My second day in Bamako on Tuesday was a hectic but fun tour of the lovely Musée Nationale, the small but interesting Musée Muso Kunda (devoted mainly to displays of the dress of Malian women of various ethnic groups), and the point G lookout over the city. From Bamako, I took a minibus down to the port town of Koulikoro. My boat to Mopti was supposed to leave the dock at 10 pm and arrive in Mopti, a significant port and tourist destination at the confluence of the Niger and Bani rivers, on Thursday afternoon. 30 hours later, after a full day spent in port fixing a mechanical problem, the boat finally left. Given my cramped, hot cabin, my ongoing digestive problems, the terrible food and my worries about being stranded on the Niger when I really needed to be heading back to Ouaga, I got off the boat in Ségou and planned to take the bus to Mopti the next day. I was lucky enough that one of my fellow passengers (and we got a chance to do lots of chatting and reading during our day sitting in port in Koulikoro) had family in Ségou; who generously put me up for the night on a mattress and mosquito net under the stars, and prepared me some kind of home remedy for my ailment that may or may not have done anything, but tasted good and was very kind. I was dumb and forgot to take a picture before I left the next morning, but I'm hoping to write them a proper letter of thanks when I get home.
So after a hot bus ride, I got into Mopti last night and spent the day in town today, doing a bit of shopping and wandering the streets and taking a pirogue (poled canoe) ride on the Niger in the late afternoon. Tomorrow I move on to the historic town of Djenné, and from there to Ouaga on Monday night. I hope to post again when I get home on Wednesday. Take care all!
posted by Emily @ 8:38 p.m.
<< Home