Day 1: Mali – Bamako, Segou, Djenne

My boyfriend and his brother arrived in Bamako on the morning of  Saturday, January 3rd.  We had just enough time that day to go to the National Museum and to a beautiful lookout point before my brother arrived later that night

Point G – overlooking Bamako

Upon waking up on Sunday morning, and getting ready for the two- week trek through the desert, the three guys decided they wanted to play a game of flag football with some of my friends at the embassy. So before we set off for the 8 hour drive to Djenne, we played some ball with other expats in Bamako.  Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed.

(Imaginary picture of the boys playing flag football)

On the way up to Djenne we stopped for lunch in Segou at a riverside restaurant, making it the second time we saw the Niger River this trip.

La Paillote restaurant terrace in Segou

Right before we entered Djenne, we crossed the Niger River for the third time that day, and had a momentary flash of panic as the bus in front of us got stuck in the river mud as it was driving off the ferry tarmac.

Pushing an overstuffed bus out of the river mud

We arrived in Djenne an hour after nightfall.  Unfortunately, there were no rooms available forcing us to set up our tents on the roof of the Djenne campement.  Fortunately, waking up to an aeriel view of the magical sandcastle city of Djenne was hardly a consolation prize.

Camping out on the Djenne Campement rooftop

We hired a guide and took a walking tour of Djenne on Monday morning –  the weekly market day.   Despite it being their first times in Mali and West Africa, the brothers adjusted rather well to the hustle and bustle of the city and even managed to make some new friends right away.

Brothers and their new fans/friends

More on Djenne tomorrow…