Timbuktu Sunset

After a good night's sleep (i.e. not rocking on a boat), and a breakfast of flatbreads, honey and tea, we headed into town. This was a bit of a trek, but the positioning of SP on the edge of the desert was pretty awesome, so the walk was not much bother at all. The heat was pretty roasting, but this was because the humidity had dropped off completely, and the desert winds were very dry. Lots of chapped lips.

Two of the lads who lived in SP, as helpers, walked in with us and showed us around a couple of markets. this was really nice of them, but they did have an ulterior motive, as afterwards they did ask us about treks into the deserts and their friends who owned jewelry shops... Anyway, we told the lads that we wanted to see Timbuktu by ourselves and we had a nice long lunch to get out of the heat, and get away from the hawkers (mainly fake Tuareg tribesmen selling 'authentic' tat). Afterwards, we headed to the town's main mosque that was under repair after the rainy season (as in Djennè), and took a stroll back to SP for around 3pm.

On Miranda's advice, the six of us (Dree, Barney, Kez, me, Sam and Tilly) took a walk about a kilometre into the sand dunes to watch the sunrise. I do really want to say Sahara, but it was only the beginning. Ah forget it - we saw a sunset in the Sahara! There were some really annoying kids that followed us the whole way from the edge of town. At first they were really friendly, but after we said we wanted to be alone and didn't want to buy anything they became proper pains. As Miranda told us her father put it the guides and hawkers in Timbuktu are "like flies, you can swat them away but they always come back".

The scenery was amazing. We climbed up to the highest sand dune in sight, and looked out into the vast desert. Camels and herds of goats passed by, Tuareg herders waving, and the sun began to set, turning the sky shades of orange. The kids kept shouting when they knew we were enjoying the silence, and Dree made them scarper at one point by grabbing a flip flop and chasing them down the dune! Regardless of the kids, the sunset was awesome, and the silence only one kilometre outside of Timbuktu was pretty special. Facing out into the desert you couldn't hear anything!

After some funny camera jinks involving us jumping (or me running) off the dunes' edge, the sun set fully and we headed back to the town for an authentic Timbuktu dish at SP - large breads that had been steamed in a gorgeous 15-spice sauce for some time. We ate with our hands on rugs placed over the sand, and were joined by Shindouke and Miranda. After a really good filling (and amazing tasting) dinner, we sat up for another few hours chatting away like old friends over the fire and under the stars.

The atmosphere in SP was fantastic, everyone was so friendly, with Shidouke and Miranda bending over backwards to help us in any way that they could. We mentioned about going to Dogon Country afterwards, so Shindouke got on the phone and arranged a meeting for the next day with a guide that he knew. Another funny moment was on the way back from the desert sunset, when we bumped into two robed horsemen outside SP. The night before Shindouke heard that Barney can ride and so he called one of his friends to come over and have a race! We didn't even put two and two together until Shindouke asked that night!

Sahara Passion is one of the nicest places I've stayed; most definitely up there with Libra Guesthouse in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and I would recommend it to anyone who is anywhere near Mali! Or even in Africa!