Kome Residence Bamako

... and enjoying the time with family and friends in the village. The Chiefs play an important role and we w**e impressed by the kindness of each Chief we met along the way. One night when we encount**ed hurricane like winds in a MAJOR sandstorm, the Chief came out to help dock our pinasse on the sand. Meanwhile, our 'h**oes',.Kareem, Amadou, Mahmmoud, and 'Cousin' weath**ed the storm while we had life jackets in hand preparing for the worst. These amazing men, protected us ...

... one another, when they are simply joking or striking up conversation. Tension is always diffused by laughter and I hardly ever saw any aggression. 

Religion is layered over a social fabric and common culture that binds people uniquely. Islam is predominant yet it's presence is only felt during the daily time of prayers. It doesn't influence social interactions like it does in some other countries. Social class, family integrity, tribe allegiances and clans are the ...

... seller seemed to just come to our hotel to sell us stuff, even the exchange guy came to us. Had a walk around the nearby area, the locals are really friendly and helpful. Upgraded to an air con room after sweating it in a tent for the night (joining the flashpacking crew).



15th - Another lazy day. Headed into the market with 3 others and Chris to get a goat for tonights meal, watched everything from buying it to the killing, it was really ...

... gifts to take home. Segou is on the ***** riv** and the market is really pretty big. In Mali th**e are diff**ent kinds of markets. Some are for agriculture and basic goods, and some are for trade. The market we w**e at was for trade. As many of you know, at these markets th**e are no set prices so the art of negotiation is necessary. Knowing French would make it eas** but it was easy to talk numb**s. We just had to be able to conv**t Francs ...

... and Martin's eyes lit up at the sight of 5lt kegs of be**s so of course they had to buy one each. I just stuck with Malibu intent on making my drink of choice from years back - double vodka, Malibu and pineapple juice. Summ** in a glass. The group got split aft** this with some deciding to venture into town and the oth**s back to camp. Oliv** and I opted for camp spending the rest of the aft**noon once again sorting out our lock** - it really is a near ...

... was time to leave and he was returned to the tree. I climbed up to the beach and spent the first part of the drive curled under my blanket. Soon we arrived in the town of Tintane where there appeared to be a bit of a goat market going on. We met a girl from the States who had been living and working there (Peace Corps) for the past 1 ½ years... doing something at the school and medical centre. She was very surprised to see us and ...

... j'ai a vous racconter augmente à la minute (faut me prendre au pied de la lettre), ce qui me asphixie d'une façon pas possible. Soyez prêts parce que le jour où je vais pouvoir faire une vraie actualisation les posts s'enchaineront. A bientôt Familia, tudo nas calmas? Muita cena para contar, mas este post é apenas e so para vos tranquilizar, não fui raptado nem pelos touareg nem pelos rebeldes de Casamance que alias me preparo ...

... clinicamente morto, para recuperar alguns ficheiros que estupidamente não tinha salvo para a pen drive. Ele é um informatico e não deveria ousar pedir favores no dominio onde a pessoa ganha o seu pão, mas ocorreu-me propor-lhe que pegasse todos os filmes que o disco continha em troca dos meus poucos ficheiros fotograficos. Aceitou e acabou não so por não me cobrar nada, como ainda meteu do seu proprio bolso. Acabei por passar um tempito com ele e dar-lhe umas dikas ...

Yes !!! Estamos ca. Houve alturas em que parecia que não estava para tão cedo, mas eis-nos aqui uma semana depois do previsto (pelo Baby, eu pensava que ia levar uma semana ainda a sair de Marrocos quando ele me apanhou, por isso esta ela por ela). A cidade que ainda so vi muito por alto porque estavamos esgotados, tem o seu quê especial. E uma mistura entre kimbo e cidade grande, tem as ruas principais asfaltadas mas mal nos desviamos da avenida estamos na terra ...

... corridor for a chat with the Americans. We all joked that even a 2-day journey on this train could not be as uncomfortable as the Nouadhibou-Choum journey in Mauritania...or could it?  The conclusion was that although not as exotically uncomfortable as the Mauritanian train journey, if we were going to be on the train for such a length of time it could certainly come close.  Even at this stage as the train bumped up and down it brought to mind a journey on the ...