Staying in Bamako for one week was a welcome change to being on the road and putting up and taking tents down daily. There was cold beer, showers (albeit also cold), excellent food and random nights out. We intended to get our Nigerian visas here but they were unable to issue them in time. But nonetheless we also wanted to stay somewhere nice for Christmas.
Aside from my ‘incident’, we had a great time in Bamako. The fetish market was unusual with everything from rats with their guts exposed,
to dead parrots that are apparently eaten as an aphrodisiac, rotten dogs’ heads, chicken heads, pelts of various animals, hippo skulls, and dried chameleons amongst many other delightful things.
We visited the nearby Artisan’s market several times during our stay to purchase Tuareg swords,
masks, jewellery, etc. Aside from the annoying touts that wouldn’t cease to follow us around, we had an incredible time and Shaun and Karen were even invited into a stall to eat with the locals.
Speaking of eating, we have had some amazing meals – both eating out and home cooked. At Amandine café/bar/restaurant they do excellent vanilla milkshakes and I averaged about one a day during our stay. At our campsite, Staci, Josh and I made Vietnamese rice paper rolls one night which were a hit particularly with the hot, dry weather.
‘The Desperate Tent Wives’ cooking group (Andrea, Katie and Karen) made fattoush (Lebanese salad), kofta balls (or vegetable skewers and baba ganoush for us vegos) and hummus. As Kristy would say in a high-pitched voice “Thanks cook group – it’s amaaaaaaaaaaazing!”
But the most incredible experience of all was one of our night’s out on the town. We started off at a local bar behind the Canadian Embassy which had a large outdoor area where we could sit under the stars and drink cold beer around large wooden cable drum tables whilst listening to an incredible local Malian band. The best part of the night, however, was at the Diplomat. The crowd was trendy and casually chatting at long tables whilst the local Malian band played. The songs picked up in pace and soon enough locals, expats and travellers alike were getting up and dancing. The local dancing resembled a form of salsa, possibly as salsa has its roots in West Africa.
The main act everyone was waiting for was Lamine Tounkara who told us he plays the djely doudou ba. He took a particular liking to Dom and seemed to be playing to him alone!
Lamine came over to our table at the end of the night so I asked him in French if Dom could have a go and he was very happy to teach Dom how to play his instrument. Dom gave it a pretty good go and Lamine seemed quite pleased with his new student. He’s very keen to play in Australia at a world music festival so if anyone has any contacts, let me know – he’s amaaaaaaaazing!
Afterwards everyone seemed to lose each other and Dom and I ended up at Jet 7 – a trendy nightclub where locals in funky (and skimpy) clothing were dancing to the latest hiphop and techno beats.
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