Gogui to Douenza (via Bamako)

“Early” in the morning of the 12th (we got told 8… in reality the chap arrived around 10), we got the customs formalities done (another 5000 CFA) and tried to drive to Bamako. I say tried, as at the first checkpoint we had to turn around and go back to the police station and get the customs paperwork stamped. No huge hassle… except for the brava, which needed another push…

We eventually got to Bamako on the 12^th, and promptly realised that the hotel we were staying at was offering “extras” by the hour… and that the food took 2 hours to arrive from when we ordered it… so after a quick drink and chat we headed to bed as we had to wake up at 5am the day after to get to Timbuktu! Finally! (as I’m typing this at the airport in Casablanca… just a thought in retrospect… Mali had the WORST formalities of all the countries we went through! Except Nok and the guys at Gogui, who were kind and helpful… the police/gendarmes in Mali had been the least helpful, most corrupt, and in the case of at Bamako airport, downright rude we have encountered!)

Anyhow… on the 13^th, we woke up at 5am… ugh! The fiat Brava and the Volvo decided to stay behind, and their teams fly home. Peter decided to stick with the Merc and head to Timbuktu as well! Anyhow, despite the grogginess and early start, we made exceptional progress, and even though the Pugeot had a flat tyre, beat the best predictions. Sunni’s assistant told us that aiming for the village near Mopti would be considered very good progress for a 12 hour drive. By 17:00 we were at Douanza, about 150km after Mopti! Fantastic! I had found a stall selling fruits by this point, and bought a watermelon and a Papaya… given that no-one else had ever tried papaya, we cut that open. Sadly, it was quite warm in the car, and the papaya had stored the heat and was quite warm… so Dave’s comments on the papaya (textually) were “tasted like David Lloyd… tastes like a gym changing room”. I found this quite funny… but hey, that’s me… easily amused! (must make another note… beans fried with onions and a bit of vinegar works quite well!)