mes amis

bamako, mali

everything would have been fine. i could have paid for that one room, even if it was a bit too demanding of my cfa, and i would have dealt with it. but i certainly wasn't in a position to turn down local knowledge after finding out that the hostel i was going to stay at was no longer a hostel.

this was kayes. 100 km inside the malian border, and somewhat of a midpoint between dakar and bamako. this made it a reasonable place to rest and recharge between grueling days of buses and sept-places, if not for the weather. as sunset neared, the time when i was walking around with my bags in search of a place to sleep, i was still sweating torrentially from the heat.

so i found the aforementioned hotel that asked too much. then i asked the two gentleman standing by the bridge (under repair) about a certain hostel. it would have been enough had they just pointed me down the road and told me the name of the establishment (and that it abutted the region's prison). even further, just keeping me company on the walk there would have been sufficient.

but then while souleymane went to negotiate an even better rate from the proprietare, fann ordered the first round of beers and told me to relax. then when we realized the kitchen was closed for the day, souleymane went out to the street to buy some delicious street food for me (i hadn't eaten since breakfast) while fann ordered and paid for the next 12 ounces of tranquility. we ate, fann kept ordering beers (not sure how, but the engineer earns and comes from some money), and we chatted for the next few hours, listening to guinean music and bob marley in the moonlight shadows of palm trees and the courtyards lone baobab. when all were content, my two new friends went off into the night to get ready for work the following day and i got to take a long-sought shower.

and when i woke the following morning to the sound of the seasons first rain, i soon found souleymane, asleep in a chair under the thatched roof, waiting to guide me to where i would find the bus for the long trip to bamako. i bought him breakfast and lunch and gave him one of my favorite shirts, but am still at a loss for how to sufficiently repay someone who transforms a harrowing day into an unforgettable night.