The trip here was exhausting and exhilarating. The flight from JFK to Casablanca was only about 6 hours, which surprised me. It didn't seem nearly long enough to arrive in such a different place. Wade and Kirsten have been here before so they're old hats at this, but the second the plane touched the runway in Casablanca, my mind started screaming OH MY GOD I'M IN AFRICA. That's still echoing around my brain right now.
We arrived in Morocco at 6 am, and our flight to Bamako was at 9:30 pm, so we had a lot of time to kill. We took the train into the center of the city and wandered through the crazy, confusing maze of streets and construction zones that is Casablanca. The city seems to be a mix of everything on earth - Arabic women walk past Asian restaurants housed in Parisian-style buildings with European and African customers. There are cars and motorbikes everywhere, honking and spewing large amounts of exhaust fumes into the air. You can buy anything you want on the streets and in the markets, from dried figs and cactus pears to DVDs and henna tattoos.
A typical small street in Casablanca
On our way to Hassan II Mosque, the second largest mosque in the world after the Grand Mosque in Mecca. You can see the minaret (the world's tallest at 689 ft) from many places within the city, and it looks a lot closer than it actually is because it's SO FREAKING HUGE.
Wade and Kirsten in front of the mosque
Kirsten next to the mosque, which overlooks the Atlantic.
Wade at the fortress in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, an hour train ride from Casablanca.
Me at the fortress in Rabat, overlooking the Atlantic.
The beach at Rabat
We explored Casablanca and Rabat until about 5 pm, when we returned to the airport. Naps on the trains constituted our first sleep in about two days. We got on the plane, and three hours later woke up in Bamako! When we left the airport our driver, Bou, was nowhere to be found, so a very kind policeman helped us find a ride to our hotel. We crammed all of our stuff (seven big duffel bags - 10 months worth of stuff for Kirsten and Wade!) into a tiny white car, and Abdullah drove us through a nocturnal Bamako. It was amazing to see Bamako at night. The archway that is pictured in the last post was lit up neon green, and bright billboards advertised Coca Cola in French. Small stores were still open, and people were sitting out in the cool night, drinking beer and talking. Several nightclubs were in full swing, and we drove close by one to get to The Sleeping Camel. Finally, at long last, we arrived and collapsed into bed, pulling mosquito nets down around us. Countless hours later, we were in Mali.
Today we finally got in touch with Bou, and went out to explore the city a bit. Bamako is a bustling, energetic, beautiful mess of a city. Pedestrians wearing gorgeous, brightly patterned clothing mingle with tightly packed traffic on small, unpaved roads lined on both sides with shops of all sorts. We exchanged dollars for CFA, the Malian currency. A dollar equals about 470 CFA, so prices are in thousands, which takes a bit of getting used to :D We also got sim cards for our two unlocked phones, so we now have Malian phone numbers! In case you need to call us, our numbers are +223 732 87 255 and +223 732 87 268. Those numbers will also be on our blog profile. I believe you can use Skype to call them.
Now we are enjoying sweet sweet Internet, and connection to the modern world. Well, sorta. It's the rainy season here, and it just started pouring. And the power went out. Welcome, once again, to Mali :)
Wade's and my survey planning session, complete with liquid sustenance. Castels - the drink of choice in Mali.
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