No more famine; healthy looking kids running around
We left Zinder fairly late and arrived in Maradi for lunch. While we were in the local hotel/restaurant we met a group of consultants for the UN. It was not a surprise to see such a large presence of foreign aid workers here. Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world and the famine in 2005 caused by drought and a plague of locusts certainly did not help matters. These consultants were all here advising on the crops since the famine to ensure they have sufficient amount of food. Luckily, the harvests since have been good and there had been enough rainfall and the granaries are filling up.
They asked us if we were headed to Agadez, which we explained that we would like to but we were told at the embassy that it isn’t permitted. One of the men was a Nigerien and he told us that we can go to Agadez but we will need a guide once we get there; as long as we are supervised it should be alright. That changed our plans just knowing that we will at least be able to drive there and find out for ourselves.
The weather is fiercely hot. Even with the windows open, the air hitting us was extremely uncomfortable. We pulled into a tourist camp in Birnin Koni for the night and of course as soon as we arrive all sorts of hawkers enter and start laying out their wares. I was so dehydrated and potentially suffering from heat exhaustion and was truly not able to even feign interest in their goods. Of course when you seem uninterested then they start lowering prices, which is still irrelevant when you don’t want anything. I would have paid a fortune however, for a nice cold drink. They luckily sold cold cokes, so I bought one while all the hawkers followed. I kept on repeating to them, “I don’t want to talk business, I just want to drink my coke”.
There were plenty of granaries
At this campsite Bobby came across a magazine that wrote about the Cure Salée festival which should be happening now. This is the event where the Tuareg and Wodaabe pastoralist tribes come together bringing their flocks to refresh themselves at the salt flats and watering holes and use this chance to exchange news and is a great event for cultural performances. This is the event where the Wodaabe males adorn themselves in costume and performance as a part of a courtship ritual. It would be remarkable to get a chance to witness this event. With luck, we will make it!
