'A Journey Down the Niger'Author discusses his African adventureJuly 29, 1997Web posted at: 5:36 p.m. EDT (2136 GMT) (CNN) -- Mark Jenkins traveled the Niger River in West Africa and returned to describe the adventure in his book, "To Timbuktu: A Journey Down the Niger." He shared his experiences with CNN anchor Donna Kelley on July 28. Following is an excerpt. KELLEY: Why did you think that you wanted to go to Timbuktu? JENKINS: It is one of those remote places that you hear about all the time when you're growing up, and I thought why not go to the end of the Earth? KELLEY: What were you thinking it would be like and what was it really like? 
JENKINS: Well, that is always the case with an adventure. What you think it is going to be like, and what it is actually like are two different things. Timbuktu is really just a small village on the edge of the Niger river. In fact, it's famous because it was thought to be a gold center, the El Dorado of the Sahara, but it is really not. ... After we did the first descent of the Niger, I bought a motorcycle, and biked across the Sahara desert. KELLEY: You weren't by yourself, were you? You had a buddy with you? JENKINS: Yeah, there were four of us who did the first descent. ...We first went to the source of the Niger and put our boats in there. 
KELLEY: Did you have a language barrier? JENKINS: Oftentimes, we found someone in a village who would actually speak English. It was a child ... who often had gone to some remote school, maybe a missionary school, and would speak English. So there is a language barrier, but it is remarkable how far you can get with just your hands and a smile. KELLEY: Did you take a lot of your food and provisions with you? JENKINS: No, we lived off the land. ... We also -- there are a lot of snakes dropping in your boat, spiders dropping in your boat, you have got crocodiles in the water. We were stalked by crocodiles...hippos chased us, we were attacked by killer African bees. It is a good adventure. 
KELLEY: Tell us what you found out about (the people you met) and about yourself. JENKINS: Actually, that is interesting, that is really what happens. People so often...think you're going to know a culture when you travel, you really don't. You have to live there for quite a long time to know a culture and speak the language. What you learn from travel, you learn more about yourself. Travel is kind of a mirror to your own culture and to yourself. So what do you learn when you're on an adventure? You learn to see how you'll act when you're forced to be in a high pressure situation. See if you can get through with your head up. KELLEY: Were they glad to see you? Were you afraid when you went to some of these places about how you would be received? JENKINS: We were never afraid, No. (We had a guide and) every village we spent the night in, we would speak with the chief, and the chief would ask us why we're there, what we're doing there. It is really an exchange for travelers in these very remote villages, where there are no highways, there are no radios, there is no TV. You are still in a land where everybody walks, they communicate by drum. KELLEY: Didn't you have some argument with a tribal chief, though?
JENKINS: You have arguments all the time because it is a cultural clash. I would ask very pointed questions about KELLEY: Isn't it kind of boring to go home and mow the grass now and have a regular life? What do you do after that? JENKINS: I have two little girls, so that's an adventure in itself. I go home. I usually get an expedition in once or twice a year, but it is nice to go home. KELLEY: What's next? JENKINS: Next I think I'm going back to Tibet. There's an area in there that I've been exploring over the last decade, and I think I will go back and climb some mountains. 
Related stories:
Note: Related sites will open in a new browser window. Related sites:
© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc. Terms under which this service is provided to you. |
why they have certain procedures in their village, why they, for instance, (perform) clitoridectomies... And we'd fight about it. But, I mean, it is all in a manner of mutual respect.
Weather:
City Guides and Maps: