Hotel le Fleuve Bamako

... tired then crashed in the cute courtyard hotel.<br><br>The next day we made our way to Jangjangbureh where we landed a little knackered but on our feet by befriending a couple of middle aged expats who promptly pointed us in the direction of the only honest Gambian i met during my time there and the owner of a restaurant of the future, building site of the present but perfect for our purposes! We pitched up our tent and talked for ...

... from EVERYONE daily, the commitment to family and friendships throughout the country, the happy spirited welcomes we appreciated, the sharing of food with family, the smiles, the shaking of hands as people said 'Obama' and 'Sava' when asked wh**e we w**e from but didn't speak the same language. All of these exp**iences and more warmed our hearts and made us love our friends in Mali and each day in the 2 weeks we spent touring the country. <br><br>A quick run down of the clips ...

... br><br>The French not only left Bamako their language but also blessed the city with the art of baking! The number of rottiseries, pattiseries and boulangeries is jaw-dropping and you can see a number of informal bread making businesses around every corner. It also means that you simply cannot find a loaf of sliced bread in Bamako. Believe me, I tried. French bread styled rolls are the way to go. <br><br>And then there are the taxis. Machines in Mali are doomed ...

... speed through Bamako. It was 9pm and people lined the streets, sitting outdoors, chatting, food stalls were doing business and children continued to play noisily even though it was well past their bed time. I wondered why everyone was outdoors and as soon as we arrived at Jatigiya Lodge I understood why. The heat was oppressive and being indoors was almost unbearable. It is the reason why Bamako comes alive every night! <br><br>Our hosts at ...

... s each. The bone-jarring journey along corrugated tracks and sandy paths was delayed sev**al times by most of the 4WDs exp**iencing a variety of problems - from ov**heating and tyre changes to 4WD dysfunction and engine failure. At one point we had 11 people in our vehicle, whilst our driv** was suff**ing from an undisclosed illness....needless to say, aft** a 12-hour ordeal to travel 300km back to Sevare, we had anoth** story to tell about "been to Timbuktu and back ...

... drinking, everyone was very well behaved (appart from a few kids throwing crackers), and everyone was extremely well dressed, and were standing on top of their mopeds to watch the show. We had a conversation with a very nice young man who asked us how different it was in Europe. Errr, Alcohol was our reply!!! Anyway, after ending the night in a bar in the company of a dozen prostitutes, and after being awake for 24 hours, we ...

... t**rible music ov**looking the riv** swatting away mozzies, before calling it a night Having to get our VISA's for Burkina Faso we w**e due to stay in Bamako a few nights. Yay no more pulling down or setting up camp! We set off early to the Burkina Faso embassy, for once filling in not so complicated forms. Aft** submitting them all we headed with mouths wat**ing to the Lebanese patiss**ie. Oh how wond**ful it was to walk in th**e with money... we bought ...

... cooking and cleaning to join in properly! Mum Kate was getting quite drunk so we put on her favourite song - Pour Some Sugar on Me - and she gave us a wee dance on the table. Nice one Kate! After that Jim got pulled up on the table, followed by Teresa, Sarah and Martin - who did his best to run away but was eventually caught. Two more drinking games followed - the Roxanne song where boys have to drink when it says turn your light on ...

... rendus en visite, du plus méconnu jusqu'au plus renommé, notamment le grand Manu Chao. Ras Kalonji, on se capte mon frère. Epa eu gostaria muito de partilhar convosco a maneira como conheci este Ras, mas é pura e simplesmente comprida demais para me dedicar a esse exercicio, sobretudo com o tempo contado que tenho no computador, reduzido ainda mais pela minha mania de traduzir isto em 50 linguas diferentes e com comentarios nas fotos... contentem-se com o que se pode arranjar ...

Another week, another country. Ths time checking in from Mali. After our fleeting visit to Senegal, Mali is looking like it will provide a very pleasant environment for passing a couple of weeks.  We arrived in the capital city, Bamako, yesterday morning, by train. The train started out from Dakar exactly on time at 10am, much to our surprise - there seemed to be far too much confusion and too many straggling bodies just 10 minutes earlier for it to be possible ...