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 Bamako is a full city,
bisected by the Niger River. The two bridges across the river can be
congested for hours with a mix of pedestrians, bicyclists, taxis, vans,
trucks and private cars. There is decent space on the bridges for
pedestrians and bicyclists. It is better on the newer of the bridges
but still not bountiful. Increasingly the banks of the
  river are being
barricade to the people and developed and restricted for tourist and the
elite. There are still vestiges of the the traditional use of the river bank
- garden agriculture and feeding the city. Of course the irony is, as the
city expands it needs more agriculture, not less, and fresh vegetables are
essential.
  If
you get into the city early enough in the morning you can see the streets
from the people. But quickly enough the streets are full of cars, motorcycles,
mopeds, carts, vans, taxis and bicycles, the side walks of full of people and
vendors - well in fact they sort of overlap; car encroach on the sidewalks and
 people walk down the streets. The city seems full of purpose and is all surges
and flows like blood through an artery, though here instead of red and white
blood cells and platelets, the stream is cars, pickups, bicycles, mopeds, donkey
carts, vans, taxis, buses, push carts and trucks. The air is also full of dust
and exhaust -- and by noon heat. The smallest vehicles, the mopeds, seem to be the biggest
polluters.
  The reaction from our group split between excitement and chaos.
Everyone sensed a lot of energy. People find it either stimulating or
overwhelming. This may be the first indicator of each
individual's cultural baggage bubbling up -- it is not Kansas, but who is to
say that it is not on the way to the Emerald City. For some it is on the way
to
 Timbuktu (Tombouctou).
 Trying to interpret what I saw in the Bamakoise; few aggressively rushed
or seemed focused inward, but almost everyone gave the sense that they had a
purpose to there journey. They moved with easy and self confidence and were
also relaxed enough to greet a friend or acquaintance, or make a new friend.
At EVERY stop we made, outside the bank, airline office, post office,
museum, market, mosque, if we stopped for more than a minute someone would
come by and initiate a conversation. They found out a little about us and we
learned a little about them. It is a city full of smiles.
 
Seen around town:
On the left is a statue of a soccer playing hippopotamus. Every
city needs one.
On the right is a bicycle for hire carrying at least five bags of onions.
What is on your rear rack today?
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Addendum:
Food is always a good topic of conversation. There is plenty of
Europeanized menu items in Bamako restaurants. In a more neighborhood
oriented cook shop we had a delicious plate of
beans, fried banana, sautéed onions and barbequed meat.
Another, often interest stop in Bamako is the
museum. There is both a permanent collection of Malian cultural items
and regular special exhibits.
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beans, fried banana, sautéed onions and barbequed meat.
Bicycle
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