Tombouktou really exists and I've Been there. (hint it's in Mali)

A LOOK BACK AT MY PREVIOUS TRAVELS (PART 1: MALI 2000-2001)

I am guessing that most of you have not been following the new coming out of West Africa recently, but I have been, almost obsessively. There was a coup in Mali, which toppled one of the most stable, long-term democracies in that part of the world. This opened up the government to a renewed surge by the Tuareg to capture territory in the north, which they promptly did, aided by Al-Quada friendly groups. So the world has imposed sanctions on Mali, cutting off all their land borders, which for a landlocked country is very damaging.

Why do I care? Well I care because once upon a time in a different world I lived in Mali. And I loved it, hated it, it broke my heart and showed my the resilience and kindness of people.  It changed who I am as a person. At the age of 26 I had never been farther than Calgary or Tijuana out of the USA. I was in a failing dead end relationship and I hated my job. So I did what any person would do in my situation... I joined the Peace Corps. I had finally realized that I wanted to travel more than anything else in my life. Since I had a vast background in French (err 2 years of high school french ten years before) I was sent to sorta-french speaking Mali as a water/sanitation engineer.  Think about that... My first real trip out of the USA was Mali, West Africa, talk about jumping into the travel thing with both feet!

TOUBAB, TOUBAB. Oh the joys of have your very own pack of children following you everywhere screaming "here come a white person"

Peace Corps is a challenging experience and it is even more challenging if you are placed in a "skilled" profession like I was. I think the nurses, accountants and engineers have expectations of what working is. And it can be hard to throw those out the window as you adjust to a work rhythm that is much, MUCH slower.  And in a different language and culture. Because back then we jokingly called Mali "Muslim Lite". When I was there they generally practiced a very tolerant form of Islam that incorporated a lot of animism. And I must say Malians are one of the more tolerant accepting people (from a religious perspective) that I have experienced.

What newly minted Peace Corps volunteers look like, in this case Water Sanitation Mali volunteers, circa 2000.

But I managed to survived and I was placed in the south of the county in the large city of Sikasso. And this was where my life long <<<MANGO>>> addiction was born. Oh the joys of small mangos and big mangos and everything in between. During mango season I would literally consume mangos at every meal, up to 20 a day. I also got competent in using the local transportation (see bachee picture below) and took a number of trips around Mali and even around West Africa. Some solo and some with friend(s).

Oh the wonders of the african bush taxi, called a bachee in Mali. Can you find Becky? I would guess this one had about 20-25 people in it for the 5? hour trip from Burkina Faso to Sikasso Mali.

My host family fixing lunch under the mango tree, Sikasso Mali.

Before I left in late 2001, I decided that I needed to see the northern part of the county. So I took a two week trip to the north and visited Mopti, Tombouktou, and Gao.  Two of these cities are now under the control of Islamic extremists and there are reports that they are enforcing sharia law.  Not to mention the kidnapping of westerners and the total collapse of any tourism here.

This was an amazing, once in a lifetime trip that I still think about all the time. I took passage on a river boat up the Niger River from Mopti to Tombouktou. It was one of the overcrowded, local transport boats and the trip (If I remember correctly) took about 3 days. There were a few other westerners on the boat and it was amazing to see the village life along the river.  Unfortunately I don't have any photos of this trip. I must have lost my camera (note this is pre-digital so all these photos were scanned).

How african mothers tote their babies around.

I spent a couple days in Tombouktou. If you ever get the chance to go to the middle of the Sahara desert GO! Because Tombouktou is probably 1000 miles from the nearest city. In all directions. So the night sky is free from almost all light pollution and you can see galaxies with the naked eye. I laid on the roof of my hotel for hours watching the night sky. It is easily in the top 5 most amazing things I have ever seen.

Then I joined with some other travelers and we hired a boat to take us the rest of the way to Gao on the Niger river. We saw hippos and fishermen and followed the river as it winds up through the Sahara Desert. We stopped at villages on the way and climbed huge sand dunes.
All in all it is one of those amazing trips that everyone should take. Err at least before. Now there are westerner kidnappings in this area and fighting and the tourism is gone. So I mourn the loss for the Malian people and for the stability of West Africa and also for the hope in me that someday I could take my daughter to Mali and show her the place I became a world traveler. I keep my fingers crossed that the world intervention can restore the democracy of this great country before my friends and ex-neighbors suffer too much.

Hot Hot Hot in Moab Utah

To escape the crappy weather that is a typical Montana spring I headed to Moab Utah this past weekend to run in the Canyonlands 1/2 marathon. You see, I use to be a runner. In my before child world I entered 4 or 5 races a year. Heck I have even completed TWO marathons and the Bridger Ridge Run (20 miles of mountain running) back in the day. But in the post-child (lets call it PC) years I have struggled to get my running mojo back or even get off the couch.

Not that I am a good runner, mind you. Oh no, I am the happy to finish kind of runner. I have even been last in more than one race. BUT I finished.  I actually enjoy the trail running, but road running is just something I do to get in shape and earn the privilege to eat dessert. So I had the dubiously "brilliant" idea of entering a early spring race to kick off my return to being fit year in 2012. And found a couple of friends dumb (err I mean game) enough to agree to the idea.

This is a very popular race so you have to enter a lottery in order to get into the race. I entered my friends wwwaayy back in December. And I think we were all secretly hoping not to get in but well guess what...

Anyway, to make a long story short I finished. And I managed to beat 99 other people (out of 3500). This put me in the bottom 3% of those who finished. Needless to say I did alot of walking. Oh well, I am feeling motivated to keep up the training through the summer. Stay tuned to find out if I can get to the point where I do a full marathon this year (my pie in the sky goal).

Arches NP

In addition to the race we spent a couple of days doing touristy stuff. And we had incredible weather. It was sunny and in the 80's the whole time we where there. Plus we beat a huge spring snowstorm home by hours.  We visited Arches National Park and Jasmine got to see her first real desert.

And amazing arches of course!

All in all it was a most excellent first road trip for Jasmine and a good spring break getaway for us. Of course 4 days way no where near enough time to enjoy the area. So I am already planning a longer trip back in the next year or so to do some real desert hiking and camping.

Butte, America: exploring a foreign culture in my own back yard

Our life has finally calmed down since we got back from Indonesia and I have finally gotten organized enough to start taking some small weekend trips in our own backyard. My sister has recently moved to a medium-sized town in central western Montana called Butte. Pronounced "Booute' not butt, make that mistake at your own peril! So we traveled the 2 hours to visit her and spend the weekend exploring the area and town.

Center of town, old mine site with capped waste everywhere.

It's hard to explain to non-Montanans why one of the largest towns in Montana and a college town to boot would be a foreign culture. Well frankly there is no other place on the planet like Butte and people from Butte don't usually say they are from Montana, they say "Butte, America". It is a bizarre mix of redneck oldtimers, depressed economy (even when the rest of the country was booming, but worst now), college students, and a deeply entrenched union nepotism based favor system. You can buy a house with the limit on your credit card if you want to own it the rest of your life (selling is difficult if not impossible).

Butte is almost entirely located on, in and around a huge mined out hill and also has the fun distinction of being one of the largest superfund sites in the USA. There is an open-pit mine located in the center of the town that they stopped pumping the water out of about 10 years ago and now is filling up with highly toxic, acidic, metal filled water. They are treating the water but...  There are few trees in Butte and most are stunted.

View of the Berkely Pit, lovely lake of acid in the center of Butte.

But at the same time Butte is located central to one of the most amazing mountain areas in the west. Only a few hours from Yellowstone National Park, some of the best fishing and skiing in the world, and numerous wilderness areas.

Butte is a town where it is still normal to see someone dressed in acid-washed jeans and a full on mullet as your normal everyday dressed up to hit the bars outfit. Even with the advent of the Internet people in Butte still stick to the fashion of their high school days.

So it is a fun adventure to visit this foreign land located in your home state!

We decided a overcast, wintry day in March warranted a visit to a nearby hot springs located next to one of the world class streams nearby. I was sworn to secrecy about the actual location so as not to let the cat out of the bad on this amazing little gem of a hotsprings. The locals have built a little wall to hold the hot water in a little pool, we used a bucket to add some of the river water to regulate the temperature and then chilled. And they don't want all the poseurs from Missoula and Bozeman polluting it with their hippie lameness (or so I was told).

My sister Katie and Jas enjoying secret hotsprings on a unnamed Montana River.

To end the day we visited the newly opened Headframe Distillery (www.headframespirits.com)  located in Uptown Butte. The tasting room has a two drink max and I tried the bloody mary and whiskey ginger. Both were rocking and the atmosphere was a joyful mix of Butte awesome and typical bar crowd (plus the requisite 5 or 6 kids, Jasmine included). And yes people she just had a water. Geez what kind of mom do you think I am?? Oh right the kind that takes her 4 yo to a bar in Butte on Saturday night!

Anyone going through Butte should definitely make it a point to stop and taste some of Montana's (err I mean America's) newest booze! 

Indonesia Wrap-up

Well, our 6 weeks in Indonesia have come to an end and we are home.  We spent the last week back in Ubud, which like for many others, had become our home away from home in Bali. We were able to reconnect with our Irish/German friend Julia, relax, swim in the pool and generally soak up some final Bali time. Not to mention getting our shopping done. Telling everyone I would buy them gifts for Christmas seemed such a good idea in December. But not as much so when I had to cram all the shopping into 1 day. Oh well, my bargaining skills are now razor sharp.

We really enjoyed experiencing a few of the many sides of Indonesia including the hectic Muslim island of Java, the touristy Hindu Bali, the remote and not touristy more rural Lombok and finally the laidback islands of the Gilis.

Trip Highlights:

• New friends including Ross and Jake (Canadian/American english teachers in Japan), Joyce and Iain w/ Xavier and Tess (Australian family), Leah and Luke (Australians), Ale and Javi (Chilean/Kiwi/Aussie single mom and daughter), Julia (Irish/German on a RTW trip), and Alex (American footballer).

Julia with Jasmine

Javi and Ale

• Seeing old friends who live oh so far away: Ali from Beijing



•  Food: We especially like the Mie Gorung (fried noodles) Mie Kuah (noodle soup), banana pancakes, and all the glorious fish we got in Lombok.

Typical fish dinner, note best eaten with a large Bintang beer

Banana pancake, really more of a crepe, with honey on the side.

Front of a typical Warung (small restaurant)

• Natural wonders of Indonesia including active volcanoes: Mount Bromo and Mount Batur

• Finally the temples and other cultural stuff added to our understanding of Indonesian culture

So with sadness at leaving mixed with the joy of heading home we said goodbye to Indonesia:

Sunset over Bali

Galungan: celebrating a Hindu ceremony in Bali

Occurring once in every 210 days in the pawukon (Balinese cycle of days), Galungan marks the beginning of the most important recurring religious ceremony that is celebrated by all Balinese. During the Galungan period the deified ancestors of the family descend to their former homes. They must be suitably entertained and welcomed, and prayers and offerings must be made for them. Those families who have ancestors that have not yet been cremated, but are still buried in the village cemetery, must make offerings at the graves.

pouring rain

This is one of the major balinese hindi holidays and we got to observe while here. It was pretty neat to experience the celebration at the guest house we are staying at through our guesthouse family here in Ubud. The day before they decorated their penjor (a tall bamboo pole that they place in front of the home). The family also spent hours decorating the family temple and preparing offerings.

Family temple all decorated for Galungan

We dressed in sarongs and sashes and watched all the people walk around delivering their offerings to the different temples. All in all it was a really fun day.

penjor and decorated shrine in front of a house on the street I am staying

penjors galore

Base of the penjors and the women making offerings

At the temple praying after making offerings

What the offerings look like

The family dressed in their Galungan best (with Jasmine)

In search of a good Beach

We spent a very busy week with Alison visiting a few new places around Bali including the east coast area of Amed. This is a relatively isolated area of coastline with gorgeous black sand beaches. Unfortunately we landed there during a 3 days of extreme stormy weather and the wind and waves were big almost the whole time we were there. We did get one day of not bad weather, but they lost power on the whole coast the day we arrived and never got it back. I had sorta planned on staying there for a couple of days after Alison left but with high winds, big waves and no power, it was just too hard for us. So we moved on to calmer pastures... Sanur.

Black sand beach in Amed

Before coming to Bali I had this impression that it was the land of gorgeous beaches. But in reality the beaches here have been pretty sucky. Even in places where we had fun, like the Gilis, the beaches have been coarse broken up pieces of coral and really shallow water or dirty with huge waves (both Kutas and Lovina). No fine sand beaches with clean swimmable ocean. Amed had the beaches but the weather was so bad we couldn't really enjoy it.

more black sand beaches

The gorgeous Amed coast

But finally in Sanur we found a nice clean beach, with easy access and a swimmable ocean, even if most of the tourists there were in there 50s and 60s. But it took us visiting 6 different towns to fine a halfway okay beach. I guess now I know, you don't visit Bali looking for world class beaches. Not that we didn't enjoy all of our ocean experience (after all it doesn't take much for someone from Montana to get their ocean fix on). But definitely different than expected.

fishing boats in Amed

yes, she gets to drink soda here

Seems only fair since I get to drink yummy microbrews

Ubud: otherwise known as the Love in "Eat,Pray,Love"

After a rough couple of days spent in Kuta, the armpit of Bali, trying to get our visa extension we finally landed in Ubud. Ubud is located in central Bali and it is a very relaxing place with lots of pretty rice terraces and amazing shopping. And for those of you who know me, you know the shopping has to be great for me to like it. Cuz I hate shopping generally.

My guide book said that it was a simple one day at the immigration office to get our visa extensions. They give you a 30 day one on arrival, but we are here longer so had to extend. Well, it turns out that you have to go back 2 more times, which would have meant us losing 2 more days of our trip, not to mention having to pay to go back to Kuta so I finally had to pay an agency $150 to do it for us. 

Kuta is a loud touristy town with a dirty, crowded beach and really aggressive touts. Along the beach are such classy restaurants as McDonalds, KFC, Starbucks and other American pollution. Our first hotel had bedbugs and every street has hundreds of crappy teeshirt shops. Apparently 18yo Aussies love it, but for me it is my idea of hell.

Classic rice terrace

One of the attractions here is a temple in a forest inhabited by hordes of aggressive monkeys. They steal, they bite and generally are mean. So they are fun to see but we had to be pretty vigilant in keeping them off of Jasmine. Another nice thing about Ubud is the hundreds of cheap Spas here. I got a 1 hour massage and half hour body scrub for about $11. Oh so nice, I could get use to that everyday, though I have only had 2 since I've been here.

Hordes of Monkeys

Baby monkey

My friend Alison has joined us for a week and we went and did some of the touristy stuff around Ubud. We visited a couple of temples and another volcano. Man I love all the cool geology here!

The Dragon Alison brought Jas in celebration of the Year of the Dragon

Mt Batur, with the 1994 lava flow in the front.

Temple

This is generally how we get around. Me doing all the work and Jas watching the scenery

We have had a relaxing week here in Ubud, but it is time to see something new. We are going to the beach to spend some more relaxing time. It's a hard life we are living!