November 30 - December 1, 2010
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Lured, in part, by glowing internet reports of its wood-fired pizza, we had lunch in our hotel restaurant. It was soon obvious the wood oven was not in operation. That, however, was fine as the dining room was pleasant, reasonably quiet and a refuge from the glaring sun:
For dinner, we chose al fresco dining at a riverside restaurant, selecting a table only twenty feet from the water. It was a memorable experience. With daylight waning, we watched as river activity slowly wrapped up the day: a man fishing by net --- and successfully, too! --- right in front of us, the ferry off to one side making a final few shuttles across the Niger and, all the while, passing before our eyes, a parade of fascinating pirogues:
A glorious sunset over the Niger made it perfect:
If that’s not fine dining, we don’t know what is. The food was all right, too.
At the end of our meal and long after sunset, our guide returned and walked us back to the hotel. Good thing, that --- his flashlight came in handy for maneuvering down the totally dark streets.
Our drive back to Bamako and subsequent flights to the USA were, happily, uneventful. We are always glad to set foot back in America after flying home from foreign lands. However, returning from a developing third-world country greatly magnified our appreciation of all things American. Even with the serious problems we have in this country, compared with some places on this earth, we live in paradise!
