We woke up this morning to a beautiful sunrise. Our tents were facing east, so all we had to do to enjoy it was to zip open the screen and lie in bed watching the sun come up. After breakfast we started down the track. We arrived in Kankosa, the last town in Mauritania before entering Mali, at about noon. Yesterday we had our carnet stamped by customs in Kiffa, today we'll have our passports stamped by the police in Kankosa. After a bit of wandering around trying to find the correct police official to stamp our passports, Graham and Jen went off to get the passports taken care of, while Witt and Connie stayed to guard the vehicles. As usual, we attracted a crowd of children, mostly wanting a pen or cadeau (gift). Typically the kids all gather around the window looking inside and pointing at stuff asking if they can have it. Our travel guide books, coffee mugs, two-way radios, GPS receiver, anything they can see they want. One kid asked Witt for his car ("Donnez-moi votre voiture!"), and another asked for a bicycle. We're starting to feel a bit like Santa Claus (or at least the local kids seem to think any white person is Santa Claus). Witt had some fun with the kids making faces and scaring them away; the side view mirror on the car with it's convex lens was popular (they asked for it) as well.

After completing customs formalities we were on our way once again. During the afternoon we saw a troop of baboons, a beautiful blue and black bird, and even the symbol of Africa itself, the Baobab tree. Graham and Connie were surprised to see them this far north. Witt and Jen don't know enough about Africa yet to be surprised. We camped under one of these stately giants and were treated to another beautiful sunset.

We awoke this morning to yet another beautiful African sunrise. Witt and Jen got a good night's sleep after having been exhausted by a full day on the piste yesterday. We have noticed a marked difference between villages on the Mauritanian side of the border as compared to those on the Mali side, even though there is no physical separation between the two. The Mali villages seem more prosperous and a little cleaner. The womens' dress is more colorful and less modest. Women in Mali carry stuff on their heads more often. We drove the remaining three hours in Kayes, where we stopped to buy motor insurance. This insurance (a 'brown card') is compulsory and cost us thirty euros for 20 days worth. It's highly doubtful that it would do you any good if you got into an accident, although not having it may well land you in jail. We stopped at a police checkpoint to have our passports stamped, but they couldn't do it there. A guy volunteered to ride with us to show us to the customs office (to stamp the carnet) and to the main police station (to stamp the passports). We were dubious of our guide, wondering what he would want after helping us, but in the end he directed us to both offices and didn't ask for anything in return. Graham gave him a small screwdriver (the kind that looks like a pen) in thanks. The police headquarters was located inside one of the old French colonial buildings in town. It was run down and dirty looking, but it was obviously not African in design. These buildings with their European architecture seem like an anachronism from a bygone era, which they are.

After the formalities were completed we drove a short distance out of town to see some waterfalls on the Senegal River, a recommendation of Phillip, an American Peace Corps worker whom we met at the bank. After a very late lunch at the falls we drove out of town on the road to Bamako, and camped after about 20 miles. Tonight is the first night it hasn't really cooled down after sunset. We expect more of this as we continue into the heart of the continent.

Connie made up alternate lyrics to "We Three Kings" while driving. We hope you enjoy our entertainment, although you'll have to sing it for yourself:

We two Land Rovers camped in Atar
Then in the desert under the stars
Grasshoppers leaping
All of us freaking
Who knew they'd be out this far

Noo-oo
We don't want a camel ride
And we don't need a guide
No cadeau
No stylo
Go away, our nerves are fried!

After the desert, to Nouakchott
There our Mali visas we got
Traffic jams
Money change scams
Our favorite place this was not!

Noo-oo
We don't want a camel ride
And we don't need a guide
No cadeau
No stylo
Go away, our nerves are fried!

We awoke this morning having arranged our tents to face east hoping for another great sunrise, but the wind had picked up overnight, and all we got was dust. The scene looked exactly like fog, and the sun had been up for an hour before we could even see it. We packed up and hit the road by 8:15. The first few hours were fast on good tarmac until the town of Diéma. There we stopped and bought some deep fried dough with sugar on it (yes, just like doughnuts; Mmmm doughnuts!) from a woman cooking under a tree. We wanted to fill our water containers, but there was a line of about seven donkey carts waiting to fill barrels, so we drove on.

The road after this point was horrible. It was well made, and if they would grade it once in awhile, you could actually drive on it. As it is, only trucks and busses (not really busses, rather trucks with a passenger compartment) use the actual road. Cars use the tracks that wind along the side of the road. These are pretty good, allowing about 30-40 mph although the driving is stressful because of the frequent irregularities in the road. We saw numerous wrecked vehicles along the road, many of which seem to result from trucks alternating between the road and track trying to find the best surface. One of Graham's front shocks blew out (the result of a poor installation, he believes) and we took a long lunch to replace it with one of the spares. We drove this road all afternoon until about 5pm, only (we hope) about 10km from pavement. We should be in Bamako by tomorrow.

When we woke this morning it was still very dusty. We had breakfast of bread and coffee, then hit the road eager to leave the horribly corrugated road behind. After about an hour we did, and were in Bamako by noon.

Bamako is a very large city, and driving there was very similar to other large cities we've been to. Our motivation for going into the city was to buy food (packaged stuff we couldn't get in the markets in smaller villages), check our email, and use Mali's only international ATM machine. At some point on the corrugated road from Kayes, Jen and Witt's car had developed a severe judder in the steering which needs to be fixed before continuing on. We found a place to park in the center of town and walked to the ATM machine that, unfortunately, was not functioning. Central Bamako is a beehive of activity with people selling all manner of goods on the sidewalks. There is very little room to walk amongst all the people and wares for sale, and you are left with a choice between the sidewalk where you must constantly stop to wait for people or dodge stacks of flip flops for sale, or the street with its constant traffic of cars and motorbikes. At some point we picked up a "friend" who was showing us where to change money, etc. We tried to change some cash, at a bureau de change, but the rate offered for 20 dollar bills was lower than that offered for hundreds, so we decided to walk back to the bank with the ATM machine, our friend following us wherever we went. We noticed a couple of tourists leaving the machine, so we decided to try again, and sure enough it worked! We each took out a large amount of cash, knowing that we wouldn't find ATM machines often until we get to Cameroon. Fortunately, all of the countries on our route through Gabon use the Central African Franc (CFA), so we won't have to adjust to a new currency for awhile. By this point our "friend" had turned into a "guide" and wanted money. He followed us all the back to our cars, arguing the whole time. Eventually we gave him a cigarette to get him to go away. We felt bad about rewarding his behavior, but at least he left feeling we owed him more.

At this point we were eager to just get out of the city, so we abandoned our plans to use the internet and headed out of town. Soon we noticed a yellow Camel Trophy Land Rover Discovery tailing us, and pulled over to have a chat. Mary and Walter are also traveling to South Africa and showed us to the hotel they were staying at. It was expensive but nice, and we enjoyed the hot showers. Graham located and fixed a loose panhard rod on Witt's car which was the likely culprit of the shuddering while Jen and Connie did laundry. Afterward we had a "meat sandwich" at the hotel restaurant (which was surprisingly good) and exchanged some information with Mary and Walter. We also listened to some Malian music being performed at the hotel for the benefit of a Canadian documentary film maker.

The air-conditioned sleep was fantastic, and we were well rested in the morning. After saying our goodbyes to Mary and Walter, we went to the internet cafe, visited a supermarket, and headed out of town.

The road was tarmac, and we made really good time, camping a bit past Segou.

Last night was still cool, and we were able to sleep very well. The morning was still hazy though. We packed up and headed for Djenné, a town popular with tourists and boasting the world's largest mud brick structure (a mosque). We arrived at the turnoff for the town at about noon, and decided to postpone our visit until tomorrow so that we could enjoy "market day." Each village of size has one or two days per week where people from the surrounding areas come to buy and sell goods. Driving through a town on market day is fascinating, with loads of people milling about and goods for sale. There are inevitably large numbers of donkey carts on the roads heading into or leaving town (depending on the time of day). We pulled off the road and found a baobab to camp under. Graham and Witt changed the oil in both cars, and Witt repaired a puncture from yesterday. A local guy wandered into camp as Graham was preparing dinner. We said hello, but he didn't seem to want to talk. He stood and watched us for a few minutes then got bored and wandered off. We thought he had gone for good, but as we were finishing up we realized that he apparently found us so interesting that he went and got a friend to join him in watching us. We gave them a couple of cookies, and they stood about 10 feet from our camp for about an hour while we cleaned our dishes and stowed our gear. They didn't speak any French so we were not able to communicate. In any case they didn't seem interested in talking to us. We found the experience a bit unnerving, but ultimately they were probably just curious about our habits and our equipment. Chalk it up to a "cultural exchange!"

We have a movie account of our Djenné experience.

This morning after breakfast we made the short drive to Djenné. The brand new bridge reported by Expedition Overland (whose website, www.expeditionoverland.com, has been invaluable for advice) has washed out and they are back to using the ferry for the short water crossing. While in line for the ferry we were once again besieged by vendors selling stuff. One particularly interesting novelty was tiny cars, trucks, and planes made from bits of tin, plastic, and assorted discarded items.

We hired a guide named Lassina Sininatao for 7000 CFA to show us around the town. Lassina is the English teacher in town, but he is working as a guide because the teachers in Mali haven't been paid for three months. He is the brother of a local artisan famous for making "mud cloth" (a form of dying and decorating cotton) who has been filmed for a documentary and is named in our guide book. Needless to say we visited her shop on our tour. We were very impressed with Lassina and had a good day in Djenné. The market was extremely busy with all of the sights, sounds, and smells (not necessarily pleasant ones) you'd expect in such a market. We decided not to spend the night there, opting instead to get back on the road in hopes of reaching Niamey (where we need to get our Chad visas) before the weekend. Based on reports by Lonely Planet and other travelers, we've decided to give Timbuktu a miss, although it was with some regret that we passed by the turn off for that city this afternoon.

We headed east and a little north today toward Gao, the last town on the paved road through Mali. The landscape became drier and more Sahara-like as we neared the Niger River. We made the short ferry crossing and drove into the town in search of the campground recommended by Lonely Planet.

Gao is like a town on the edge of nowhere, and really it is. Historically it was a trading post at the end of the trans-Sahara camel routes like Timbuktu. We are planning to take the dirt road east of here along the north bank of the Niger toward the country of Niger. We located the campground, but discovered that it has been taken over by the US military. There have been reports that they have been stationing troops in west African nations in hopes of securing otherwise loose borders and of preventing Al Quieda from establishing training camps and bases in the desert in the northern parts of Mali and Mauritania. We haven't decided if their presence is a good thing or not. In any case, we have received no hostility whatsoever as a result of our being American. In most cases the reaction is simple surprise, since very few Americans venture into these areas, especially with their own vehicles. We located an alternate campground and settled in for the evening. Jen noticed a lady braiding a girl's hair and went to watch the procedure. Jen decided to have her hair braided and we had a great time watching the lady and about 3-5 young girls work on Jen's hair for about thirty minutes. Connie took video of this, which should be available the next time we have a good enough internet connection.