The middle of the bush, Mali

We made the right decision and chose the better road out of western Mali towards the capital of Bamako. We realized this 200 kilometers out of Kayes when this supposedly better road turned into a bumpy, muddy mess. Driving at 20 kilometers an hour didn't help. The roof rack fractured and almost fell off. We wondered what the worse road would have been like? Four hours later, in need of a back massage, we realized that we were loosing light and that we should figure out a place to sleep. Not knowing whether we would make it to a town with a hotel before dark, we opted for sleeping in the bush. Driving on would have been a greater risk since this road was reportedly full of bandits stalking nighttime travelers. Pulling off the road, out of the line of sight of bandits, we parked the car in between some bushes and set up camp. We didn't have much food. I found a scorpion under a rock.

As night fell, lightning lit up the eastern sky and we prepared for the downpour. Once it started to rain, the boys left took shelter in their tent and I was alone in mine. Hyenas howled in the distance behind us. Minutes later they howled in front of us. I was scared. The wind began to scream. Suddenly, the two wooden poles that were holding the tarp up for rain protection slammed into the side of my tent, almost impaling me and pinning me to the side of the car. Not realizing what had happened, haunted by images of hyenas, I was too terrified to move—let alone leave the tent—to fix the problem. I screamed to the boys, who ran out their tent to help me out. They immediately started to make fun of me for being so terrified and helpless. Their making light of the situation was exactly what I needed. It wasn't all that serious. I didn't need to be saved, but they had come to my rescue anyway. The sight of them in the downpour in their underwear made me laugh, and my fear was gone. The tarp was secured with our spare tires and we decided to drink some brandy to calm our nerves. A couple of card games later, we turned in. Once the rain slowed down to a drizzle, I woke up nervously to the sound of animals scurrying in the bush (sounds that were previously overshadowed by the rain). I drifted back to sleep. Later, when the rains had ceased and it was pitch dark outside, I awoke to the sound of footsteps by my tent. I hardly dared to breathe as I tried to imagine what could be making that noise. It sounded like a cat. A big one. I listened until I was too tired to stay awake. Dawn was welcome.

In the morning, I insisted on driving on the muddy, puddle-filled road that I had hated so much the day before. This time, I actually enjoyed driving for its challenge. With roads like these, video games pale in comparison. Forty kilometers later, we came to another paved road (funded by the European Union). I pulled over and let Sean drive because I was falling asleep from boredom at the wheel.
* posted by Tuuli at 11:37 AM