Dogon Country
Trip Start
Sep 18, 2007
1
23
34
Trip End
Dec 18, 2007
Sanga, Mali
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Dogon Country. It's a gorgeous area. The landscape alone is
breathtaking--all canyons and rocky cliffs and caves. Add to that the
fascinating remains of the Telem civilization--ancient houses and
graineries perched impossibly high up in the cliff walls. No one knows
how they got up there, much less built the things. My guide said it had
something to do with a magical secret language and the ability to herd
mud bricks like goats up magical cotton threads. Now the area is
inhabited by the Dogon people who live in incredibly picturesque little
Hobbit villages up and down the valleys and clinging to the rocks,
surrounded by baobabs dangling wierd alien-pod fruits. I hiked through
the area for 6 days, just me and a local guide, travelling through
millet fields and rocky passes, by little caves and sacred crocodile
ponds. We stayed in rustic restaurant/hotels in the villages, sleeping
on the roof under the stars (well at least I did, Malians think it's
much too cold right now).
