Day 64: Back to Tenere
Soutpiel Safari
John & Jenny
Sat 8 Jan 2011 16:47
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Day 64: Friday 7 January 2010. Tenere emcampement, Mali.
N16 24.092 W002 53.952. Distance driven 64 km
We are on a very slow internet link and on checking the
various posts that I have made over the last 6 days I find that they have
disappeared into the ether: I am really getting fed up with this Mailasail blog
software. I have just spent the last hour re-posting 3 blogs that I
painstakingly wrote in the desert and sent, at great expense, by Sat Phone, only
to find that I have been wasting my time and money!
Well, back-tracking, we had a fascinating tour of
Tombouctou visiting the various libraries where they have original manuscripts
dating back to the 10th century. There were 13th century treatises in Arabic of
astronomy, geometry and pharmacology. Quite incredible for a sandy
assembly of mud huts in the middle of the desert.
We left at midday and drove back over the ferry to
Tenere encampement. At the ferry we had an unpleasant altercation with a very
aggressive man, whom we had met two days earlier in the melee on the other
side. We had been queuing with 50 other vehicles, all fighting to get on
the ferry, when we decided to opt out, turn around and join our friends camping
for the night. In turning around in a very tight space and without brakes
at the time, I bumped a beaten up old pick-up and broke his headlight.
This "fixer" very aggressively demanded CFA 30,000 on behalf of the
owner. I eventually settled with the owner for 20,000 and paid him and we
each went our separate ways. On return today we were accosted by the same
fixer who aggressively demanded another CFA 10,000. I told him to get lost
whereupon he said he would get a Gendarme - we said go head. Meanwhile a very
pleasant local Malian interpreted for us and when the Gendarme arrived he acted
for us. It was all settled very quickly once the Gendarme had heard both
sides of the story, he also told Mr Fixit to get lost and he slunk off
muttering. It was very pleasing to have a local volunteer to help us and not to
request a reward for his services.
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