Mopti

Arrived yesterday evening in Mopti after a 10 hour bus ride from Bamako. Currently in an internet cafe struggling with a French keyboard. The Q and the A are reversed so there may be some additional qs.

The town is a major port on the River Niger and comes one week into our travels. At present we are on schedule and everything is running reasonably smoothly but there is no guarantee that this will continue to be the case. We have spent many hours on buses but eaten well in between in Ouagadougou; Bobo and Bamako. We got really worried in Ouaga when our luggage was put on a different bus but we all arrived safely. Highlights have been the hotels. The bed in Bamako was very comfortable; the lamb in Bobo was delicious and the post office attendant in Mopti went out of his way to be helpful to us.

The landscape is only gradually changing despite the distance travelled. It is the rainy season and the countryside is lush. The architectual styles are changing and the mosques are very impressive.

I am composing this as I write and do not feel I am really doing it justice. I will stop now and try and do better when I return to Ghana.