Sleepless in Kolondièba

We bid our fond farewells to the young staff of the Hotel Maissa in Sikasso and were on our way to conduct a short workshop for teachers in Kolondieba who had previously attended workshops.

I am now familiar with the roll of the countryside. This is quite a green area of Mali, so lots of vegetation. The acacias and flamboyant trees are in bloom so it can be quite pretty, even is this period before the rainy season. We passed the now familiar but still enjoyable to the eye, collection of villages. I am fascinated by the little round grain silos found in all villages, each one a little different from the last.

The town of Kolondieba has electricity for only limited periods of the day. The hotel is a cinder block construction with no running water (today, at any rate). The bucket of water was fine for a shower after the workshop. The idea is that you get to sleep before the power, and therefore the ceiling fan, goes off at 11:30.

I went to bed in sufficient time for a prior to 11:30 sleep. Read for a bit until my eyes got tired. And still, sleep did not come. Sweat ran. The fan wasn't all that effective. Then, the power went out. A thick blanket of air enveloped me immediately. The sweat poured. Visions of the POW imprisioned in the sweat box in the movie, Bridge Over the River Kwai sprung to mind. I had to escape!

Outside, the air was at least 10 degrees cooler. There was a nice breeze. I set up two chairs and listened to the night sounds: the gentle rustling of the trees in the breeze, the distant howling of dogs, a baby crying, the snoring from the room next to me (lucky guy), a group of men talking. The cacophony begins to take off at about 3 am, I estimate, with the donkey wailing and the rooster crowing (non stop). The first call to prayer came at about 4:30. It's 5:10, now, not long now, until sunrise.

Until the next time. Internet access has been spotty so sorry for the delay. Pictures are of iconic baobab tree and me in my Mali original.