MALI 2003

Mali Tour 2002-2003
Introduction

Five members of the Class of 1959, Woodstock School, Mussoorie, India, held a mini-reunion in Mali, West Africa in January 2003. Host for the trip was Joanne Gray, class member and Southern Baptist missionary in Mali. Other members of the class had been contemplating the trip for over a year, combining curiousity about Mali with a desire to see the country of "Joie's" life before she retires.

Classmates on the trip: Jackson Day, Alice Clague, Joanne Gray, Norman Mundhenk, and Philip McEldowney.

Classmates and Spouses: Llyn Clague, Fran Irvin, Jackson Day, Alice Clague,
Joanne Gray, Norman Mundhenk, Philip McEldowney, and John Gray.

Departing Dulles Airport outside Washington, D. C. the evening of Sunday, December 29th, we were on board Air France overnight. After a several hour layover in Paris the next day, we boarded another Air France jet for the trip south across the Atlas Mountains and Sahara Desert to Bamako. Our hopes to see any of this by daylight were disappointed when departure was delayed several hours due to a very unwilling and loud deportee. When the deportee would not settle down and provoked force on the part of his guards, Malian passengers on board along with a professional photographer with a large camera joined in the uproar. French authorities evacuated the plane, permitting reboarding only after an interval. Then the deportee was removed, not to fly on this day. The remainder of the trip was uneventful, but it was dark.

* December 31 - January 2 -- In and around Bamako Having arrived December 30, we got to spend New Year's Eve on the rooftop of our hotel in Bamako, with a panorama of fireworks 360 degrees around. We visited markets and restaurants and prepared for our inland excursion.

* Friday, January 3 -- Baraouile and the Niger. Our first day heading west, we visited Baraouile and then a village where we were proudly shown a new school house; then a long drive on a dirt track along the Niger river seeking to visit a Bozo fisher village. The villagers unfortunately were away in their winter quarters.

* Saturday, January 4 -- Segou A walk through the colonial part of town; a visit to weavers, dyers, and, by boat across the Niger River, a potters village.

* Sunday, January 5 -- Djenne An historic Muslim city with a famous mosque. We stayed overnight with Bocum, a Malian friend.

* Monday, January 6 -- Sevare Fewer sites. We stayed at "Mac's Refuge".

* Tuesday, January 7 -- Timbuktu An hour's plane ride north to Timbuktu; a mid-day tour of the ancient city and its sights; dinner at the home of a Malian Baptist pastor.

* Wednesday, January 8 -- Mopti. A restaurant specializing in fish; and the Mopti market; and then on to Douenza for the night.

* Thursday, January 9 -- Looking for Elephants A full day excursion into the bush of the Elephant Reserve. Wonderful sights, but no elephants. Dramatic Rock Formations including Fatimah's Hand

* Friday, January 10 -- Dogon Country A day long trek through Dogon country between Douenza and Sevare.

* Saturday, January 11 -- Sevare to Segou;

* Sunday, January 12 -- Segou back to Bamako.

* Monday, in Bamako * Tuesday, January 14 -- Mountougoula Marionettes Our final evening in a village -- music by a Christian griot, and then, long after nightfall, a three hour village festival with marionettes.

* Wednesday and Thursday, January 15 - 16 -- Bamako. Thursday evening back to airport, departure at midnight * Friday, January 17 - Thursday January 23 -- Paris in January. Quite a change from Mali, we spent some time in Paris before returning across the Atlantic.

Special Interest Photos

* Social Advertising. Billboards focused on AIDS (SIDA) and female circumcision (excision).

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