The bus had problems with a fuel line and the young men that load bags, collect money and do other jobs about the bus, had to suck the lines clear of debris. They seem to be able to turn their hand to fix anything that goes wrong with the bus and are always covered with grease or dust. When they are on routes where they see a lot of foreigners they get good at communicating basic information and seem to understand what you ask even though they don't speak any English.
Anette recommended an English speaking guide in Sevare so when the bus arrived he was there to meet us. He had a 4x4 and a driver and took us to a hotel a short distance from the bus station where we had decided to stay. Someone in Bamako had suggested the place. We negotiated the rates for our planned walk in Dogon Country, for Chris and the two of us.
We were able to leave our excess baggage at the hotel as we would return there after our walk and just needed to pack our small day bags. Our guide would carry some of the canned food we would need and the rest would be provided by the guesthouses on the trail. As there is no electricity in most of the villages we decided to eat vegetarian meals to avoid any upset stomachs.
In the morning we started out at 7.30 and the drive to Bandiagara where the walk would begin was on a bumpy dirt road. If we had taken public transport we would have had to wait for market day in Bandiagara when several vehicles would travel from Sevare to Bandiagara. As it is the quiet period for tourists we had to hire the vehicle and driver. Our guide Seydou belongs to a guide organisation that has several 4x4s so it was not difficult for him to get a vehicle to take us and meet us at the end of the walk to return to Sevare.
Along the route were a few terraced fields of onions or shallots. There were a few fields with chopped up millet plant stalks where the animals were feeding. At the same time they feed they get to fertilise the fields with dung. It is about a month away before the villagers prepare the fields for planting just before the rains begin.
Some of the road was paved with local stone and in steep sections or fords it was concreted making it easier for the cow carts and donkey carts to pass in the wet weather.
We were dropped at Dourou village, population 4,000, where we had traditional African tea and lunch. The tea is made from Chinese green tea leaves. The leaves are stewed in a small teapot on charcoals for about 15 minutes. Heaps of sugar is added and then poured back and forth from the small glasses and the teapot. This soon foams up and then it is drunk. Water is added to the same leaves and it is stewed several times more giving the tea a strong bitter taste. Men sit in the shade or in front of their houses with friends drinking tea all through the day. For lunch we had a can of vegetables heated with spaghetti noodles. After eating, we rested until the weather was cooler in the middle of the afternoon and started our walk.
