The three-day trip to Timbuktu (a day going, a day there, a day returning) was somewhat depressing. After all, we were on an eclipse trip, where visibility was about the only important requirement. A sandstorm the first day made seeing quite difficult. Even though it stopped blowing the next day, the sand continued to hang in the air for a few more days. We worried that it was the start of the harmattan season, and that the entire remainder of the desert portion of the trip would be affected by poor visibility, and we'd miss actually seeing the eclipse.