back to Mali -- 30 January, back on land

After thoroughly enjoying the 2 days spent doing nothing on the pinasse trip down the Niger River, the cars met up with us at a small village. As usual, we split into the three vehicles. Two of which encountered no outstanding problems, but one had a bit of difficulty (of course it was the one with both our "leaders"!). First, they got stuck on a sand dune. The other two drivers helped get them out of that and going on. Then, they managed to get lost and, after turning around, they had a major tire blow-out. And, of course, were without any cell coverage at the time. We did manage to meet up with them again before reaching Segou. We were staying at a hotel at which we'd enjoyed a meal on the trip to Konsango. The rooms were very nice with large bathrooms (considering we'd spent a week without running water, this does not mean they equate with the Ritz, but that they were spacious with hot water etc.). Nice dinner at the hotel with a early night for me as I was still battling a cough. Dad said I didn't keep him up -- he's a deep sleeper, thankfully!

As an aside -- a note on travelling with my dad. When I first became interested in the trip it was largely due to my dad's enthusiasm the previous year. Those of you who know him know that he's not loudly enthusiastic, but I could tell how much he both enjoyed the experience and how much it touched him. I wanted to share that. When I approached Tom with my interest, his first thought was that he'd hope our girls would one day want to travel with him -- quite frankly, I hadn't really thought about travelling with my dad at that point! Over Christmas 2009 when we went shopping for my gifts, dad helped me with choices and knowledge of what I'd be doing -- sleeping pads, water sanitation, etc. He's told me that while he was thrilled that I was going with him, as a parent knowing the environment, he did have some concern. Being a parent myself, after experiencing the trip I appreciate the concern, although I am an adult (hee hee!). He's also told me that he enjoyed seeing the expressions on my face during the trip, especially when situations were similar to what he'd experienced the previous year. And it was great for me to have a "safe" environment in the evenings to escape to -- I'm a person who really needs to have quiet and solitude to re-group and it's difficult/impossible to do that if you're always with people you don't know so well.

The next morning we were heading back to Bamako. The car that had had problems the previous day was still having problems, so we repacked with all the luggage on top and put all the people into the other two vehicles. Beginning to look like a Mali bus (this is a photo of a mock-up of a bus, the real ones are even more crowded!):

All three vehicles made it to Bamako. We went back to the restaurant "Relax" (popular with the expats -- we'd been there when we first got to Bamako a lifetime ago!) and had some lunch. Anna'd received an e-mail from our travel agent that she'd secured flights home for us a day later than originally expected -- not the best of news, but good to know when we'd be heading home. That evening (31 January) a celebration/farewell dinner was planned as about half the group was heading home then (as dad and I were originally scheduled, sigh.....). Stay tuned -- we're almost back to New Orleans!