Benin: Tata-Somba, the mud fortress

If slave raiders are coming you should hide. People in Northern Benin developed a unique way to do it.

Lost in between amazing mountains the Tammari people created the impressive Tatas-Somba, fortresses made out of mud to protect them from slave raiders. A must see!!

The fortress itself

The entrance

The stable

Hunting trophies

Big room (without physical barrier from the stable)

Kitchen

Entrance to a smaller room

Cereal storage

Mali: In a pirogue without a lifejacket

Driving in Africa during the raining season is a challenge. We tried to go to Djenné shortly after the end of it and experienced it! The River Niger was still very high and we couldn’t reach the place from where the usual ferry departs. The solution: a small pirogue… for the three of us (and some more people)!!

Good that Tear Drop is not afraid of the water! In any case they didn’t have lifejackets motorbike size!!

About Djenné, it is a spectacular place, with all the houses and an impressive mosque made out of mud. Definitely, it’s worth a visit!

Mali: Peaceful war land

We are very proud and very happy we went into Mali. No travel advice recommends visiting Mali in these days, but we were informed it was a beautiful country and that around Bamako it should be safe. In fact it was, we survived it and, even more, we loved it!

I just leave you with some random pictures for you to enjoy. No Mopti nor Timbuktou (we didn’t think it was safe enough to go there)!

Other curiosity is that we spent 10 nights in Mali, and we didn’t pay for a single one. The first night we stayed in a village with (almost) no man, then Samuel hosted us in Bamako, we stayed in a Chinese sugarcane plant close to Segou and we used our 2 seconds tent the rest of the way till we left to Burkina Faso!

Market Mama in Bamako

Niger River in Segou

Niger River bank in Segou (people cleaning sand)

Child in Segou

Child in a small village on the way to Djenne

Village on the way to Djenne

Food storage houses

Food storage house

Mosque in Djenne

Niger River, close to Djenne 

Djenne

Djenne

Senegal: The Chinese battery

You only have small batteries but your torch needs a large battery: we have the solution!

Chinese engineering.

Mali: Só eu sei porque não fico em casa!

I am a fan of the team on the other side of the road, but I am surprised to find some Sporting fans in Mali!!

Perhaps they are the only ones that don’t know about Sporting latest results!