Bananas and Flag beer

My Bamako moment of the day : woke up this morning, walked out to the courtyard, took a banana from the nearest banana tree, and ate it. Always wanted to do that...eat a banana from a banana tree in my back yard. Great way to start off our third day in Mali.

Arrived last Friday to a small but well organized Bamako airport. Quickly and proudly showed off our yellow vaccination cards when the imposingly stout but friendly lady at customs asked us for them. She barely looked at them; as soon as she saw the yellow cards inside our passports, she said welcome to Mali and waved us through. The guy just behind us wasn’t so lucky. He didn’t have proof of vaccination and was expediently escorted to a side room. Would be interesting to know what went on in there. We were told that you’re given the choice of boarding the next flight out of the country, or opt to get vaccinated then and there by an in house dubious looking medical attendant at an exorbitant cost per shot. And then there’s always the option of the old reliable entrance or exit tax, aka bribe, which would probably end up being cheaper and less painful. In any case, I was glad that Madeleine and I had jumped through that hoop in Nairobi at a legitimate and reputable vaccination clinic.

We are spending the next five days at Sylvaine and Axel’s place, at this great house in Bamako which used to be the residence of the Senegalese ambassador. This is the kind of place that I imagined we’d have in Conakry, before we left in June. Huge house with a large courtyard filled with different fruit trees, a pool, cats running around chasing their tails, and an outdoor swing lounger (which appears to have been squatted by the hired security/house boys who always seem to be idling there). The long screened in verandah is my favorite space where one can sit and while away the day sipping a Flag beer, your attention wavering between the occasional cat fight (closest we’ve been so far to wild african game) and looking at the fans above turning and chasing away the flies. A scene right out of Out of Africa...can almost hear the John Barry soundtrack score.

Madeleine is slowly recuperating from her bout with malaria, occasionally having minor relapses but feeling much better. I've had really great conversations with Sylvaine about the work she is doing here; she has been given the assignment of teaching kids of Mali to read. It is nothing less than inspirational to see how much one tiny lady like this can impact so positively a whole nation by successfully teaching its children to read. She has become one of my heros.

Will end this post here, must tend to urgent matter, my Flag beer is almost empty.