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Welcome
to Mali. We've arrived in Bamako, the capital, in the wee hours of the
morning.
You
could call this the suburbs of Bamako.
Loriana
Dembelé, the Italian Consulate, is our gracious host.
Fortunately
for us, Momadou will be cooking our meals. He is making a delicious meat
sauce with carrots, cabbage, and eggplant. It will be served on rice.
Kouyate
is repairing a solar panel.
He
takes a break to show us around the neighborhood.
Here
are some neighbors.
These
children are playing at the end of the driveway. Three of them belong
to Momadou.
They
show us these beautiful peacocks nearby!
Bright
colored clothes hang wherever they can.
Every
day seems to be laundry day along the Niger River.
Malians
live and/or work in these makeshift structures.
Watch
out for the open sewers.
Kouyate
has to fix the engine before we head downtown.
Rules
don't seem to apply to drivers in Bamako.
These
green vans (called Sotrama) are all over the place. They usually have
about 20 people in them, sometimes have a door, and people jump in and
out of them while they're moving.
Roads
serve pedestrians as much as they serve cars.
Downtown
is much more crowded.
This
entrepreneur has set up a cafe.
Here
is more business being conducted in Bamako.
People
and animals are used to living with their trash.
Back
at the house Alhousseni is starting another solar panel. He begins by
sautering solar cells together.
Then
he tests the voltage of the strips.
Don't
let this gecko in your room scare you. It eats mosquitos, so make friends.
click here to visit Nearby villages>>
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