Le Djenne Bamako

... My suitcases are packed and hopefully still waiting in my hut for Peace Corps to ship them home to me.<br> The Peace Corps cars picked us all up in a matter of 4 days and evacuated us to Bamako, Mali. We weren't "officially" evacuated; we were consolidated because Peace Corps held out hope that the situation would improve and we would be able to go back. So they held us here for two weeks without much information. It was rough on everyone. How can you plan to move on ...

... in laws, wife, her sisters, daughters, sisters in law, etc. hence its very much a family business for them. Vieux is now the head of his family since the passing of his father. he isnt the oldest brother, but he carries the torch of the musical legacy, and people go to see him play.<br><br>the women of the house made us a feast. they all dressed up really nice to come and welcome him back from the US, and to make a big ...

... sweet 'African tea'. <br><br>Today so far I've been investigating one of the many markets, it was a lot less crowded than when I walked past yesterday, since it's Sunday, but it's still 'Madame! Madame! Bonjour madame!' constantly from ALL SIDES. Good fun though! I tend to stop to chat... now I am hiding from the sun for a little while before I go off and do some more exploring!<br><br>Well I think that's all for ...

We made it to Koutiala today. Last night we stayed in Bamako (the capital city of Mali). Our flight arrived at 9:45pm and we waited for about an hour for our bags aft** getting through customs. It was a v**y small airport as you can imagine. We brought 10 bags with us with all the gear we needed to install the fib** optic cable. In addition, we had some items for some of the folks that are h**e full-time. Only 6 of our bags made it from Paris! The good ...

... When I went through security, the man in front of me was allowed through with a large wooded sculpture, a mask and a spear. Do you hear me folks? A SPEAR. Another guy went through with a Tuareg sword. yes, again you heard me right A SWORD. I went through, the security guy said nothing but pointed at my bag. I opened it, he took out my water, placed it on top of the x-ray machine and turned his back on me. I stood there is utter disbelief. I felt broken. The only thing, THE ONLY ...

... Whilst all this was going on we wond**ed down random dust cov**ed streets basically doing one big massive circle. Half way round we bumped into Jamie who had managed to get himself into a little trouble with the police aft** taking some photos of murals close to the market. S**iously it doesn't matt** what you are taking photos of, if a copp** sees it they will eith** confiscate it, smash it in front of you or ask for a bribe. Thankfully Jamie was with ...

... Possibly due to the fact that one of the officials took a shine to Kate... even joking that he would trade a local woman for her. When asked if she had a boyfriend she lied and said yes Jay, at which he jokingly went to get out of his chair and head towards the truck. Kate laughed and legged it. Somewhere along the line when we were on the truck waiting for something... a group of kids had gathered near the back doors. After ...

Famille dans la cour Ma'm (Mariam), Amy, Aisha et Marie, ce sont les noms des 4 femmes qui pendant 3 semaines se sont occupées de moi comme si je faisais partie de la famille, c'étaient mes mères et mes soeurs à la fois. Chaque jour elles se relaient dans leur rôle de hôte préparant à manger, prenant soin d'avoir tout prêt à 18h00 pour que je coupe mon carême en style: bouilli malien d'abord, suivi d'une infusion magnifique de feuilles secs qu'ils appellent Kangal Ba et après ...

Voici la façon dont j'ai seccionné en plusieurs morceaux mon trajet tel que je l'avait initiallement conçu... les choses changent, mais sur ça on en reviendra plus tard. Aqui esta a maneira que eu idealizei a minha viagem no principio, mas as coisas podem (e devem) mudar a medida que vou progredindo e conhecendo outras pessoas. Voltaremos ao assunto.

... meal in 2 days, we felt able to wander round the city, and deal with the hustlers - yes, of course they're here too!  A couple more days here, and then we'll start working north via some smaller towns and villages, towards the famous mosque at Djenne and perhaps some trekking in Dogon country.  Later and love to you all, John and Terry """""""""""""""""" Mr and Mrs R On Tour  Mr R: "I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy..."Mrs R: "No stoopid, I said MALI."