Scenes from the Road (by Thom)

I am klutzy. I can't deny this. A few weeks ago I stumbled walking up the steps at the mission office and sprained my ankle. Like I said, I'm used to this because I am a klutz. There was a positive to this, though. I sprained my ankle on a Friday and the following Monday we needed to drive to Segou for our annual field conference. With my foot all swollen and bandaged up I couldn't drive the car and turned the keys over to Amanda. This allowed me to use the camera from the car during the trip. Every time we drive outside Bamako I wish I was able to take pictures but it never seems possible since I'm driving. Anyway, I have posted several of these pictures in our photo section here on mcmali.com for you to see a different side of Mali than what we normally show. Here are a few of my favorites:

Donkey carts are a pretty common site in or out of the cities in Mali. This one is unusual in that it has three donkeys. Often there are two - one for pulling and one as a spare.

As a kid, one of my favorite card games was Mille Borne. A "borne" is a stone that marks the milage to the next place. This red and white stone is an old borne that's had it's numbers scraped off.

Another donkey cart on the edge of a village.

Besides the donkey carts we often see people on bicyles or walking between villages.

The entrance to a village on the road between Bamako and Segou. All the walls are made of dried mud bricks.