We went to the arboretum on Sunday.

"I didn't know there was an arboretum," I said.

"It's across the street from the museum," Awa said.

"The place with the big cement brontosaurus?"

"No, that's the Jardin de Prehistoire. This is across the other street."

We followed a path to the cliffs. At the end, a sign promised us, we would find caves "ornated" with drawings that "might be 8000 years old."

Instead, we found a tall fence, a locked gate, and no caves.

But we had a nice view of the Stade Modibo Keita (not the field where the recent match against Togo was held, incidentally).

Back down below, we found a shady path. Everything was dry and brown, and if we squinted, it almost looked like Maryland in late autumn.

There were fitness stations along the path, with instructions for situps, pullups, long jumps, and the mysterious "goose walk."

Some of the most interesting things to photograph were benches, rusted and twisted, and engraved with the names of many previous visitors. "In America," Awa said, "These would be art."