Mopti and beyond

So we finished our time and headed out to Mopti, about 500 km from Bamako. To be honest, I was a bit dissappointed by Bamako but only because I had a huge expectation for it. I love the album Dimanche a Bamako by Amadou et Mariam, a blind couple from Mali, and listening to this album created a certain feel for the city. Manu Chao also collaborated on this album and, if you know his stuff, you will appreciate my expectation! But all well and good, we met some cool people and relaxed in the city. Spirits were also a bit down after a very lng tedious bus journey (wait, didnt I write about this perviously?) We visited the fetish market and gor hold of some inside info how to really spin the gods' dice in order to get what you want. pretty grim afterthought. But arriving in Mopti in the north east of Mali was quite a pleasant Surprise.

Neill doing his business

See the thing is, when you travel and have your guide book as the bible, you start making plans and plotting your route. And soon you become the master of your little route. And then you have some experiences that is counter to what you have first believed, and its at this time then the real feel of a town or a place hits you. Mopti was really an unexpected pleasant Surprise. We arrived from the bus and a man offered his services. We were going to this hotel in any way, so following him seemed natural (and you dont really have that when someone offers his courtesy as a kick-back is always expected). So we followed Seidou to YasNas Problem hotel and settled in for the night. He introduced himself as a tour guide for the Dogon Country and came in at a reasonable price. We came here for this reason so were stoked to have met him. The next day we signed a self-written contract and had a nice cruise along the river, fishing and wishing the sun a fairwell over the hrzon. Till tomorrow then...

Mopti, Mali