Mali, Senegal and Gambia with Travel Dynamics

I read with great interest the reader’s letter about Mali (July ’06, pg. 66). Our tour of Mali in February ’06 was considerably different, covering much the same venue but in a different fashion, with less driving and camping time. Our tour was with a group of 29 put together by Travel Dynamics (132 East 70th St., New York, NY 10021; 800/257-5767, www.traveldynamicsinternational.com), which we booked through Rex Travel (Chicago, IL; 800/777-7739, www.rextravel.com).

Travel Dynamics’ “The Road to Timbuktu” trip left every week in January and February and lasted 14 days. We spent seven days in Mali and then flew to Dakar in Senegal where we boarded a ship, more like a yacht, the Callisto. The price of the tour varied, depending on ship cabin chosen, from $9,995 to $11,895 and was inclusive of all flights in Mali and to Dakar but not international air. Everyone agreed that we got our money’s worth.

On arrival in Bamako, Mali, we were transferred to Hotel Sofitel. We spent the next day touring the city, seeing the recycling market, really a sight to behold, and the National Museum, where our guide was none other than the museum’s director; one of our guides knew him personally.

The next morning we flew in a chartered plane to Mopti (the alternative method of transport would have been an 11-hour drive over poor to mediocre roads). In Mopti we saw the mud-brick mosque and took a river cruise to visit Fulani and Bozo tribal villages. We spent this and the next two nights at Hotel Kanaga, probably the best available. The food there was the most mediocre of the trip.

The fourth day was spent driving 2½ hours to Djenné, stopping along the way to visit a mud mosque in a village. Some members of our group climbed to the top of this mosque after visiting the inside.

In Djenné, we got to see the huge Mud Mosque from several vantage points, but no one was allowed inside. Afterward, we all enjoyed the mud-cloth workshop, and several people took the opportunity to make purchases. Our lunch in a covered garden was very good. This is one of the few trips I have taken where wine was not only served and included at every lunch and dinner but was actually pushed.

The next day took us northwest to Dogon country, where we toured three villages. One was at the foot of the escarpment, which we climbed to see all the rock art. The second and third villages were phenomenal, and they were the boyhood villages of one of our guides.

It was wonderful talking with a group of teachers, and after lunch at the hotel we broke up into smaller groups and took turns visiting each village. When we all assembled again, we spent the next hour watching a spectacular mask dance. Some of the dancers were on tall stilts.

We flew to Timbuktu and were met by a caravan of nine Toyota Land Cruisers, which took us through the desert to meet a group of Tuareg villagers, who danced for us. The women’s foreheads were covered with silver pieces, which we learned were their dowries. Everyone in the village wore blue, the traditional color of the Tuareg people. After a driving and walking tour, we had a meal at what we were told was the best hotel in town. At best, it was a 2-star.

Lunch, however, was something else. The Tuaregs had beheaded three lambs for our group. The lambs were roasted on a spit all morning along with bales of vegetables. This meal was outstanding. Afterward we walked the town, seeing mosques, the university and the outstanding library.

We flew via commercial jet from Bamako to Dakar and were taken by bus to the Callisto, a Greek ship with Greek crew. We spent the next seven days visiting Senegal and Gambia, motoring into the Casamance River in Senegal, the Gambia River in Gambia and the Saloum River delta in Senegal. We visited small and large villages and got to talk with the people. The poorest of the countries was Gambia.

Our trip on the Callisto was outstanding. The crew bent over backward to make sure we had a delightful trip.

For those of us who did not have sea legs, the trip was a blessing, as we spent only 18 hours on the Atlantic, total. Our last day was spent touring Gorée Island and Dakar. Those who wanted to rest and prepare for the long trip home each spent the day in their room at the Sofitel Hotel.

— MARVIN PRIMACK, Stockton, CA