Last day in Mali

PICTURES: Mother and child, a familiar sight in Mali. The Niger. The museum's take on another familar sight in Bamako---green vans, jammed with people and finally, the National Museum.

We have spent the day touring Bamako. It's a sprawling city with lots of construction going on: buildings, new hotels, bridges. Traffic is a "catastrophe". C'est de la bouillabaise! A useful French expression I picked up here, meaning a mess.

The morning was the market. It is huge, hot, and some of the vendors really hassle you. I am a total failure as a bargainer....in reality, I have no desire for it.

In the afternoon, we went to the National Museum, a beautiful collection of buildings that echo the style of mud brick construction found in the villages. There are verdant gardens surrounding the museum. We saw a great collection of masks and statues, mostly in wood, pottery and the piece de resistance for me, the textiles. Mali was known for its cotton, some of which they transform into Bazin (sp?) in spectacular colours and patterns. There were also beautifully woven wools from the north and the bogolon which is cotton dyed with different hues of soil. Usually, the patterns are geometric. We also had a great lunch in the elegant cafe of the museum and then listened to some Malian music in the late afternoon.

The day was topped off by a beer beside the great Niger river. We watched the sun sink below the horizon. It was stunning......the sky and horizon, two shades of pewter grey, the sun a faintly orange ball. On the topic of beer, before I came here, I figured I would have to abstain for the duration, it being a Muslim country. Many, many Malians (mostly men) drink beer. There is a very high rate of consumption but according to our driver, they do this "en cachette".

I hope this won't offend anyone but I have developed a taste for liver!! Last dinner in Mali was frites and liver. The liver was chopped into pieces sauteed with onions. Often, if you eat in the smaller restaurants, aka cheaper, you end up with whatever they happen to have bought at the market that day.

Hope you are all well. Bye from Mali.