From Sikasso, we travelled to Segou, a town to the east of Bamako that sits along the riverbank. One of the highlights of Segou was taking a boat ride (pirogue) to Kalabougou, a pottery village about 45 minutes down the river. The boat ride was filled with memories in and of itself - sipping the traditional 3 cups of tea, watching cattle cross the river just in front of the boat, and of course watching the boys delight in how close they could lean over the side of the boat without actually falling in. The serving of tea is a ritual with lots of elaborate pouring back and forth from a distance that produces foam. Tuaregs describe the three cups of tea as the first cup being "strong as death," the second as "mild like life" and the third as "sweet as love." I enjoyed all three cups, with the last of course being my favorite. The kids liked the middle one the most, declaring the last one to be too sweet.
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