by phil | Oct 15, 2010 | Mali, Stories, W. Africa
When two Malians meet for the first time, they greet and introduce themselves. Then they insult each other. In this way, Mali has avoided Civil War for centuries. The insults are based on family names and they are mostly hilarious. When a Keita meets a Coulibaly, the...
by phil | Oct 11, 2010 | Mali, Music, Stories, W. Africa
In Africa you rarely know how and when things will happen. You may plan to take a trip, but the boat is not running. Maybe it sunk. Maybe it’s broken. You may think you are going to leave by 10AM, but the car is not filled with passengers. Maybe it’s full,...
by phil | Oct 8, 2010 | Mali, Stories, Tips, W. Africa
Middle of the day a week ago, I start to feel feverish and fatigued. I considered what I had eaten in the past 24 hours. Had I poisoned my guts for the first time in Mali? Did I have a cold? Did I have the African cold? The African cold is malaria and even with...
by phil | Oct 5, 2010 | Camels, Cote D'Ivoire, Mali, Stories, Tips, W. Africa
What’s cooking in the oven of Bamako? Humans, donkeys, and dust. The uniform color and the 10 million motos remind me of Ouaga, but Ouaga’s got nothing on the Niger River, or Bambara, a language so smooth you’ll feel like you’re on ice skates....
by phil | Oct 3, 2010 | Cote D'Ivoire, Mali, Stories, Tips, W. Africa
This is me making doughnut batter in Ghana. I am wearing my favorite shirt. It is lightweight, comfortable, mildly flattering, quick-drying, and somewhat immune to odor. Three years ago, before boarding an overnight bus to Arequipa, I was robbed in the Cusco bus...
by phil | Sep 29, 2010 | Cote D'Ivoire, Mali, Stories, W. Africa
1,200 km separate Abidjan and Bamako. Given the nonsense that goes on with overland travel in Africa, this journey was practically interstellar. In the station, veiled Mauritanian women, bearded men reading the Koran, children adorned with beads in their hair. Most...
