October 9th, 1991 The transformation from desert to sahel was surprisingly fast. Within a short distance, just a few miles, the air changed and there was the feeling of humidity for the first time in weeks. The land turned green, villages lined the roadside and goats roamed freely between the houses. It was a welcome change.

October 16th, 1991 On the way to Mali via the Yako Ouahigouya road there were several road blocks. Just leaving Burkina Faso there were 3 separate checks; one for the Army, one for Police and another for Customs. All were OK and we had no problems, but there was almost 50km of no-mans-land to cross before we even entered Mali.

On this stretch of road we got our first taste of digging the truck out of mud instead of sand; it has only taken a couple of seconds to bury the back axle down to the ground. Washing the truck in Ouagadougou had now been a complete waste of time. We passed through 3 more border checks before we officially entered Mali.

The back streets of Djenne seem ancient. At first glance, it seems that the houses have stood here for a thousand years, with the dry mud walls slowly cracking with the passage of time. The walls are as hard as concrete, and the paths are worn away with the traffic of centuries.

But the reality is a little different. Djenne is a city built entirely out of mud, and as such, it is easily damaged by the winter rains and is slowly being washed away. Left alone, these buildings would probably not last a decade, so the only reason for its survival is by the persistence of the people to keep rebuilding it. So each spring, using the only building materials available to them, a new layer of mud is applied to the buildings, ensuring that the city will survive for another year.

The Dogon village of Tele, built high on the cliff, has been here for over a thousand years. Once home to hundreds of people, it is now abandoned and nothing more than a tourist attraction. Although its location once offered shelter from the weather, as well as protection from invading tribes, this is no longer a concern and the people now live in a village at the base of the cliffs.

The cliff dwellings were first created by Pygmies when they lived in this area, and were shared with the Dogon people. While the Dogons were farmers, the Pygmies were hunters, but over time the Dogon people cleared the trees for farming and the Pygmies were forced to move away. It was then left to the Dogon people to continue this way of life.

Mopti is built on three islands at the confluence of the Bani and Niger River, and is one of the largest and most important cities in Mali. It is also centered at the intersection of trade routes to Timbuktu, Djenne and the Dogon country, making it a very important market town, so we spent a few days here buying food and supplies before driving South.

But as we started shopping, we quickly discovered that Mopti has no market, because Mopti is the market! The entire city is a marketplace, which never seemed to end.

Ganvié (Gan-vee-ay) is a town of about 20,000 people built on the Nokoué lagoon. It is probably the largest lake village in Africa and because of that, it has become very popular with tourists. The town was built in the 16th century by the Tofinu people, built on a lake because the Dan-Homey's religion forbade them from attacking over water.