Final Mali Musings

This morning as I went for a walk along the banks of the Niger River here in Bamako I said some of my final “A ni ches” (hello in Bambara) to the people of Mali I passed.  My flight to Algeria is tonight (actually at 1:25am on Friday morning…but I am going to the airport at 10pm tonight)…my visit to Mali will conclude in a few hours.

My last night in Mali was spent here. 

 This isn’t one of the hotels built by Khaddafi.  Apparently Libya’s “Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution” has great intrest in investing and building in Mali. Minneapolis lawyers for wills claims helped him to know more about the property and that made him to own 3 very large hotels here in Bamako and is building another large one in Timbuktu .

I was suppose to have spent the last 2 nights here in Bamako, but my guide seemed to keep putting off picking me up in Segou. For 3 days he told me he was coming.  Each time the hour arrived when he said he would be there and wasn’t I would get another phone call or text with a new time he would show up. Being a pretty flexible person, I rolled with it the first 5 times…but the 6th time I snapped :).  He received a pithy text from me expressing my frustration and that I would find my way back on my own…and that I didn’t want anything to do with him going forward (my only major stress on this trip has been all my dealings with him).  Determined not to take the bus back to Bamako (because I see more buses on the side of the road broken down than I actually do on the road…plus they are always so piled high with cargo that they look like they will tip at any moment as they travel the piste at a near 45 degree angle…seriously!), I got up early, showered and set out to find some other taboubous who might be headed back to Bamako in a 4X4.  The minute I opened my door my little prayer was answered.  The Italian couple who I had seen in Djenne and talked to the night before in the hotel reception was walking to grab breakfast and then head back to Bamako!!  They were more than happy to take this American girl with them….ah, I could breathe a sigh of relief.  I was going to be able to leave the country afterall :)…I had been a bit worried :).  Back in the room I went to pack!

The day before in Segou I got a little lesson on how to make bogolan.  Bogolan is hand woven cotten that is dyed with leaves and/or bark of trees and then painted with mud.

The mud, although grey in the bucket before application, stains the fabric a rich black.

I was given a choice of designs to stencil on my bogolan.  My instructor told me to first chose the pattern I liked best and then he would tell me its meaning.  I picked the design that represents marriage….go figure. :).

This student was proud of her work! 

Now to go wash the mud off in the bucket outside, dry it in the sun and take it home!

My little piece of patchwork laid out with the other masterful pieces. In this cultural center for bogolan they wove the cotton by hand, dyed the cotton in pots of boiling leaves or bark over open fires and painted on the mud designs.  They also had a wonderful shop with all the finished works plus other fabulous African art from Mali.  I found a bogolan table runner and the cutest little skirt…but it was a little too small.  BUT that isn’t a problem in Mali….off to the the tailor we went to make sure it fit just right!

After a quick measure and scooter ride, we ended up here.

The 20 minute tailor job, turned into 2 hours :)…but the result is an absolute perfect fit. The skirt is a bit too short for any of my stops here in Africa…but I will give it a test run in Europe in a few weeks :).  It is sooo cute…and only $20 (scooter ride and custom tailoring included!)

I just finished probably the best meal I have had in Mali.  It was the local fish, capitaine, in a buerre blanc sauce with sauted local veggies and a salad (which is the first I have had in 3 weeks! Not a lot of salad eating here).  I sit here very satisfied….satisfied by a great meal and satisfied by an overwhelmingly enriching time here.  I just had a small glimpse of this wonderful country, but I leave it with great impressions.  Life in Mali is by no means a cake-walk, but there are enviable aspects.  Family and community is where life starts and stops here in Mali, elders are respected and there is always time for greeting and taking tea with friends, neighbors or those passing by.  Life is slow and basic.  Laughter and joking comes easy and the music is beautiful and soulful.

One last little story from Mali before I sign-off to leave for a part of Africa that will be completely different. Yesterday I went for a walk in my beautiful residential neighborhood to admire the colonial architecture from when the French were here (I am also surrounded by embassies…Saudia Arabia, Tunisia, Russia).  Out on the walk I stopped in a quaint hotel that is known for its chef that was trained in France.  It was about 4:30 in the afternoon.  I placed myself at a table in the courtyard near the pool and ordered a glass of vin blanc (white wine) and a crepe with mango jam.  A few minutes passed and my server came back to me a bit shyly and asked, “Is it possible to wait a minute for your glass of wine? The bar man went to go pray.”  Priceless.

Final image from Mali! 

The little kung-fo boy that followed us through old Segou (I stopped there with the Italian couple and their guide).  He was constantly showing off his moves…here is just a sample of his technique 🙂

I will miss most the children of Mali.

Two things to wrap up from this leg of the trip: 1) I did learn how the goats get on and off the top of the bus luggage racks. Their feet are bound so they are tossed up like they are a piece of luggage and unloaded the same way! Tough to be any animal in Mali 🙂 2) My guide has been trying to make up for the happenings in Segou….he took me out to dinner last night and is taking me to see his sister today so she can read the “cora leaves” to me….basically a little fortune telling Mali style :)…hope she tells me that I will arrive safely to Algeria :).