Meeting Papa

Save the Children dropped me back at the Maissa Hotel around 3 o'clock that afternoon. After we had sorted out which gifts I was keeping (half the mangoes, all the oranges and groundnuts and the various bowls, baskets and ladles) and giving Mr Coulibaly the rest to distribute amongst the staff, I said goodbye, told them it was very kind, but I didn't need a lift to Bamako the next day as I was meeting my guide and we had made other arrangements, and went to my room to stash my stuff. As I still had several hours before my scheduled meeting with Papa, I decided to walk along to the cyber cafe for a bit.

I had been sitting in the cyber cafe for about an hour, catching up on this blog and checking my emails, when I noticed I had two emails from Papa, and one was dated less than a minute ago. The first email, sent several days ago, said there had been a problem with the last deposit I'd sent, of 100 Euros, just a few days before I'd left Canada. Papa had sent me an email saying he needed another 100 Euros for his "locateur", a word that didn't translate properly but apparently meant the supplier of the 4by4. I'd duly sent it off, on May 25 I believe, but Papa was now saying that only 50 Euros had been received by his bank in Timbuktu. While I was still digesting this, I read his second email, which said something like "I am sitting here in a cyber cafe and there is a white woman four computers along to my right. Is that you?" I sent an email back saying "hi!" and then got up, and there he was! He had the 4by4 outside with the driver, so we quickly paid our bills, and after introducing me to Al Fady, the driver, we drove back to the Maissa, where they were also staying.

We went and sat out by the pool, and ordered cokes while we sorted out our finances and decided on the plan for tomorrow. I agreed to take his word about the 50 Euro shortage, until he could show me a statement from his bank, or we could talk to the bank directly. I asked him how much extra it was going to be for the two extra days caused by Save the Children's changing the day I was to meet Diarah, and he said 160 Euros. Instead of two lump payments, one now and one at the end of the trip, he asked if we could split it into 3 payments, two of 600 Euros and the final one 590 Euros. I said fine, and gave him the first 600, and had him sign for it. He asked if I wanted to eat at the hotel, but after the previous night, when I'd spent an hour waiting to be served, and then hadn't been told that all side dishes were extra, I said I'd prefer to eat somewhere a bit cheaper and faster, so we agreed to meet at 7:00 and go out somewhere to eat.

We ended up going to one of the little restaurants on the road between the hotel and the cyber cafe, where it was indeed much cheaper and faster than the Maissa, although if I remember correctly Al Fady had to go out to get drinks as they had none in stock. After supper we went back to the hotel and split up, agreeing to meet at 8 the next morning for a trip to a nearby grotto and a waterfall.