Wendy's friend Heather was flying in from NYC to Accra so we had to call an end to our adventure in the Sahel and head down to pick her up on the 31st. The journey from Timbucktu to Accra is about 3 fairly long days of driving, so we livened it up a bit by stopping in various villages along the way and breaking up the trip in Ouagadougou where we saw some great live music (and Wendy even managed to persuade me to dance which doesn't happen much). The villages were quite tough. The current high prices of food and fuel are hitting these areas hard, since many of the villages are too dry for them to be self-sustaining in food. Many have sold their animals (which act as an insurance policy against hard times) and so have no protection against continuing food shortages. Already signs of hunger are everywhere. On a brighter note we were hit by a sandstorm just before we got to Mopti. The sand cloud built on the horizon and grew until it hit us, with strong winds lashing the sand against us. The light was an extraordinary orange. All driving was out of the question, so we just stopped and watched. For days afterwards we were cleaning sand out of our ears, eyes and clothes. Actually it is still in my clothes because I haven't washed them but that is another story.
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