Timbuktu, Mali

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source : http://manolosonamission.com/2009/01/23/day-5-timbuktu-mali/

My eyes popped open, my heart pounded and my body jumped out of bed. It was 4am in Sevare and I could barely contain my excitement, “Wake up boys, We’re going to Timbuktu, we’re going to Timbuktu, we’re going to Timbuku!” This was the day that would finally solidify my status as a world traveler. I wanted to get there…now!

They grudgingly slid out of their beds and fell back into the same positions as they passed out in the car. After two more hours of blissful sleep they were rudely awakened as our car got off the paved road and hit the dirt road. For the next 6 hours, we took the desert by storm, crossing sand roads to Timbuktu, darting dozens of camels, hundreds of donkeys and averting thousands of kilograms of sand we were unavoidably choking on. After an hour, our driver spotted us cleaning up our faces like cats in his rear view mirror, and pulled over laughing. He helped us wrap turbans around our heads that would block the dust and sand from exfoliating our faces, to make the journey up to the mystical city a little more manageable.

After crossing the Niger river, again, we made it to Timbuktu just after lunch time. In typical Kash travel fashion, we dropped off our bags at Hotel Buktu and fled off in a hurry to tour the town before nightfall. No resting allowed. After an hour or so (Timbuktu is not very big), we met our camel guides who happened to be around 7 years old, that took us out to the sandy dunes just outside the city to watch the sunset. Upon returning to our hotel, our teeth were chattering and our speech impeded. IT IS COLD out here at night!

There is not much to see in Timbuktu besides sand and camels, but that’s enough for me. I love the desert! The turbans are also a big plus.