Signing off from West Africa
Friday, May 18th, 2007This is our last day in West Africa after three months here and five months travelling overall since the Asian Games. So, while waiting for our 3am flight, some thoughts…
The first two months in Arabia and Morocco were really enjoyable. Yemen was just as I’d hoped it would be – tribal, mysterious, beautiful and different. The architecture of places like Thula, Shibam and the old city of Sana’a was very special, and the whole place has an atmosphere all of its own (the dancing and shooting festival being the epitomy of this).
The touts aside, Morocco was an amazing place as well. It’s one of the most geographically diverse countries I’ve ever seen, one in which you can go from the edge of the Sahara to the snow-capped peaks of the High Atlas to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in barely more than a day. The High Atlas was perhaps the single biggest highlight of the whole trip for me; wonderful mountain scenery, and we were so lucky to have clear skies and beautiful light every day despite it being winter. Plus the medinas of Fes, Marrakesh, Meknes and Rabat were all wonderful places, Todra Gorge was spectacular – the list goes on and on.
And then we went to West Africa and it wasn’t as much fun anymore. I’m really glad we got the chance to come here and experience life in the poorest region of the world, but I’m not clamouring to return to West Africa anytime soon (perhaps the Sahara in Niger aside).
Perhaps these words will offer some perspective. This is from the Bradt guide to Benin, written by someone who otherwise seems to like Africa a lot:
‘There’s nothing that’s good or comfortable about Africa. There is nothing at all nice, nothing gentle, nothing friendly, nothing pleasant and nothing easy. In every possible way, Africa is the worst place in the world. Whatever way you look at it, Africa is Hell. Don’t think of it as anything but your worst nightmare.’
So be it. There were some things that were really enjoyable about West Africa – namely elephant spotting in Burkina Faso and Ghana, the mask festival in Burkina Faso, traditional markets in Mali and Burkina Faso (suddenly realising that Burkina was my favourite country in West Africa by a reasonable margin), the scenery and architecture of Dogon Country in Mali and getting to know two locals quite well (Sorif in Dakar and Steven in Accra) and a couple of travellers in particular (Ted and Lockie).
But everything was hard in West Africa, from transport to the heat to the electricity problems to the lack of development (especially in Mali) that made it hard to find goods anywhere. The harmattan haze was so frustrating but I was pretty lucky in the end that I was able to get the photos I wanted from the most interesting places.
So, a couple of lists to finish:
Things I will miss about West Africa:
– The colourful clothing worn in every country.
– Watching rural scenes, especially women carrying huge buckets on their heads and village life, where everyone gathers by the lone water pump (if they’re lucky enough to have one).
– Street stalls, where you can buy a plate of hot food for US$0.40.
Things I won’t miss about West Africa:
– Any form of transport, especially motorbike taxis with packs on (though it strikes me that I still have to take one or two more of these later today) and anything in Mali.
– Waking up in the middle of the night in your already stuffy and hot room to the sound of the fan slowing down to a stop.
– The ‘Yovo, yovo, bonsior, ca va bien, merci’ song that every kid in Benin feels the need to sing at you everytime they see you (Yovo is the name for white people in Benin), and generally being called a yovo/tubob/obroni/blanc (or whatever the word for white person is in whichever country you happen to be in) dozens of times every day.
Tomorrow we’ll be back in Rome for the start of five months or so in Europe doing various things (getting married etc). Needless to say, after three months in sub-Saharan Africa, we can’t wait…
Nick