Almost...

Well, as of last Friday I now have all my visas. The previous week I had gone to the Malian Embassy on the Thursday, handed over my $100 cash, all the forms, pictures, and of course, passport, and was told to come back the following morning to pick up my visa. I got to the embassy around 11 am on the Friday, only to have to wait 20 minutes as the visa still hadn't been signed. Once it was, I dashed over to the Niger embassy on the next street, as they only accepted visa applications from 9 am to 12 noon, only to discover that they didn't take cash. So then I had to sprint to the post office on the corner of Friel and Rideau to get a postal order for the $83 fee, then sprint back (in the rain) getting to the Niger embassy at 12:02. Luckily the woman was still in her office and accepted the money order. She told me to check back in 5 business days. Considering that Niger is on the Foreign affairs no-go list, I can't imagine why it should take 5 days, when Mali can do it in 1, but mine not to reason why. So, last Friday I tried to phone the Niger embassy to see if my visa was ready, but they weren't answering their phones, so I went there anyway, arriving at about 11 am. Once again, the visa hadn't been signed, so I waited fifteen minutes while they did that, then, postal order in hand, trotted over to the Burkina Faso embassy on Range Road, where they issued my visa while I waited. Only $77 this time, not counting the cost of the postal money order.

This week the only day off I have is Monday, so while I was at home preparing lunch I got a phone call from World Vision to tell me that Fatima's father had moved the family out of World Vision's area of operations, so she was no longer part of the sponsorship program. Diane Kelly from World Vision was very apologetic, but as she pointed out, they don't "own" the families. However, she has promised that I will still get to meet Fatima, to say good-bye, and we have arranged that I will sponsor another little girl from the same region, Safia, who I will get to meet also. So, although I am sorry to be losing Fatima, I will at least get to meet her, and this way I will start off my sponsorship of Safia with the major plus of having met her. I just hope Fatima will be able to continue her schooling, as she said she wanted to be a doctor or nurse when she grows up.

Needled Again!

Just back from a fun trip to the Downtown Travel Medicine Clinic for my trip vaccinations! This time I didn't have to get Yellow Fever, as that is good for 10 years and I got it for my last trip to Africa 5 years ago, but I did get Typhin Vi for Typhoid, Avaxim for Hep A, and Menactra for Meningitis. He also gave me Dukoral, which I need to take 2 weeks and 1 week before I go, for Cholera, and a prescription for Malaria meds. He also insisted on giving me a prescription for something for diarrhea, which I won't get filled, as the Dukoral also covers that. This time it cost $382.00, and that's not including the malaria meds - I don't know how much those are yet.

My guide

This is a picture of the guide I have hired for my stay in Mali. His name is Moussoudou Baby dit Pappa.

Getting Started

Well, I have my airline tickets, Ottawa to Montreal by bus, Air France Montreal to Paris, and Air France Paris to Niamey. I will be busing from Niamey to Ouagoudougou, and thence to Bamako, and then Air France back to Paris, Montreal and home to Ottawa. My boss Mika very kindly paid for my tickets from Ottawa to Paris and back, as a thank-you for my having been with Singing Pebble for 10 years. That covered half the cost of my flights right there, a wonderful present! (Much better than a watch or a pin!)

One of the main reasons I am visiting Niger and Mali is to visit two of my sponsored children, Fatima in Niger, and Diarah in Mali. I sponsor Fatima through World Vision and Diarah through Save the Children U.S.A. (Save the Children Canada doesn't do sponsorships). I am still finalizing the details of the visits with the two agencies.

I am going to be in Niger for about a week, just long enough to visit Fatima. I will be arriving in Niamey May 30th, a Sunday. I will take the local bus to Maradi, the nearest town to where Fatima lives, and there I will connect with the local World Vision staff. They originally wanted to drive me from Niamey, but that was going to cost over $600, including several days' hotel, food, per diem wages, fuel, etc, while the bus costs about $20. After the visit, I will take the bus from Niamey to Ouagoudougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, where I hope to stay overnight before continuing by bus to Bamako.

Diarah lives near Sikasso, in Mali. I still haven't heard from Save the Children about the local details, but it will probably be up to me to make my own way to Sikasso. This all still leaves me with about 2 and a half weeks in Mali before I fly home on the 27th of June. I want to visit Timbuktu of course, but I also want to see Mopti and Djenne, and visit the Bandiagara escarpment where the Dogon people live. When I looked into tours of Mali, most seemed prohibitively expensive for one person travelling alone - anywhere from $3000 to $7000 US for a week to 10 days. I searched and searched until I found Papa, a local tour guide who has promised me a custom-designed trip for 2100 Euros, or about $2900 Canadian. He will meet me in Sikasso, and take me to all the places I want to visit, and return to Bamako on the 26th. We have been corresponding in a mixture of English (me) and French (him) via email for the past month or so to finalize the details. He says he speaks English although he doesn't write it. I hope for both our sakes he does, because my French is pretty pathetic!