*** Le Tour du Mali ***
Mom, my sister, bro, aunt, aunt’s boy-friend (Markus), sister’s boyfriend (Rob), and friends Filu, Fabienne, Claire-Marie, Marylène, Marie, Ling Ling and Thierry, and I did a grand Tour du Mali for 10 days early July. We went from Bamako all the way to Timbuktu. On the way hiked up and along the cliffs of Dogon country, we rode a pinasse (canoe) on the Niger River in Mopti, we toured the old city of Djenné and shopped at the time-less Monday market, we spent the night on the sand dunes in the Sahara, bargained with the Touaregs in the desert and went searching for hippos on the river. It was a fabulous trip. Here are some photos and details of the voyage.

-- La monté de la falaise sous la pluie au Pays Dogon, les secousses de la route de Douantza à Tombouctou, la tempête de sable sur les dunes des Touareg, les hippos du Niger, les cries d'âne la nuit dans le village Dogon, les toits de Djenné,... Quel voyage ! On a vraiment tout vu. --

(The expedition: 14 toubabou's in a van traveling through Mali -- good times!)