Yes, we made it to Bamako, Mali, where we’ll be living for the next three years, and here’s a photo to prove it:

That’s us this afternoon outside the house we’ll be living in for at least the next 12 months. Nice place and in a handy location. Here, have a quick tour:
(TL: The lounge and dining room, TR: The master bedroom, BL: The bathroom, BR: The front garden).

It’s nice to be back in Africa after a few months away. It’s hard to put one’s finger on what it is that is so appealing, but it’s just a great place to be. Remember, I visited Bamako back in April ’08, when I wrote a post entitled a decidedly civilized city. I still agree with this assessment, although after a year back in the UK, the traffic and general hubbub of people everywhere is a tad overwhelming to begin with (remember, last time I was seeing it in comparison to Cotonou!!!)

The journey here was mostly uneventful, though the turbulance experienced in trying to land in Bamako during a thunder storm was something I’d rather forget! Having two relatively short flights with Royal Air Maroc (just over 3 hours each) and a pleasant stop-over in Casablanca made for a relatively stress-free journey, even if the meals on the second flight were identical to those on the first, and were served at around 2:00am (I mean, who wants to hear that timeless airline mantra of: “Chicken or beef, sir?” at that time of night??) Here are some photos of our journey here: Arriving at Heathrow, saying goodbye to friends and family and having a nap on the plane before the turbulance woke us up.

Thanks for reading. More Malian musings soon…