Sara Davidson LIBR500

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Journey to the Land of Sand

• Sara Davidson LIBR500
• sara7_at_interchange.ubc.ca

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Perhaps my most exotic moment in life was a trip
with colleagues from Bouaké, Ivory Coast
Bouaké
north to . . .
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. . . Malis Timbuktu in December 2001 during
Christmas break.
Timbuktu
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We, as traveling friends, shared some
similarities including a lack of French language
skills and last names all ending with son.

• Davidson
• Henderson
• Maxson
• Davison

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Our modes of transportation included

• Van
• Bus
• Boat
• Plane

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The first leg of our trip included a 20 hour van
ride.
Once arriving in Sikasso, Mali we upgraded to a
bus which had few safety features but lots of
music blaring at 1 a.m.!
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We arrived at Mopti and took a couple days to see
the surroundings including Dogon Country.
Mopti
Dogon
Country
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From Mopti, we rented a boat, with a crew of
three, to take us up the Niger River to Timbuktu.

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The trip was a strange combination of beautiful
sunshine, cold nights, water bailing, and . . .
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. . . training for future tight rope walking.
This occurred when we had to walk along the
boards on the boats edge to reach the modern
pit stop facility!
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Finally after hours on the boat, we
arrived in Timbuktu (English spelling) /
Tombouctou (French spelling).
46
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We had a number of highlights during our
time in TB2.
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First Highlight

• We visited a project which reclaims desert land
  for agricultural purposes so that locals can
  provide for their families.

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Water reserves, obtained by wind power, provide
moisture togrow items such as

• lemons
• lettuce and
• potatoes

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Second Highlight
A tour of the city included interesting
information about its architecture and history.
Did you know that TB2 was once a major center of
learning in the 15th and 16th centuries?
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Final Highlight
Our most humorous highlight was a camel ride into
the Sahara Desert with an Arabic tea break half
way through.
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Timbuktu was definitely a worthwhile adventure.
Land of Sand
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Links General Informationhttp//www.thesalmons.
org/lynn/wh-timbuktu.htmlTimbuktu and
Librarieshttp//www.sum.uio.no/research/mali/timb
uktu/PBS site with reference to Dogon country
toohttp//www.pbs.org/wonders/fr_e5.htmHistory
of Timbuktu and Great Pictureshttp//www.danhelle
r.com/timbuktu.htmlAAA Clipart (red arrow and
moving bus)http//www.aaa-clipart.com/index.shtml
Maps used with permission fromhttp//www.graphi
cmaps.com/aatlas/world.htm