Crossing The Finish Line (AKA "Lookie Lookie Timbuktu")

The ship arrived at Kouriome, The port closest to Timbuktu, at 1:45. Already we were getting stiffed in prices, from the pirogue driver letting us off the boat, to even buying a coke. After much haggling, we got a 4X4 (or quatre-quatre, pronounced “cat-cat”) to take us into town. Finally we arrived at the gates of what the French call “Tomboctou”.

My first impressions of Timbuktu: there was sand everywhere and many buildings were mud brick and clamshell-like Taureg tents. The place was desolate and looked like the planet Tattooine from Star Wars. (Fact: desert scenes in Star Wars were filmed in Tunisia)

We immediately booked rooms and were quite happy. The next order of business was to celebrate by drinking (heavily) at the bar – and it was only 3 in the afternoon.

Although our time was tight, Kevin, Jan Il and I wanted to spend a night in the desert. We were so close to the Sahara, we had to take the final step. Some hangers-on at the hotel bar offered their services for connecting us to Taureg guides, but they seemed rather arrogant, like little kings of Timbuktu – besides, it’s always good to get a second opinion, even if you’re buzzing.

We waltzed around the town for a while, seeing the grand marché and walking through the mud-walled streets. We asked around, but eventually went back to the original guys, who we found joyriding around town. They were snooty, pompous, smoked and made a hard-bargain – basically, I found it easy to hate him, but also to respect him!

We had some egg sandwiches whilst watching Ghana’s football team get trashed by Zimbabwe (astounding!) at the Cup of African Nations. Later we met up for couscous with the whole gang, including Russ and Pete who were quite trashed and probably gave Scots and Kiwis a bad reputation in town that won’t be shaken for a long time…

For the first time in almost a week, I slept in a bed. For the first time since Bamako, I slept in one that I was comfortable in. Finally.