Senossa

After an amazing night's sleep on the roof - interrupted sporadically by deafening midnight prayers - we took the decision to walk to a nearby village and see some authentic Malian way of life; to escape the hassle in Djennè. This was also helped by the price that guides wanted for a tour of the village, almost £20 each! More than our whole budget for the day; accommodation, food, drink etc. Anyway, it would be an adventure.

In the guidebook, Senossa was described as "a village of bare-breasted women with large earrings", and we all know how much Dum and Sleazy Barney love oversized jewellery! On the way out of town, after getting a fair amount of water, we stopped by the third attraction in Djennè - The Tomb of Tampana Djenepo. This was a young virgin that was sacrificed by the town, to ward off evilo spirits, when the first foundations of Djennè kept crumbling for no reason. Needless to say, it was just a wall set in a small square with a tiny sign. But at least we didn't have to pay this time!

Past yet more cries of "Tuoab, Tuoab", we exited town on a similar heightened red-dirt road and saw some boys playing Hoop 'n' Stick. Now I've been wanting a go on this for ages; looked like a load of fun. I'm sure I don't need to explain, but it involves pushing a bike tyre along with a small stick, and trying to keep it upright. For those over fifty reading this, you may have played it yourself (cheeky grin). Well, it's a lot harder than it looks. Had a laugh giving it a go, but both me and Dree weren't brilliant. Then the young lad showed us how it was done, sprinting down the road, and then doing a 180° turn round a pothole and back, again at speed. Skills.

We continued down the road in baking heat (over 35°C) and took a well-needed break after half an hour in some shade by a small village. We watched some men fish with nets from carved wooden pirogues, and I got a few awesome 'postcard' snaps! Continuing on for another kilometre or so, we stopped and asked some passing children carrying bags of rice on their heads - Senossa was only meant to be a few km out of Djennè. The children giggled and pointed across the dusty sahel (dry, dusty scrubland), away from the road, to a small group of buildings in the far distance. So off we went.

It took around an hour to walk across the arid land, pockmarked with scrub and the occasional thirsty-looking tree, and we had to take a few breaks in the little shade we could find - it really was roasting hot! More walking across the cracked earth and we came to a swampy area between us and the village about 250m in the distance. There were a few people in a small pirogue by the water's edge, and we were able to ask one man who spoke French if we could get to the village. He said yes and into the pirogue we got.

Two young kids punted the wooden boat to deeper water and across the shallow lake. The water didn't look too inviting though, but the scenery was pretty cool - cutting through waterlillies and reeds on our way. However, the pirogue was ridiculously low in the water (eight people, a bicycle and a few bags) and everytime we pushed forward it rocked from side to side, letting a little bit of water over the edge. Me and Barney were on one small plank, Kez and Dree on another. I can only speak for myself but white knuckles and hunched shoulders barely covers it. I didn't fancy a swim!