I got a big booboo

It’s blue, and my turban is white. (I bet you thought I got hurt again.) So, why do I have, and what is, a booboo and turban? First, what is a booboo? A booboo is the traditional clothing style of many of the groups living in or near the desert regions of northern Africa. Not only is it traditional it is still widely worn. The reason it is also still widely worn is that it is very effective. As I’m sure you know deserts are generally hot. Booboos are long, loose fittings robes and pants made of light cotton. They are breathable and catch any light breezes that come along. As such they are probably as comfortable a piece of clothing as can be worn in a blazing, near equatorial sun. The desert can also get somewhat chilly at night. Being loose a booboo can also be wrapped tightly around to make another layer against the chill. A turban; in northern Africa at least, is a strip of cotton material, about a foot wide and as long as you want, wrapped around your head in a certain manner. Being a novice I got just three meters, about 10 feet. It also serves the purpose of heat protection quite well, preventing the sun from hitting the head but still breathable.

Second, why do I have a booboo and turban? I have them because I needed them? Without them I might be dead, or at least still recovering. (I have never claimed that I wouldn’t resort to hyperbole.) I have them because I have just returned from a trip to Niger (not Nigeria) with some other volunteers.

We visited some small, and not so small, towns. All of which were fascinating in their own way. Two of the nomadic groups living in the area, the Tuareg and Fulani, are regarded as excellent silversmiths. Each area has its own style of design so it was interesting to see the different selections in the marché and with the roadside vendors. Each town also had its own particular mix of ethnic groups giving each town that we were able to linger in for a while a different feel due to changes in some customs, architecture, foods and other details.

The entire was very enjoyable but in the interest of time and space I will only write about two places we visited, Agadez and the Tenéré.

Agadez is the last large city (but not too large, it is still Niger) before entering the Sahara. It is the traditional starting, or ending depending on direction, destination for camel caravans across the desert to the north, towards Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and the southern Mediterranean coast. The caravans have largely been replaced by truck and airplane traffic now but there is still a large, active, interesting camel market in town. Camels are still the primary mode of travel for most people living outside the cities. Incidentally, fresh camel milk is delicious. It is creamy smooth without being overly rich or thick.

Within Agadez there are still a relatively large number of older buildings. Mostly in the Old Quarter, and now containing the occasional satellite dish, it was very interesting to walk around an area that has been continuously occupied by peoples from cultures completely different from anything I have ever experienced. I found the people very friendly, and as curious about me as I was about them. I bought breakfast from a woman in the street, talking with her and her family for a little while. I then walked on only to get invited into somebody else’s courtyard for tea and conversation.

Other attraction on Agadez include the marché area, in the same place for several hundred years now, and shaded so much cooler than the rest of the city. There is also the Grand Mosquée. Built in the early 16th century it is a remarkably well preserved, and still used daily, example of the architecture of the time. At nearly 90 feet tall it is the predominant feature of a city skyline that contains very few multistory buildings.

These things, in addition to numerous jewelry makers, various street vendors, and other facets of a very old culture alongside more modern amenities such as restaurants, bus depots and cell phone vendors and towers make Agadez a place that must be unique in the world. The same can be said for virtually every place, but I don’t think anyplace else is as different from every other place else as much as Agadez.

The other major highlight of the trip was a five day trip into the Tenéré. The Tenéré is the piece of the Sahara Desert in northeastern Niger. V means desert in one of the local languages, I’m sorry but I don’t remember which language. The Tenéré is considered by many to be the most picturesque part of the Sahara. Not having been to other parts of the Sahara (yet) I cannot comment on that other than to say it is a believable statement. Interlaced with the Air (I-ear) Mountains, other mountains made of marble, small desert oases, ancient volcano magma columns, inhabited by camels, gazelles, jackals, large beetles, small mice, surprisingly large birds considering the apparent lack of prey and coupled with the occasional sighting of a solitary camel rider the Tenéré is poetically gorgeous. (If I were poetically inclined I could probably do a better job describing the Tenéré. As it is, I’ll do what I can and you can use your imagination for the rest.)

Until recently visitors needed to hire a certified guide and purchase a special permit to visit the Tenéré. As well as being perhaps the most beautiful part of the Sahara it is also one of the most dangerous. (Doesn’t it always seem that way?) There are not very many oases or water sources and it can be impossible to find your way in the shifting sands. The road is fairly well defined in some areas and apparently non-existent in others. We were caught in a brief, 10 minute rainstorm and the riverbeds filled to sometimes impassable torrents almost immediately. In one of the driest places imaginable we had to cross rivers with water up to the hood of our Land Rovers after only a matter of minutes. By that afternoon, in the space of about four hours, there was no trace that there had been rain there, ever.

Beside the road are still the graves and markers of travellers that were not so luck, or prepared. When one of our Land Rovers got stuck axle deep in sand that shifted as we walked on it we started to wonder about our own fate. (Since you’re reading this you know all is well.) We also found several camel skeletons and were followed by buzzards (or vultures, what do I know?) for the entire five days.

During the day we drove the desert stopping at oases, to watch wildlife or talk with the nomads we encountered. We also were able to see several ancient sites of rock drawings including one place with giraffes carved into the rock. The carvings are said to between 4000 to 5000 years old and are up to 14 feet tall.

Now, back to the reason for the booboo and turban. It is HOT in Niger and in the Tenéré especially. We did a little research (read the Rough Guide to West Africa) and found that the cooler time of the year around Agadez is from October to February with high temperatures up to about 100° F (38°C). After living a year in Bénin we thought we should be prepared for 100° with no humidity.

I should say we were led to believe it is a bit cooler in October because, again, it was HOT! (I think the Rough Guide needs to be revised.) Although it did get somewhat cool at night, about 70°F (22°C), the temperature increased rapidly with the rising sun. My guess is that the lowest high temperature we experienced during our five days in the desert was 110°F. Other days were even hotter, and for long periods of time. You might think that sitting by the open window of a vehicle driving along at about 60 mph would provide a refreshing breeze. WRONG! It was more like sitting in front of an open oven. Hot might be insufficient to describe it but I don’t have anything else. (Again, sorry, not a poet.)

In the evenings we stopped among the dunes and spent the night after dinner. Since there was no possibility of rain and no biting insects we slept in the open air on mattresses. Beautiful blue by day the desert sky is incredible at night. Every star seems to be visible. We were able to see shooting stars regularly and identify several satellites. With so many stars it was bright enough to walk around without a flashlight. (Not that there was any danger of walking into anything.) In the morning we investigated the signs left by the various visitors to the camp while we slept. There were beetle, lizard and mouse tracks everywhere. We could occasionally find a spot where a bird (we assumed owl of some kind) caught a mouse or lizard. Several times we found what appeared to be dog tracks. Our guide told us they were from jackals. We were never able to actually see one and were told they were harmless scavengers looking for scraps of food.

As you might have guessed by now I recommend a visit to Agadez and the Tenéré. If you are aver fortunate enough to be able to do this I suggest using Tinarawene Expeditions as your guide service. Tell Souleyman, the owner, that you heard about him from Peace Corps volunteers and would like Gigi as your guide. Souleyman gives volunteers a good price understanding that we are good word of mouth advertising. And, yes, that’s right , I said Gigi. Gigi is a Tuareg who has lived in the Tenéré his whole life. We had lunch and spent an afternoon at his home in Iferouane during our visit. He is knowledgeable, hospitable, intelligent and experienced, all necessary qualities in one of the most beautiful and inhospitable places on the planet.

Well, I don’t know what my next adventure will be but I’ll let you know about it as soon as I can afterwards. I’m thinking of going to Timbuktu early next year. For those of you who don’t know me I like out of the way places.