Tuesday, June 15, 2010

West African adventures (Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, and Morocco)






You can tell a really bad blogger when every entry starts with "Sorry I suck at blogging, but here's the update from the last 2 months."
So now it is 15th of June. I've been travelling since the end of the semester in Ghana "on the way home." Getting everything together before leaving Ghana was of course a mess and I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to balance studying for my last exams, getting gifts and souvenirs, sending off packages and rushed goodbyes.
I've been travelling for 27 days now, I am currently in Dakar, Senegal.
I left Accra, Ghana May 19th headed northward to Burkina Faso where I met my two friends and travel companions. There we saw the beautiful rock formations in the southeastern area near Banfora.
http://www.facebook.com/l/e5a8c;s23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/ElmosNanaland/Sindou%20Peaks%2010/

from there we moved through Ougadougou to Mali to see Dogon country, where there are villages along cliffs in the Sahel.

We then went to Timbuktu and rode camels in the desert and slept in the desert in the Touareg campment. We couchsurfed with wonderful friends, Timbuktu natives that showed us all around and were so hospital and helpful.
From Timbuktu we spent time in the bustling captial of Bamako to recharge our batteries (between 30 hours bus rides) before coming to Dakar, Senegal. We explored la Petite Cote (or little coast) where we stayed in a small beach village, swimming with rasta men, of Toubab Dialao, before spending time in the glitzy capital Dakar.
I am now staying with a host family (one of my senegalese friends) just outside of Dakar. They are soo nice and feed me TOO well and too much. mange mange! (eat! eat!) they tell me.
I've learned some Wolof, the language here in Senegal and it is fun to surprise people with my random vocabulary words :)
the typical greeting asalaam alikoum? yagui si diam? nangadef? mangifi.
did you sleep well? i want water please. i'll see you later. fun things like that!
i'll be heading out on the 19th or 20th to go to Mauritania and Morocco.
From there I will try to keep you posted on my U.K. and Ireland trip!
(I fly from Morocco to London, then from there to York, Edinburg, Aberdeenshire, Iverness, maybe the Isle of Skye, Loch Ness etc before flying to Dublin and exploring Ireland. head back to England through Liverpool to visit a dear dear friend, then to London for my flight back to Utah!!)
I'll see you this fall semester back on campus! :D
here is the link for my pictures so far
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=180444&id=545028558&l=2452c5aff1