What kind of insightful political commentary can a newly arrived toubab offer up on the situation in Senegal? Yes, that is rhetorical question. I barely have the confidence to write anything about Mali these days. I will be listening and observing and keeping my mouth...
It's not Monday and I'm not sure I believe in the law of attraction, but I do believe it would be bad juju to house this short-form content, otherwise well suited for social media, chez Zuckerberg and Elon. So I am putting it on my blog. I am going to Mbour to find...
There is no typical day. We are still trying to figure our lives out over here. But that's not what you came for. We enjoy hearing about other people's routines and "typical days." We can read these with envy but they can also be validating if the person is following...
Who knows what you are thinking right now, but hopefully that potentially incriminating clickbaity headline at least got your attention. I am not going to convince you that this is remotely safe. It's not. But it is a reliably joyful activity that has become a...
Google "Africans dead at sea" and the thousands of links that pop up have nothing to do with the 2 million Africans that died during the middle passage. It's Africans dead at sea now. Not forced onto ships but forced out to sea, locked out of the countries whose...
Did you read part 1 about my burgeoning bird obsession? Obsession is an exaggeration. I am not about to blow the dwindling family nest egg to fly half way around the world to try and spot a rare wood duck that only comes out for 3 hours every 5 years in a...
On my first trip to Senegal back in 2011, I remember hopping in a taxi from the airport and hearing mbalax on the radio. It is a frenetic musical genre, vocals soaring over manic sabar drumming. A dj would interrupt the song every five seconds or so, playing the role...
Before I get back to birds there is something that I want to mention that is probably not worth your time but this is my blog and as long as I continue to be demoralized about more important topics I will most likely be writing about stuff like this. Despite 17 years...
Photo from wikicommons. Many months ago I started noticing an early morning birdsong. I first heard it when I woke up. Then I heard it everywhere. I couldn't for the life of me spot the bird. Not having a visual made it difficult to identify the culprit. But along...
Did I say I was going to post every day? Sorry. Already breaking promises. But two posts in one year and now two posts in three days? I’ll take it. And it’s the weekend. There are children. On Friday night, Liza was grippé and slept terribly. By the time I got back...
Want to travel with me in West Africa? A friend and I run scooter trips in the region. scootwestafrica.com.
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The Great Jakarta Tour of Far West Africa Part 1: Bamako to Dakar
That time I got married in Mali
Bamako to Abidjan by bus: a chance to get intimate with the hot season
You Bring the Yam, I’ll Bring the Fire
Drawing Camels with 100 Different People in Bamako in 24 Hours
A photo essay: Bamako taxi interiors
A Cocktail Shaker and 10 meters of Fabric in Adjame Market
My sheep, sail boats on the Niger, dance contests and other photos from Mali
