November 8, 2007

The flight to Bamako, Mali, went smoothly. In the waiting area, I chatted with a guy from Burkina Faso, a man traveling with his wife from Guinee Bissau, and a French fellow headed for nutrition aid work in Mali. On the plane, I sat next to a wonderful Senegalese doctor who commutes back to Mali to see her family part of her family there a few times a month. My chat with her about my novel led to the fellow sitting next to her offering me a ride to the hotel, rather than paying CFA7000 for a taxi to town.