Leaving for Niger

There are no safe paths in this part of the world. Remember you are over Edge of the Wild now, and in for all sorts of fun wherever you go.” 

 J.R.R. TolkienThe Hobbit

Leaving for Niger on Tuesday…

 In the Sahel desert of Niger, the nomadic Wodaabe people spend months apart, searching out pastures for their herds. When the rains are good, the tribes celebrate with an extraordinary beauty contest called Gerewol… and it’s the men who are on parade. 

 Being nomads there is nothing fixed about the festivals – no specific dates, they occur in September and October,  different lineages join together for the pageantry.  Also, on my mind as we will be driving through the grasslands and desert, is there is no fixed location….

 Looking forward to a unique adventure whatever we find…nomad encampments, camels racing in the dunes , evening dances and hypnotic chants, then traveling into the Tenere Desert, which I have heard has an indescribable beauty and a silence so intense that one can imagine the sound of the star trails.

 Off the Grid

Over the Edge of the Wild

as Joseph Conrad once said…

Suddenly a puff of wind, a puff laden with the scents of Africa  – the first sigh of Africa on my face

I wonder what story will unfold…

Beautiful image of the Gerewol by Timothy AllenBBC Human Planet : Wodaabe Gerewol , Niger , Africa

2 thoughts on “Leaving for Niger

  1. An incredible journey by an incredible artist safe travels. Looking forward to seeing your works when you return.

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