Segou - Visit to Pottery Village

Visting the pottery village just down the river from Segou was a real treat. It was the first time I had been to a Malian village. The villagers were extremely welcoming - they showed us into their living spaces, they demonstrated how they make the various pots, from preparing the clay by the river to shaping it to firing it, and the children delighted in acting as our tour guides.

Segou - Boat ride

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.

Dec Trip to Sikasso - Le mamelon and market

The mamelon is a hill in the center of town and at the bottom of it is the main market in Sikasso. The hill was sacred to the Kenedougou kings and we visited the French colonial tower that stands there now.

Dec Trip to Sikasso - Shea butter soap

We were able to visit a shea butter soap factory during our visit to Sikasso. Watching the process from shea nut to soap was almost as fun as watching the children playing around it - everyone looked out for everyone else so children weren't burned even though their playground had boiling vats of oil. The kids were excited to see us and eager to touch and interact with us.

Dec Trip to Sikasso - Grottes de Missirikoro

Visiting the Grottes de Missirikoro, about 12km southwest of Sikasso was one of the highlights of the whole trip. This natural grotto has been used as a mosque for Muslims and also a place of worship for animists for centuries. At the eastern entrance, animal scarifices take place (look carefully at the pictures) and at the western entrance, deep inside the cave is a mosque still in use. Different local families take care of the caves and we met two older men living in different parts of the cave, during our visit. Around the side of the grotto, there were ladders to climb to the top for a great view of the areas. Fred took the boys on that adventure while I stayed back and admired the beautiful baobob trees.