I never finished putting up my photos from Mali!
We left off on the day before heading towards Timbuktu.
Getting there was actually a day long affair.
We started in a place called Sevarre, near Mopti. We drove on an ok cement road to Douentza. That's the yellow line...
Then we had to drive for about 200 km on an endless red sand road through the desert. That's the purple line.
At approximately the half way point, our car broke down!
That was ok with me, I needed to pee and I also wanted to take some photos.
Our driver got really worried though, and one of the guys with us got paranoid about us getting kidnapped by Al Queda.
While the others freaked, my feet were temporarily turned red...
Kara and I chilled in the car and tried to keep the sand out of our faces.
Eventually we got the car started with the help of some people who stopped to help us. One of them was a guy who grew up in Timbuktu but had gone to college in Texas, he's the one in the pink.
Everyone pushed the car, and hooray! It started. Well, I felt like my assistance wasn't necessary, look how many people pushed the car! So I took a photo instead.
When we got to the ferry that would take us across the Niger, there were a ton of other people who had the same idea. Everyone was on their way to the Festival in the Desert! And if they weren't... I bet they were pissed that they forgot the Festival was starting the next day.
We waited for the ferry for about 5 hours. It was no problem though, there was lots to look at, tons of people to talk to, and endless kids to play with.
The sun set, and we finally crossed the river under a sky that was completely covered in stars.
