The city itself sort of reminds me of Lima, Peru, with many similarities to the building structures. Along the road, there are countless vendors who constructed their shops out skinny tree logs, which somewhat sends me back to India. It was dark by the time we got in, and we passed by small groups of people sitting outside around little fires, radios, or TV sets.

As soon as we settled into our rooms at around 11pm (I was given the nickname “Rasta” by some of the guys helping out, and a guy named “Bob” who moved our bags dubbed me Jah Fakoly, the name of a local musician with dreads, by another.), Scott, Drew, and I took a short cab ride to BlaBla Café (apparently named so by the owner because, according to him, when you walk into a good bar, you can only hear “Blah, blah, blah” of people talking). It’s a pretty funky joint, kind of a mix between a bar and a lounge, with interesting light fixtures (different colored balls) hanging from the ceiling. A mix of French pop and American funk played over the speakers (I was waiting for “Play that Funky Music White Boy”. I feel like it would’ve been appropriate.) I’ll try to take a picture next time I’m there. I had a delicious dish of grilled chicken and fried plantain, and washed it down with sweet pineapple juice. There was a younger crowd in the bar, 20s to 30s, including some non-Africans, who presumably worked in Bamako given their assimilation. You can definitely see the European influence, as many of the younger people wear very stylish French clothes around the capital city.

The owner, a big guy who goes by the name “Simba”, was smoking a big Cuban cigar, sitting with a crew of people enjoying a bucket with three bottles of champagne jammed into it. Every so often, we would hear his hearty, boisterous laugh, which is very hard to avoid joining in on. He bought us a round before we left. It seems like Scott knows everyone around the city. And the people he meets he quickly has laughing as hard as Simba. So far, Bamako seems like a really cool spot, and I can’t wait to see it in the daytime, when all the markets are thriving with people. I’ll be sure to take pictures for you to check out tomorrow, when I’ll finally get to meet Sekou face to face!

Goodnight from Bamako!
-R