The first considerable race of the season

So, a new year and a new season. I have to remind myself of the "cut", since I see a year as the full extent of time that I am in Africa! For me, the new year will be after I have gone back to Sweden and then get to come back to Africa again.

Anyway, this weekend showed some interesting races at the track, so Nettus & I sent the mares with Ali and took the bikes ourselves, meeting with all the "who's whos" of the Zinderien horse community. Arwen poor thing had to stay home recuperating from a fall we had (which left her with an injured muscle).

The place was crowded and so security was up.

Everywhere, you could see people preparing their horses for the races.

The discipline amongst the stallions today was impressionable! Nettus got to take some fab pictures!

And they were off!

When they were done with the first race, Yaronbaba took the Ishtar girls out for a ride. Sahara taking the task dead seriously and Maya the young one tagging along. She did run though! And jump... And play... They had fun, and so did we!

Nettus, Maya and our friend aka the Snow Man

Nettus with her favourite horse's younger sister

Ishtar & Maya

Maya trying to communicate that she would like to have her fair share of phone conversation, especially when the call is from Sweden!

The heated debate about what horse is going to win the race!

The winner in person - Aldo the Menace (brown horse to the right). If Nettus and I get things the way we want, Aldo will be siring Sahara's foal, but in order for him to do that, she must first express a specific interest him in... But that'll be another story!

This was all from the race track, for this time. Will be back, though!

Ishtar

Dogo

We had planned this weekend to take Haruna to the race track, but when Saturday arrived, the races had been moved to Dogo. Seeing we were up for a little adventure, we decided to hit the roads (and what bad roads it was!) and go to Dogo and show Haruna some of the typical Nigerien weekend action.

Dogo was no disappointment, with a number of people and horses all looking their very, very best!

Ishtar immediately found herself a little black beauty. Unfortunately, he won't remain black for long since he has white hairs coming up from underneath. What a pity grey is such a dominant colour!

The Dogo track was a charming bush variation of a racetrack, compared to the one in Zinder (which in turn is nothing compared to the one in the capital Niamey).

I liked the "tribune", but I didn't use it!

Contemplations in Dogo by Nettus

The visiting party

The photographer herself (this picture was actually taken by me!)

And for those of you wondering how the races went, well, let me just inform you that the best horse won!

Ishtar

Fabrics from the market

Today, we went to the market and came back with a whole lot of different fabrics. You'd be amazed at how fast you wear clothes out (you wash them more often here due to the dust and the heat) and Nettus was starting to run out of clothes. Hence, she needed a new wardrobe, and where better to go look for one than at our very own Zinder market? Of course I was not a bad friend, so in true Nigerien spirit, I tagged along and did some co-shopping with her! Here is what we found:

A beautiful colorful African tissue which will make a superb Ishtar skirt or dress one day. Our neighbor liked it so much that when she saw it, she went straight to the market the following day and bought the same tissue before it disappeared.

This was a red bazain that both Nettus and I fell in love with. Still haven't decided what I'm going to do with my share, but I'm pretty sure it will end up as a top.

A new fabric I hadn't seen before: of course I couldn't let this pass me by! Nettus bought the same tissue in a different colour (brown). Once again, I am not exactly sure what I will make out of it, but that's part of the charm isn't it? You find some fabric, buy it, save it (for years sometimes!), only to bring it out for the perfect occasion! Haha, when I listen to myself, I can see just how much I am my mother's daughter at times... :-)

Another bazain with a different pattern. It really wasn't expensive, and the vendor is one of my favourites because he always gives us good prices. No nasara price discussions needed here!

Nettus found her equivalent before I did - but she chose a colder color.

This cool lime green fabric will make Nettus next pants! Will have to post a picture when the tailor is finished making them. Which reminds me that we have to call him and ask him to take her measurements (so he can get started!).

And finally, Nettus found another beautiful deep blue bazain but I don't think she has decided yet on what she is going to make of it. We'll just have to wait and see!

Stay tuned for more fabric shopping at the great market of Zinder!

Ishtar

Tabaski

So it was time for Tabaski again, and although we had a lot of work to do, we took the afternoon off and went socializing; the Nigerien way to celebrate.

Although there are two major celebrations in Niger, Tabaski - also known as the Sheep Feast - is generally the favourite, as all families will slaughter a sheep or two (if one can't afford a sheep, which are really expensive during this time, one must at least slaughter something, whether that be a goat (Amadeus need not watch out as he is Nettus private pet), a camel or a rooster.

The meat was nice and we both enjoyed it.

The cakes and cookies were nice too!

Then Aïssa's brother made tea à la Nigerienne, which is always a favourite.

After two hours, I was updated on all the family members' activities and we talked about lot about the situation up north. I will never cease to be amazed by International world politics!

It was fun to see Aïssa again, and to take some time and just enjoy. I've been working such long hours lately that we've hardly met, although we live really close to one another, so it was great to recap. Will perhaps go out and see her family during the holidays if all goes according to plan. But although the plan is perfect and well thought through, I have to remind everyone that we're still in Niger, where "future is unpredictable"!

Ishtar

Mapping out our favourite bush routes

Today, we tested out some new project gear: a GPS tracker that takes waypoints while you move (which you can later match to your images, if you synchronized the camera's time properly before going out).

The Zinder bush is amazing. I didn't know I had so many favourite routes until I decided that I wanted to map out all the villages!

Nettus and I are lucky to have such eager mounts - and I know few horses (even race horses) who do not prefer the never-ending soft sandy tracks (full of variation!) to the heavy monotonous circle at the race track.

Now, if you have good horses, and you have muscles enough to sit through a long gallop, then there's a breathtakingly beautiful and peaceful hill far away from what we call civilisation, with doom palm trees and century old baobabs. I just love it!

So if you're planning a visit to Niger and want me to take you out for a guided tour, let me know.

Ishtar

Making friends at the race track

Yesterday afternoon when Nettus and I passed by the track to take our girls for a round, we discovered that this weekend held an ambitious program at the Zinder track and that there were quite a few important guests there. On Saturday, we met with the governor of a large Nigerian state, and on Sunday, our friend the Snowman presented us to the owner of a very nice sire that I've been interested it.

It turned out that the owner and his brothers were very, very nice people and we quickly found a lot of things to talk about.

I didn't think much about what place I had been seated at, but all of a sudden a race administrator came by and placed the second prize in my hands.

The races were off and the winner set a good time.

And so Nettus got to hand out third prize to a guest jockey (dressed in black and red t-shirt)...

while I had to hand over second prize to my former jockey Chinada, lol!

Then it was time for the big buckle!

YB didn't win a prize, but he got to take Arwen on a flashing round with her brand new Zilco saddle! :-) Now that horse never stops enjoying a good run.

It was a fun day with good laughs and appreciative company! We came home pretty late and pretty beat, but that's the charm of it!

Ishtar