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Africa: North to South, Part 2

Africa: North to South, Part 2: Mali and Niger

Simon and Jennifer
2006-04-26 10:19:47

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Mali

We crossed the border having checked out of Mauritania the previous day, there was nothing to mark it, and continued on to Nara, giving a lift to a local man on his way to the market for the final 10km or so. The first sight or Nara was impressive, a lake in which brick making was currently in progress (brick making in this manner we were soon to discover was common in Mali, and other West Africa countries) and a beautiful mosque which dominated the town.

We found the police station, and they waved us on to the control post on the main road out of town to be stamped in to the country. We dutifully parked by the post, passports in hand and smiles on faces, handed over our passports, and were greeted with a babble as a response, thankfully accompanied with a smile. We tried to explain as best we could using French and English that we wanted our passports stamped, and again and again were met with an incomprehensible response and wave of our passports. Occasionally the official turned to a superior who was busy with the crossword in the verandah, who just mumbled and smiled, shook his head and carried on. The official facing us appeared to be waiting for something else from us, perhaps a piece of paperwork was missing (the Mauritanian official had been most reluctant to stamp our passports, and was probably not very impressed with the gift of an empty spectacle case and a toasting fork). After about 10 minutes of head shaking and passport waving, with us patiently trying to explain with fixed smiles, and just as we were starting to despair, the official said in perfect English "You come to our country, but you do not speak our language? I can speak English, but I have never been to England." Well, what can you say? Without further ado, apart from the continuous jokes passed among the staff, our passports were stamped and we were on our way down the ridiculously corrugated road to Bamako (the capital).

The scenery was ...