We took a little day trip -- a half-day trip, really -- to a town called Siby yesterday. E had to drop off some sacks (jute & plastic) at La Maison du Karite, and I just had to get out of Bamako.

To get to Siby you take the "route to Guinea," so-called since it eventually ends in Conakry. From Bamako almost until Siby, the road is dirt -- potholed, rutted, and uneven, so you are constantly swerving all over the road to avoid obstacles.

Just before Siby there is a short stretch of gravel, which I assume will be paved soon.

Then suddenly the road is paved, the ride is smooth, and you are driving in a straight line!

But what really blows me away is how green everything is. Remember, the first time I traveled in Mali, in May 2003 (peak of the hot/dry season) this is what the fields looked like:

Here's what the fields look like now:

There is a waterfall in that picture. That's the big tourist activity in Siby -- the waterfall. Not the one shown above but a bigger one about 17 km past town. You need several hours, an off-road vehicle, and a hired guide. We had time, but the truck's battery wasn't working well (we needed a push-start every time) and we didn't want to take a chance getting stuck well off the main road somewhere.

So we just dropped off the sacks and headed into the market. Saturday is market day in Siby so it was very busy, yet it was a calmer atmosphere than the Bamako market, and very low-pressure. I picked up some colorful plastic flip-flops for the beach in Spain, and some nice pagnes. A pagne is a sheet of colorful printed fabric. Women wear them as skirts, or tie their babies to their backs with them, or if they can afford a tailor's services, get clothing made out of them. That's what I do. I have some skirts and shirts, and I'm saving the scraps to make a pair of patchwork drawstring pants.

When we arrived in the market we were joined by a silent boy of maybe twelve years. I quickly figured out that he was following us around in hopes of helping us out for a tip. Although we didn't ask for his services, he was quiet, not pushy, and he came in handy as a translator when the vendors didn't speak French. I let him carry my small plastic bags and when we finished, I gave him 250 CFA.

We put the purchases in the truck and wandered up the road a little bit. This is what the outskirts of Siby look like. The road is elevated and mango orchards line either side. On market day, people from the nearby villages walk into Siby (or bike, or ride a donkey-cart) to sell their goods and pick up things they need.

Since we weren't going to the waterfall, there wasn't much left for us to do, and we headed back to Bamako around noon.

I resolved to start taking more photos of E and me, so that our friends and family can more easily picture us over here, far away in Africa. So, here I am, hot and sweaty, and I don't know it yet, but I'm sunburned too. We were wiped out for the rest of the day.

There are a few more photos in this set on Flickr.