Dimanche à Bamako

Sunday was a very lazy Sunday. I woke up at 9am, had my breakfast, went back to bed, woke up after 12pm. Stayed indoors until around 2pm.

Coming out so late there wasn’t much I could do. I went to see the National Museum.

I found taxi for 1000cfa and we got in. As two years ago it took me a while to find the person responsible for tickets, which are 2500cfa. The museum is in a park which is quite attractive and certainly an oasis of green in otherwise dusty grey city, the entry used to cost 1000cfa but there was so much trash on the grass that it put me off from getting the park ticket this time.

Inside the museum nothing changed from two years ago. There is an EU-funded exhibition on Mali textiles, with some examples of fabrics and quite informative explanations on the wall. Photography is prohibited and the ban is strictly enforced by the watching ladies. Just me taking out a phone immediately brought a reaction from one of them. However they allowed me to snap the texts. When I was in National Museum of Lagos two years ago, which literally is two small dark rooms with no light of course and photography prohibited, when someone saw me with my phone in my hand he angrily demanded to see the last photo on my phone! There is no joke here although I somehow understand – some of the archeological artefacts are signed as retrieved by French customs – the smuggling is real.

I had a bizarre encounter with one of the watching ladies, she asked for money and she said that she’s hungry. What was I to do? I first said no, then I shared water with her, then I couldn’t stop thinking about it and gave her all the coins I had: 450cfa.

One of the Douglases I met in Bissau told me that he wanted to get out of there and go back to Lisbon because he is tired of poverty already. I understand him sometimes.

There are very few wood carvings in the museum, maybe less than 20. But they are nevertheless interesting and quite beautiful.

I saw a yellow post box outside the museum. I thought, stamps! I went to the museum shop but I heard 1000cfa per stamp. Oh well. I already have two sets of postcards to post: from Guinea Bissau and from Mali, I wonder where the stamps will come from.

From the museum I got a 500cfa taxi to the usual restaurant, Guaduman, it was already 4pm. I had tasty yassa poulet but they were out of natural juices.

I walked again, through Missira and Medina Koura, the coffee joint was open, I had my espresso. At the end of Medina there was a street party, music blasted through large speakers from a phone connected to a DJ console, the dancing women enjoying themselves.

I bought tangerines, which are expensive here but I understand all fruits are imported, except mangoes. 1000cfa per kilo and they are all warm. It took me a while to find a taxi for 1000cfa back to the hotel, a man on a motorbike even offered his help in negotiating.

It’s a long day tomorrow, I should be in gare de la Guinée by 7am in order to get back to Kankan. I’ll be waiting till Mali cools down and will be back.