Segou

Back in Sikasso, we went to the same restaurant as the night before, Damu, then Papa and I went to an Atlantic Bank and changed 100 euros each. It was quite a production as they examined each bill in minute detail, and photo-copied my passport, but finally handed over the cash. At least they were air-conditioned! Then we climbed the Mamelon, a hill sacred to the Bambara kings, on which perched the remains of a French 'fort', a single not very large round tower. There was a nice view of the town from up there, and lots more butterflies. At the foot of the hill Papa bought some fruit from a stall, and I bought a Fanta at a nearby store, then we drove to the home of Papa's sister, out past the Maissa hotel. Papa's sister lived in a nice little villa, well furnished, with a bit of a courtyard and a wall around it, although the surrounding neighbourhood was fairly poor. She offered us food and orange squash, while her husband and Papa chatted, and her daughters sat on a sofa watching me and giggling. After a short visit, only about 10 or 15 minutes, we were off to Segou. It was a long, hot, boring drive for the most part. Along the way we stopped several times to load up with more fruit from women selling by the side of the road. We crossed a large river, not the Niger, where they were loading sand onto trucks and donkey carts, for building supplies Papa said.

We reached Segou at dusk, and drove to the home of a friend of Papa's, a handsome, smiling, dark-skinned young man, Idrissa. I was shown to a large room with a double bed (but no pillows) and a standing fan, and a door that locked. The bathroom was off the courtyard, a shared toilet and sink and shower. The 'door' to the bathroom was a rattan mat that slid shut. The bathroom had no ceiling, but was open to the elements. Although this sounds strange, it worked pretty well, except when it rained.

I had a shower and then went to bed about 8. The fan moved the air around, but it didn't really get cool until around 5 am. I slept fitfully. I got up at 7, and had breakfast with Papa, Al Fady and Idrissa in the courtyard - instant coffee, a bit of baguette and 2 bananas. The others had some kind of stew in addition, and tea instead of coffee. In addition to the 4 of us, there seemed to be 2 other young men staying with Idrissa as well.