Birds

Hovering, waiting, grabbing at this or that, the birds over Assamaka and some of the people living there share a certain sensibility. A flock of kids greet you approaching the town from the desert, looking for something, anything really, that they can extract from the newcomers. “Donne-moi une cadeau” is a mantra they learn early, and even the men will occasionally utter. It left me wondering if they simply knew no other way to relate to a white man.

Kung fu kids

Kung Fu MADNESS

Overloaded truck

Preparing to cross to Arlit

Most foreigners experience nothing but this clamorous assault in their brief passage through this place, and since I couldn’t even find Assamaka with Google Earth, I wasn’t expecting much either. In our two day stay in Assamaka waiting for a guide to accompany us to Arlit (who knew?), we found however the most wonderful people and unexpectedly had a spectacular time.

Hauling bricks

Making and hauling mud bricks

When it was clear the authorities would hold our papers until a guide arrived, Wolf found the nearest bar, started up some Malian blues on the speakers and started a party. Nine young Frenchmen joined us, then all those kids, then even their parents, and it didn’t take long before we were all dancing and jumping around.

Marie and the kids

I keeled from dizziness swinging kids around in circles, Wolf filmed this and that, the bar owner cooked us a nice dinner of rice and mutton, the French contributed wine in honor of a birthday, Ahmed made tea Algerienne, and we finally pitched our tents at the bar and expired.

Hauling water

Hauling water from the only well

A gentleman came up to me the next morning to shake my hand and thank me for playing with his kids: the first white guy to ever do so. Then he asked me for a cadeau.

Contraband diesel

Contraband diesel?

The guides the French had arranged arrived, we were not listed on their manifest, the authorities would not release our papers, Ahmed had a little chat with them in private, and we were on our way. It cost him 2 euro per person.

Kite flying

I left the kids a kite as a cadeau.

The pictures are just amazing, Roel, une cadeau pour moi. We're in the middle of our first serious snowstorm today. I'm eating my lunch at work. Ain't the internet somethin'?
Don't lose that bike.
Larry

written by Larry Libby on February 14, 2007

hi uncle Roel do the kids get stung by scorpions?and are they used to it if they get stung a lot of times?
happy valentines day!
love you,sophia

written by sophia on February 14, 2007

Sophia:
Scorpions and snakes are hibernating right now, since it is winter even in the desert. I haven't seen a single one of either, except dead scorpions someone was selling in Tunisia.

The kids seem to know better than to play with either snakes or scorpions. I understand that a scorpion bite will cause tremendous pain for some days, but that it won't kill you. From the stories I heard in Guerrera, a snake bite definitely means adios.

Happy Valentines Day to you too, sweetie.
Roel

written by

roel krabbendam on February 15, 2007

Like everyonoe else who's tuning in to this, I am blown away by your trip and your blog. Votre cadeaux sont extraordinaires.

Back around Feb 9th you talked about leaving the desert behind, but then you post more sandy bleak photos. Is this not desert?

How about "yellow cake"? Do you find it in Niger?

Are you biking now; travelling solo?

- David.

written by David Boothby on February 16, 2007

As I understand it, everything south of Agadez is called the Sahel...but it sure felt like desert to me, only a few more plants...obviously no line of demarkation means anything in this regard...in any case, its starting to feel like the tropics now in Dosso.
Cheers,
R

written by

roel krabbendam on February 18, 2007

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Assamakka, Niger