Home » Mali Afghanistan » Bamako, Mali 29 November 2000

Hello all
Writing to you from Bamako, capital of Mali after a long, hot, dusty but amazing drive from the Moroccan border.

Bamako, Mali 29 November 2000

Pam.tom
2005-10-15 19:36:56

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We diced with death on the road leading down to Dakhla and the border. Single track for long stretches it's a case of who has the biggest car and the strongest nerve when you meet oncoming vehicles. The loser in this gladitorial contest is forced off the road to take their chances in the soft sand and steep verges.

We did wonder why the police and army at the numerous checkpoints were in such a grumpy mood (what had we done to deserve this!) but our answer came as we got into Dakhla - just ahead of us for the whole journey was not just one but two French charity convoys of Renault 4's heading to Senegal!
The poor police and army men had to copy out between 50 and 60 different passports at each checkpoint - some only yards apart...no wonder they didn't respond well to our cheery Bonjours!

Enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of Mohammed Ali and his family while we were waiting for Russell to be checked over.
A Saharawi he told us his peoples hopes for an independent state of Western Sahera rested with the United Nations but the date for the referendum keeps being put back and their hopes to be independent fade a little each time it's delayed. His daughter presented me with a fantastic gold and silver engraved bracelet and we left them with some polariod photos and a feeling we had done a lot better out of the exchange of gifts.

We left Dakahla in one of the biggest convoys ever to make the journey. Along with the rival charity Renault 4's were a huge odd assortment of euro bangers, Merc's, overloaded trucks and heaving Land Crusiers.
The crossing into Mauritania took forever (Guidebook Update: you can get visas on the border but at £30 each plus a vehicle tax (!) it's cheper to get them in Rabat 100dh and a days wait) but the convoy quickly broke down and we teamed up with a Renault 4, a Passat (later renamed the Flying Passat), a Renault 18 and an old French army truck.
Freddo ...