by phil | Jun 20, 2011 | Mali, Music
Where I’m from, tomorrow is the longest day of the year. The sun will crawl to the horizon and some people will enjoy a light-filled evening of pleasant temperatures, cocktails, crickets, frogs. Others will hide from tornadoes and many may actually try to put...
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 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...
by phil | Feb 14, 2011 | Mali, Music, W. Africa
Last one on Mali. If you need to get caught up: Part I, Part II, and Part III. The previous post took us to the far north of Mali. This post is not regionally based. Here you will find a few artists that I didn’t fit in earlier. Boubacar Traore Boubacar...
by phil | Feb 8, 2011 | Mali, Music, W. Africa
See Parts I and II for more great music from Mali. This is the last post of the series featuring music from Mali. A few more gems from Northern Mali and then it will be on to Senegal. I think. Maybe. I realize that I have not mentioned Boubacar Traore, Salif Keita, or...