Back from the Desert!

We were sent in a hurry to Mopti (actually Sevare- a small town near Mopti) last week to do some seeding. We spent several nights at Mac's Refuge. It is a local bed and breakfast. The place is full during tourist season, but since it's too early for that...it was usually just us! We stayed in the Bobo and Songhai rooms. Bobo and Songhai refer to ethnic groups located in Dogon Country. Note: The Bobo room didn’t have a toilet. Check out the outdoor community one!
What does Dogon have to do with our trip? Everyone passes through Sevare on their way to see Dogon Country. The Dogon people fled their original homeland to escape the spread of Islam, and settled in and around the cliffs of the Bandiagara escarpment. They practice subsistence farming on the plateau above the cliffs and on the plain below. We saw the cliff dwellings from the air, but regret not having more time to check out the area. We heard it’s amazing! (Also, it just so happens that Mac’s Refuge is run by Dogon people).

The rooms had air conditioning, but no hot water (not horrible since it has been near 100F !!!!) The best part of our stay was the food, home cooked and three courses every night.

Sevare itself is a very small town (about the size of Mayville), but has a lot of people. Jody and I enjoyed the quietness at night, looking at the stars (for the first time in months), the afternoon breeze, watching kids catch frogs with grasshoppers and borrowing bicycles for rides through town. Here are some pictures of town from the bike. Right now Sevare is busy harvesting peanuts (see picture of boy and cart), millet, and sorghum (which we ate mixed in peanut clusters for dessert several times).

Mopti is a 15 minute car ride from Sevare and is the main city. They say it is the third largest in Mali. The town itself is located on the Niger and Bani River. In Mopti you can take a spin around the river. We made a few visits to the "big town" and ate at the Bissap Cafe, admired the water from a distance, checked out the large rice patties, viewed the mud houses that engulf the city, saw an early 1900’s mud mosque, and visited the soccer stadium.

If you make it to Mopti, stay in Sevare at Mac’s! Click on the pictures to make them bigger to see.

P.S. Did I mention my (Erin) least favorite part? Well it was all the LIZARDS and BUGS...good thing Jody has good aim with flip flops!

In Mopti

Greetings from Mopti-Sevare, a small town NE of Bamako (about 9 hours in a car). We arrived on October 2nd and are here temporarily. It is extremely HOT here, but we are enjoying our stay away from the bustling city! The Internet is unreliable, but we will try and get some pictures up soon.

What have we been doing?

We have been busy as usual...flying...here is a picture Jody took over Djenne, where the world's largest mud mosque is located. They say it takes over 2,000 people to complete annual renovations. Adding more mud of course...
The picture is a little blurry but you get the idea (it was a bumpy flight).

Also, a few weeks ago we had a television crew here from London. Here is a picture of the crew and technicians trying to mount the camera. No this is not where it ended up…those flares burn at 2,000ºC!

It’s hard to believe we have been here since May 30th, but it is official we are headed home November 11th. Until then we will enjoy the beautiful African sunsets from our porch with Walter! This is something we will treasure long after we have returned home.

Money

Mali is a cash-only economy. Credit cards and checks are not accepted (except at major hotels & a few businesses). ATMs are scattered through out the city but they only take Visa! As for traveler’s checks, don't bother...

Bills are in denominations of 10,000, 5000, 1000 and 500. Coins are in denominations of 500, 100, 50, 25, 10 and 5. The lone problem is that the ATMs only dispense 10,000 and 5,000, which a majority of people here don't have change to break. We try to exchange these at the supermarket.

The CFA Franc was created on December 26, 1945. Mali left the CFA franc zone in 1962 and established its own currency, the Malian franc (Mfr), at par with CFA franc and its own central bank. However, smuggling and speculation rapidly undermined the new Malian franc forcing it to revert in 1967. It is said that all Francs are minted in Paris.


Although Central African CFA francs and West African CFA francs have the same monetary value against other currencies, West African CFA coins and banknotes are not accepted in countries using Central African CFA francs, and vice versa.

The current exchange rate for $1 USD = 470 CFA Francs. When figuring out the exchange we use the "500-to-1" rule. It is very uncommon for people to use 10 or 5 CFA they just drop the number and round. We have seen only a few 5 or 10 CFA coins since our arrival.

The Anniversary Cake

We got it at the local bakery. The frosting was thick like butter and made up 90% of the cake, but it sure tasted good! (white cake inside)