Lac Debo Bamako

... withstood the 50 mph + winds with a blanket to cov** their eyes from the sand for US. Amazing. Toughest men I have ev** met.

4) North Mali-Gao (aka 'The Sahara')- Tough living. Turbans make sense. I would have one too if I lived th**e. Sandstorms come on a dime. Huts have metal closures for window cut outs and door frames (115 degree heat and no AC btw...) to protect against the sand. Agriculture more challenging th**e. Close to the ***** bord** and not many tourists ...

... influence and religion is just another layer. Bamako is truly an inspiration to the muslim world! As a woman, I was always respected, treated fairly and never felt unsafe. Crime is virtually non-existent and the city while economically poor but socially rich. 

In the end, one word sums up my experience in Mali - Endurance. Endurance of the heat, the noise, the dirt and the grime. Endurance of the women, who are the engines of the economy, carrying babies on ...

... to eat after it had been spit roasted for a few hours. Went to the Diplomatic Bar, which should've had Mali music being played by a live band, but it was actually spanish salsa. Plus a mini birthday celebration for me tonight.



16th - Spent the day being lazy before heading off to find a supermarket, walked quite a distance before finding a small one.



17th - Left early and headed for Sevare. Stopped for lunch in Segou before ...

... Dollars quickly to und**stand what we w**e agreeing too. The vendors used many techniques to try and get us to pay a high** price. One vendor was crippled and tried to use that to make a bett** deal. In some cases we walked away and they followed us down the street to meet are price aft** they knew we would walk away. It is really pretty amazing how this is done ev**y day. I can say that it is not my comfort to go through this process for my ...

... time job! - and taking the occasional break to laze by the murky pool with a nice cold be**. I swear if you w**e back home and came across a pool you couldn't see the bottom of th**e's no way you'd go in... h**e it's paradise from the heat and you don't think twice about diving in... or what's lurking at the bottom! We ord**ed lunch from the restaurant for 2.30... unfortunately this meant they cooked it when we ord**ed around 12 and simply left it sitting th ...

... that we had stopped in a town where there was little if anything to do. We explained we were cook group shopping at which she laughed, warned us it was expensive and then wondered off. Really don't know how she managed living there for 1 ½ years! I would go stir crazy. Turns out she's stationed there for 2 years... only another 6 months to go. I'm sure she will be counting down! Massive group of kids also huddled around us. They are ...

... despedir. O pontinho no mapa esta bwe fora do que ja percorri desde Bamako, mas ele so sera actualizado com os posts respectivos. Se tudo correr bem deixo hoje mesmo o Senegal para entrar na Guiné Bissau. Vamos ver o que nos reservam os policias da imigraçao na fronteira. Seja como for, so posso prometer que quando as oportunidades se apresentarem eu actualizarei devidamente o blog. Obrigado pelas mensagens carinhosas e até breve

... cracks, youtube e alguns sites de download que conhecia... faria muito mais para exprimir a minha gratidão. Com um nome desses também né? Abdulaye Le jour même de la longue attente devant le cyber, ce gentil bonhomme m'a repéré et s'est approché pour entamer une conversation. Il a fini par me faire compagnie pendant une bonne heure au cours de laquelle mon admiration pour les peuples africains, son endurance face aux revers de la vie, est passée de incalculable à incalculable ...

... acidentada. Chove muito nesta altura aparentemente. Ontem choveu duas horas depois de chegarmos e parece que tem chovido quase ineterruptamente de ha um mês a esta parte. Isso talvez explique o verde reluzente que se mistura com o vermelho barro por todo o lado. O verde da um tal ar de vida a cidade que acho que sem ele Bamako passaria a parecer-se mais com um buraco do que com uma capital de pais. Não posso ainda dar o veredicto pois apesar das 3 pausas que fizemos ...

... line in London, in a heatwave.   And the plastic covered seats were beginning to get a bit hot and sweaty. About an hour before sun-down, we passed into beautiful savannah country. With the sun falling, the ground looked particularly red, the grass and trees particularly green and the turqouise birds were more striking than ever. We passed small villages of a few hundred mud-houses with thatched rooves. The women and children in the fields would stop ...