Blogs from Centre, Mali, Africa - page 2

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Africa » Mali » Centre » Ségou November 17th 2008

Today is our sixth day in Niono, and, I must say, it has grown on me. Last Tuesday, Nora and I woke up at 5:30 in order to be ready to leave by 6am, but that didn’t happen. We probably should have expected that given all of the delays that we had experienced leading up to that day. When the Save The Children SUV finally pulled up to our house at 7:15, it was a relief that the much talked about trip was finally happening. Getting out of Bamako proved to be the tedious part. We navigated through morning traffic for what seemed like an hour before we finally hit the open road. And when I say/write “open road,” I mean it. Even though the way to Niono first leads to Segou, a relatively large city ... read more

Africa » Mali » Centre » Ségou August 9th 2008

la brusse is how you call in african french to all those towns away from the city which you usually see in tv and look like taken out of the highetr neolithic period. well, in segou I rented a bike and biked to a town nearby, called segkouro or something lmike that which was the old capital of the region of segou. it was beautiful, rural, there was a wedding that was on its fifth day, its suppoused to last a week, and there I was invited to sit, drink water, and then tea, in the usual order. then a griot came to play softsongs in th shade, and although I was a bit down cause of lariam it all worked fine. for lunch I had to, a sort of bread made of "mijo" in spanish, ... read more
girls sourprised
griot

Africa » Mali » Centre » Ségou August 6th 2008

first off, let me tell you that my eye hasnt healed yet. if you know me you will know how I love to complain, so I needed to say it. whenever the eye gets better some windy day of dirty transport fucks it up again. anyway, I pretty much have gotten used to looking like a pirate and not having stereoscopic vision, furthermore, when I open both eyes I kinda have vertigos. so much for the depth; never liked that 3rd dimension. now segou, it is a lovely little city by the niger river, one of whose main chatrms is still keeping some town look as opposed to the busy and guides-filled mopti. still, theres not much to do in a little town more than enjoying the bel far niente, and so to days passed in ... read more
pirogue
traditional malian architecture
art gallery

Africa » Mali » Centre » Djenné November 19th 2007

Next on our itinerary was the Monday Market in the city of Djenne. The city is famous for having the largest mud structure in the world (the mosque of course) and a very large market on Mondays. It was here that we've seen more tourists than we have anywhere in West Africa. Literally every tourist in Mali must have arrived in Djenne at the same time to see the Monday Market. To be quite honest, after wandering the market for a while, we were both a little disappointed in what the market had to offer. With all the hype surrounding it, we've been through much larger and better markets than this one elsewhere in West Africa (even in Mali). I suppose this is where we realise that we've been a bit spoiled by the places we've ... read more
Photo 12
Photo 1
Photo 2

Africa » Mali » Centre » Djenné October 2nd 2007

Whoever said roosters crow at the crack of dawn was a liar...they start cockadoodledooing around 4am and don't stop. After a breakfast of millet surprise, we repacked our bags and headed out of the campement. It turns out that it is tradition for people to sing upon leaving the campement in Ende, so we gamely started with "The Circle of Life" from Lion King (Disney was the only thing we all sort of agreed upon). Just outside the building, though, we ran into about half the village children waiting for us, so we got a bit flustered. We tried some Red Hot Chilli Peppers and showtunes while giving them high-fives and waving. We were all prepared to trek the 8km to the next village before it got too hot, but Salif told us he had arranged ... read more
the finger of Ende
little boy coming to greet the toubabs
girls on their way to the first day of school

Africa » Mali » Centre » Ségou June 25th 2007

Tamba-SegouTom Griffith According to the United Nations, Mali is the third poorest country in the world. Now, I'm not sure how they come up with these rankings (it tells you here), but as someone from the third richest country, it sure feels poor to me. So how do Malians manage to be so open and friendly? I don't know. And why did the guy in the shop I just popped into, offer me some of his lunch? Again, I don't know. But Malians do have a reputation for being nice folks, and so far I haven't been disappointed - apart, perhaps, from the super-pushy touts and hassle-mongers of Segou. But more on them later. Mali's poverty stems from a variety of complex causes, but basically it comes down to two: colonialism and the envi... read more
Bamako mural
Niger pirogue
Bamako street




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