Western Africa, February-April 2005 - #

Solo trip. NYC-Casablanca-Dakhla, Western Sahara; then by land to Nouakchott (via Nouadhibou-Choum train and Adrar region); flight to Bamako; then overland through Mali to Burkina Faso (via Djenne, Mopti, Timbuktu); Burkina Faso to Niger (via Ouagadougou, Bani, Gorom Gorom and Dori); through Niger to Kano, Nigeria (via Tera, Niamey, Agadez and Zinder); flights to and stays in Lagos, Nigeria; Monrovia, Liberia; Freetown, Sierra Leone (and the peninsula); and Conakry, Guinea; overland to Guinea-Bissau (via Labe and Koundara); through Bissau and Ziguinchor, Senegal to Gambia; then Dakar, St. Louis and parts of Cape Verde. Great people, unfamiliar terrain and culture, and plenty to write home about.

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Mosque, Ouadane, Mauritania. I crossed the border from Dakhla, Western Sahara and got the ore train to the Adrar region. A fellow traveler and I were able to make it up to Ouadane from Chinguetti in time for the sunset.

Detail, Sidi Yahiya Mosque, Timbuktu, Mali. Timbuktu remains an important route for salt caravans across the desert. This ostrich egg atop the most historic mosque is a very African touch. The gritty quality to the air is due to the Harmattan wind, which blows hard from the Sahara for part of each year.

Man, Djenne, Mali. I stayed in Djenne for three days. It's a beautiful town, home to a famous mosque and a market as good as any in the region. The slower pace on non-market days is ideal for meeting and photographing people.

Mosque, Ouadane, Mauritania. I crossed the border from Dakhla, Western Sahara and got the ore train to the Adrar region. A fellow traveler and I were able to make it up to Ouadane from Chinguetti in time for the sunset.

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Keywords: africa ouadane afrique mauritania west africa western africa afrique de l'ouest

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