By noon we reached (supposedly) Bamako and I truly think my arse will never be the same after Africa. I feel like I have no more padding than the awful benches in the taxi-brousses. We were not exactly downtown and most people were catching taxis, but I decided to walk. On the way, I saw a Malien student I'd met this morning in another town and he decided to walk in with me and when a friend of his drove by, we got a lift. Lucky thing— the damned truck had left us more than five miles from town.
I got out at the train station so I could make inquiries about the famous train to Dakar, Senegal. I'd planned on spending about two days here, but it turned out there are only two trains per week: tomorrow and in four days. Because I'm not five-days interested in Bamako, but am more than four-days interested in Dakar, I decided to get tomorrow's train.I've been warned countless times about the fatiguing nature of this train trip and it was suggested that I spend the extra bucks for a reserved bed. The extra turned out to be $40 more than first class, but there were no first class seats and I knew second class was not to be reckoned with, so I went all the way. My travels from here on are strictly deluxe and all pre-purchased: my $100 two-day bed to Dakar, by $375 luxury liner to Casablanca and my flight to New York. I'm not going to miss the taxi-brousses!
After an hour's wait at the Police Speciale for an exit stamp, I went to the hotel attached to the train station. I always look for the crappiest hotel I can find, expecting a bargain; then when it turns out to be no bargain, I'm too tired to lug my bags elsewhere. Such is the case here. It looked OK at first, $7.50 for the room, but there's another mandatory $7.50 for the dinner, breakfast, tax and service and hell, the room overlooks the train tracks, ten feet away!Did what I could to explore Bamako in my one afternoon here, but I was beat after no sleep last night and had to nap for a while. The required dinner wasn't bad, but not great either. Later, a crazy African/Hispanic band entertained millions in the hotel courtyard.
. . . Went out for a late-night snack and the hotel entertainment is really cooking now: there's a chorus line of topless girls chanting folk songs with the drums and about 100 spectators. Now I know what I'm paying for here— unfortunately, I'm tired and have an 8am train to catch.
PHOTO CREDIT 1
PHOTO CREDIT 2
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