Bamako (MLI) : an example of uncontrolled urban sprawl

N 12°38.558' W 008°00.224'
We celebrated our entry into Mali with a delicious portion of lamb cooked in a wood-fired oven across the roas from immigration. In Bamako we soon felt that the end of the dry season is the hottest time with the temperature rising to 43°C. In contrast to our last real city Dakar, Bamako only has a fey paved throughfares and the sewage system is in a bad state. It does however have a pleasant relaxed atmosphere and is alive till late a night when it is a little cooler. Tere's no Eifel Tower or Madam Tausaud's here, but the visit to the fetish market, quiet lunches at 'La Pirogue' on the Niger River and meeting more traveller characters at the Mission Catholique made our stay memorable. There was Eric who had come from France in a 28-year old Peugot 504 and Josep, the tatooed Catalan cyclist on his way to Cape Town who we had already met in Mauretania two months ago.