BAMAKO
Casablanca was a bit of a strange airport, and looked like nothing from the outside. Though inside there was everything from a guy blowing rockets from his nose to an unattended bag left for the best part of 20minutes.
Arriving at the airport I was quizzed before immigration.
CAN I SEE YOUR PASSPORT AND YELLOW FEVER CERT
I thought this was unusual as the other passengers were able to walk straight passed him, maybe he wanted to make sure the westerner knew the rules. The guy also asked me how long I was staying and couldn’t wonder why it was just a day (my flight times were rescheduled). He then asked what was in my bag and when I told him he just stood there looking in the opposite direction. “How much is this going to cost me” I wondered!
WHERE IS MALI?
In times like these the best thing to do is, be calm, confident and give short straight answers. The airport usually represents some of the biggest challenges as you just can’t tell a corrupt immigration officer no and walk on past.
TAXI DRIVERS
This is the effort taxi drivers go to in order to get your business. I came out of the airport and had a guy call my name. Normally you’d think yes that’s me, lets be on our way bud, but something about it wasn’t right. So I double checked and asked him which hotel I was staying at and needless to say he didn’t have a clue, realised he was caught out and instead pointed ahead to where my driver was.
You will get a lot of this, not to mention people wanting to carry your bag. Unfortunately the best way to avoid this is to just ignore them. Not something I like but it saves an awkward conversation further down the line.
LA BAOBAB
Staying at La Baobab which was grand, 15mins from the city, spacious room etc. The following morning I got out to check out the city. Bamako is by far my first true experience of Western Africa and would be a shock to anyone in the same boat. Traffic is incredible but the local markets are certainly worth checking out.
DRIVE
The day was spent checking out some of the city and markets but due to my flight times changing I really had limited time. In hindsight I would have loved to have visited Djenne and maybe Timbuktu for some primary school nostalgia
NEXT UP
Onto the airport for my flight to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Click to read.
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
131/229
This post is part of the West Africa Series, pt1, click to explore or for episode 1 click here.
To watch the video of my trip, head to my highlights on my Instagram.
