ladders”. It was a steep climb up ‘ladders’ of bundles of bamboo poles lashed together with vines. It wasn’t quite the rainy season when we went in early May but had it been a few weeks later, they surely would have been more like “chutes” ;-) Upon reaching the top, it was a little after 3pm and still the heat of the day. Rather than continuing on in the blazing sun, we found some pools and took a refreshing dip before finishing the 15km loop back to Doucki.

Early the next morning we started our more than ambitious if not mammoth trek from Doucki to Telimeli – over 70km away. Looking back, it sounds a bit silly that we were going to try and attempt that in two days. Hassan accompanied us for almost an hour and a half for the first 7km where we caught a passing mini-van ~6km to Dongol-Touma. Having what was to be our last meal of rice (compared to our bland spaghetti) and a cold coke, we set off just after noon. The first day was pretty much all downhill and we covered a good distance going a little over 20km. Not quite as dramatically scenic as Doucki, it still merited a few photos. Unfortunately, the air was smoky from all the slash and burn going on to clear land to grow rice. We tried to reason with Hassan one night about how they were mutilating this beautiful area to make way for rice. Ultimately, however, feeding your family will always overrule almost any argument – even though they understood the value of maintaining the local environment for its tourist value – that could not compete with their basic need for food.

We persevered down the never-ending road descending all the while and even though we improvised a nice little short-cut – by sunset we were still a ways from our night’s destination of Ley-Mira. Luckily for us, someone passing (of which there may have been three all that day) offered to give us a lift the remaining 16km. In general, the people along the way turned out to be incredibly nice – we were frequently loaded up with all the oranges we could ever want, let alone carry. Using our water purification tablets to be safe, we were welcomed to fill up wherever there happened to be a pump. Pumps weren’t in every village but they were frequent enough so that 2 liters could sustain you in-between… in fact I was quite surprised by even the small number we did come across in that extremely remote area. One sign that really emphasized the degree of sophistication that existed in Guinea was how there was almost always a cement building in every family’s compound – something that is very rare outside large cities in Mali let alone tiny villages in the remote backwaters of the country. Anyhow, after our new friend Abdoulaye Berry gave us a ride to Ley-Mira, we were well fed and showered before stretching out on a mat in his hut to sleep.

Being woken before sunrise, we were almost pushed out the door by 7:00 and on our way. It was four flat kilometers to a ferry crossing where the road started its gradual ascent towards Telimeli. Of course it wasn’t that simple, there was a sign just a few yards past the river, which was a little less than clear. We decided rather than go off in the wrong direction, we would wait a little while for someone to pass and ask which way to go. However, that was a bit optimistic being as remote as we were. Finally, a car did pass and kindly answered all our questions: “Is Telimeli this way?” – “Yes.” “Is Telimeli this way?” – “Yes.” “Which way is shorter?” – “Yes.” “Where are you going?” “Yes.” Great, thanks for the help!

We tossed a coin, went straight and were rewarded a short walk later by a water pump and people that truly were helpful. Relieved we’d chosen the correct road, we continued on and by mid-morning, we were tired and just wanted to get there. Where we had originally wanted to walk the entire length, Chris and I had an unspoken understanding that if a car did pass we would take a ride. Marching on in silence up the evermore-inclining road, our feet hurt, shoulders hurt, and we drudged on. Still an unknown distance from our destination, we ran out of water and couldn’t seem to find a pump… the last two we had passed were both kaput. While stopping a short distance from one of those pumps to rest, a villager who’d seen us approach the broken pump came over with a jug of water. This was a very generous gesture as the last water source was at least two to four kilometers away. We gratefully accepted the water, filled our empty reservoirs, and added our purification tablets – the half hour wait couldn’t come soon enough. The water was probably well or river water and wouldn’t be a good idea to drink, but still not knowing when we would find the next water source, it was our only option.

About a half hour later, just as we were starting to consider drinking that water, we walked into a tiny village where we determined Gougouja, the town were we could continue onto Telimeli was not too far away. We resolved to press on and wait to get water there. By now of course, it was well into the heat of the day and we finally pulled into Gougouja about 2:30pm thoroughly exhausted and parched – waiting another painful 30 minutes for our tablets to do their trick. We ate some rice and sauce for lunch and waited almost 3 hours for a car to take us the remaining 45 minutes north to Telimeli – just as we were loading our bags onto that car; another one pulled up and passed us coming up the road we’d just walked.

The next morning, we were up early once again to catch transport to Kindia, about a 3.5-hour drive south. The journey passed unspectacularly – unspectacularly since nothing went wrong and there were no delays. The scenery was actually quite pretty and we had plenty of chances to appreciate it – we all frequently had to get out and walk up a hill while the car drove up to meet us at the summit. Does the fact that that seems normal and doesn’t register as a unique or special event mean something??

In Kindia, we had a short wait (two hours) before finding a car going to Madina-Oula on the Northwestern border of Sierra Leone – what seemed to be the best entry point to access our destination of Outumba National Park. It wasn’t and our route gave us yet another opportunity for an adventure… however, I’m going to end this post here and pick up with our remarkable journey over one of the worst roads I’ve ever encountered in all my life in the next edition.

To be continued…

A little note on Plastic Bags that we can all relate to...

I can say from my experiences over here in Mali and through my travels everywhere - this is an issue that needs some attention. People often ask what they as an individual can do to reduce their impact on the environment: You don't have to wait for our municipalities, states, countries etc. to ban them - make a choice not to use them. Simple.

Be the change you want to see in the World.

Video from Guinea and Photos

I couldn't get this video to load in my previous post - so here it is separately (the time-lapse video of driving in the Fouta Djalon). I've also included some links to some of my photo albums from Guinea. For all my albums see think link on the left to my Picasa Web-albums.

Dalaba, Guinea

Cascade de Samba

Hot Season Trip – Guinea (part 1)

Keeping with my usual timeliness of things – I’m finally sitting down to write this about 3 weeks after I’ve returned from my trip… Thus is Africa – I suppose the lack of a sense of urgency has had its impression on me. In any event, here is my tale (or at least the start of it since I’m not planning to post the entire story now).

During the months of late February to early June, Mali becomes unbearably hot for most normal/rational human beings. Life essentially stops; and everyone commits all their energies to coping with the heat – coping because that is all you can do, you can’t deal with it, you can only suffer through. Having lived through most of the hot season last year, I knew better… I did what my privileged self was able to: leave. This time I had saved up my vacation and left for the entire month of May – anywhere else but the stifling heat of Mali.

For my escape: I choose a loop taking me Southwest to the beautifully lush Fouta Djalon region of Guinea, South to war-torn Sierra Leone, north-east-south-skipping through Guinea for a moment into-fragile Cote d’Ivoire before turning back North to Mali. Overall, it took me just over a month – traveling the first half with a fellow volunteer, Chris Bentley – before parting ways and continuing on my own. It was an amazing voyage and one that not many people have the fortune to experience – all told, I didn’t see a single tourist, not one in an entire month+. There were the odd foreign NGO workers or expats but I didn’t come across one traveler in any of the three countries I passed. This is also where, now that I am safely home, I suggest you take a look at the US State Department’s travel advisories for those places... And without further ado, below follows my experience in Guinea.

Chris and I met in Bamako and early the next morning crammed ourselves into a Peugeot 504 – a sort of station-wagon – known as a “sept place,” meaning seven places. However, being were we are and gas as expensive as it is, it is normal to see the driver plus three passengers in the front, four in the middle, four in the back, 2 in the trunk for a grand total of 14 – yet that isn’t even including the 2-6 people riding on the roof! In any case, sept-place is a little misleading. The first third of the journey was on a newly paved road that might as well be considered an autobahn in West Africa and was fairly painless (other than the discomfort of sitting three of us in the far back between the rear wheels).

From there on the experience went downhill – not in the literal sense, we actually gained elevation. Our driver was trying to drive from Bamako all the way to Guinea’s capital, Conakry in one day – a trip that would take almost 24 hours. As the road condition gradually deteriorated and became increasingly curvier and more pot-holed, he tried to maintain the same speed from the autobahn portion before. Our frequent protests to his irrational speed and driving style (trying to avoid every pothole is impossible, you have to pick your losses or at least slow down!) went unheeded. It was one of those cases when you wanted to just get out and take another car but knew if you did, you could be marooned for days in an isolated village. We arrived unscathed almost 13 hours later in Mamou before continuing to our destination of Dalaba where we were to commence our thorough enjoyment of the cooler climate... I went from taking up to six showers a night to stay cool in Mali to needing a thick wool refugee blanket to stay warm!

Exhausted from the previous day’s journey, we didn’t rise from our slumber until almost 11am – something that would have been impossible just the day before in Mali’s heat. We strolled out of the Tangama Hotel and had a gander around this beautiful little town surrounded by hills and greenery… It was quite refreshing after over six-months of brown and dust in Mali. After a nice walk around town (I found Capri-Sun!), we stumbled upon the tourist-information center and rashly organized a hike out to the Garaya Waterfalls. We hiked this in an afternoon but would recommend a full day or at least ¾ day, having lunch there. Our guide helped us navigate the meandering tracks through the hills and gave us what could only be termed a culinary tour in that he frequently would grab a hanging fruit off a nearby tree and hand it to us to eat. Other than a few mangos, I can say that they were nothing like what’s found in western markets – my favorite being a large purple grape-ish looking one that smelled and tasted like lavender.

The next day we found Katy, a Peace Corps volunteer focusing on tourism - meaning we had lots to talk about. For lunch, we found some “Kaba” a sort of boiled corn stew that, after adding a little pepper, was almost identical to something found in Latin America – delicious! After a stroll through Villa Jeannine, the old colonial administrative complex, we hopped on transport going north a few hours to Labe. Below is a time-lapse video I took along the way (taking 1 frame a second, compressed into 15 frames/sec for playback – I love my new camera!). You probably wouldn’t notice, but Guinea was unique among West African countries in that there are no ‘check-points’ throughout the country. Being from the west, this wouldn’t even register except maybe for a few Europeans who remember before the Schengen Zone. I can hardly express how much these ‘check-points’ inhibit life over here and thus what a relief it was to go without them.

Now well connected into the Guinea PCV community, we called and were met at the carpark by Jim, a small business volunteer in Labe. He immediately took us to their PC house where a small gathering of local volunteers were relaxing before heading to a training in Mamou – a town we passed through only days before. As they were just reaching their first three months at site, there was a lot of wisdom to transfer and general information to exchange over pizza at a local hotel.

Early the next morning, we were off once again to Timbi-Madina, a small village off the road between Labe and Pita that is the gateway to the Samba/Saala Waterfall. Although it meant we couldn’t go out to the falls the same day, the cool – in fact cold – weather was a relief and gave us a respite from our unremitting travel. In reality, it was probably only 70F but to us it felt far colder and provided a good excuse to sit around and drink hot tea. We stayed once again with a Guinea PCV and had a lot to talk about. She was a “G-vac” volunteer, meaning she had been evacuated from Guinea in January 2007 but was compassionate enough to return and complete her service in this still fragile country. Having spent a little time in the US before returning, she had a few movies and we were able to get through the first half of Knocked-Up before the power went out and her laptop battery died.

With the weather cleared and sunny, we borrowed some old-school Huffy bikes from a missionary neighbor friend of hers and set off on the 15km ride to the waterfall. After strapping water and lunch to the bikes, it was a gradual uphill accent before a steep 3km down to the falls – a bit scary with the Huffy’s intermittently working brakes. We first headed for the lookout before looping back around to swim in an upper pool and jumping off the various smaller falls. By early afternoon, we’d called it a day and rode, or rather pushed our bikes up the first 3km before coasting the remainder back to Timbi-Madina. Exploiting our new friend’s cooking ability we made some glorious guacamole and lentil chili before retiring for the day.

A quick trip back up to Labe and back down to Pita, we set off for the next chapter of our adventure along the remote road to Telimeli – but for that you’re going to have to wait as this post is getting lengthy not to mention the giant wall of dust bearing down on Segou (not good for computers)…

To be continued…

Back in Segou safe and sound

Just online for a minute - wanted to let you all know I'm back in Segou. I'll start editing my photos and try and upload them as soon as I can!