Bamako Tourists

We had to wait until Wednesday to get the visas back from the Ghanian Embassy, so spent the whole of Tuesday doing the touristy thing around Bamako. First things first though. Whilst we were having breakfast (Vietnamese sandwich and a home-made tea with condensed milk... mmmm), some of the guys who'd checked into the dorm late the night before came out. Dressed head-to-toe in hooded gold tracksuits, some with gold side bags. We obviously asked them what they were doing and a dead ringer for Jack Black explained that they were from outer space and were going to the Dogon Country today to promote the benefits of solar energy. They put on a facade of being aliens, because the Dogon tribes had a history of alien contact embedded in their culture; the Poles had also done this in a Mexican village, who had a belief in UFOs. I'm not sure what to believe at all with this, as it could be taken as quite patronising. Very surreal.

After that we took a taxi to the Hippodrome, where we wanted (me and Barney) to ride horses for a while. There was a place in the guide book where you could pay per hour, and I was quite up for the challenge - first horse ridden ever! But the horse centre seemed to just be for ex-pat children who were already fully kitted out and in the middle of a lesson. Didn't look like you could just turn up. After a brief walk around the hippodrome - a dusty, overgrown, unused track with skinny, wild horses and goats grazing, next to a derelict "grand"stand where men just took shelter from the hot sun - we took a taxi to the museum. It was open this time!

Inside the main gates were (presumably) convicts working in bright orange jumpsuits, literally breaking rocks for the new pathway. Quite a good idea, putting criminals to work, we should adopt it in the UK! No photos were allowed in the museum, but the displays were all really good. Even though they were in French I understood a lot of it (many thanks to Dree). There was a good collection of masks and sculptures from all over the country, and a separate exhibit on the Dogon people. It was all genuinely interesting, and one of the better museums I've been to, and the air con definitely helped out!

After a bite to eat at the museum, we headed to the fetish market; and I know what you are thinking, but this market specialises in animist and strange artefacts for the more unusual religious practices. For example monkey heads, shrunken lizards, dead parrots (always green for some reason), rhino horns, thigh bones from a large animal, hides, claws and skulls: the works for any voodoo fanatics out there! The traders didn't like anyone taking photos but I got a few sneaky ones and ended up paying one guy a few hundred CFA for some close ups. Strange place. But far more interesting then the 'Grande Mosqueè'. That is not even worth writing about.

Back at the mission (aka 'Nunnery'), we bumped into the couple going overland in their 4x4 that we saw at the Senegal/Mali border. They had been planning it for about three years and had the coolest Land Rover in the world - it had a fridge, cooking area, fold-out tent on the roof, an awning, larger fuel tank, even a tap with drinking water IN the car! A truly amazing beast! Made us all jealous with their stories, and we all began to plan our overland trips that night... must get that illusive driving licence soon though! They were carrying on down to South Africa, and then returning up the east coast back to Europe. An epic trip!

Also met an English lady called Pam, who had been coming to Africa for the past ten years, mainly working on a project in NE Mali called "Village Ventures". There is a crossroads in the corner of the country, where over 130,000 people live, that is massively underfunded. Pam has been setting up, and overseeing, all sorts of projects ranging from well-building, laptops for each village, free schooling and food for orphans. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to go and visit the area, but I have taken her contact details and am thinking of heading back to volunteer for a few months. Even if not, it could be something that the Rotary Club could help with. Something to think about at very least.