by phil | Jun 9, 2011 | Camels, Mali
I introduced the village of Fana in my previous post. This is part II. Sitting under a tree. A breeze laced with mid-day Sahelian heat. Drinking a sachet of bissap juice, partially frozen, with bite sized sugary ice floes. From a cell phone speaker, Oumou Sangare,...
by phil | Jun 6, 2011 | Mali
This post involves the village of Fana, camel drawing, the German board game Settlers of Catan and many beautiful aspects of Malian culture. It could also be considered a de facto part II of my favorite photos from West Africa. Fana is 120 km east of Bamako, on the...
by phil | May 26, 2011 | Tips, W. Africa
Many of the countries in West Africa are former French colonies. The currency used in these countries is the FCFA (Franc Communauté Financière Africaine), more commonly known as the CFA (pronounced seefa). Tied to the Euro at a rate of roughly 640 CFA to 1 Euro, the...
by phil | May 20, 2011 | thoughts
I don’t want this post to come across as angry or judgmental. I will attempt to be careful with my words. West Africa is not particularly well traveled so it’s common to get to know other travelers when you do happen to come across them. Most often, you...
by phil | May 16, 2011 | Mali, Senegal, Stories, W. Africa
This post has 7 parts: Senegal? The Bus The Passengers Hot Season is Hot The Bad The Good The Cutest Girl in the WorldSenegal?I arrived in Dakar last Monday. I stayed until Wednesday night. Depending on what happens in Mali, I may spend more time in Senegal on the...