SPAMY to AFRICA

Where do I even start?

Amy (or Spamy as some call her), came to visit Joe and I for two weeks. We had a memorable time. It was exhausting, painful at times, uplifting, full of laughs and smiles and love. I am so blessed to have a family that cares for me and supports me in all I do. Ames, I love you! Thanks for coming. Not only do I miss you, but Mali misses you too!

Here is a glimpse into some of our adventures:

BIKE TRIP INTO DOGON COUNTRY:

Looking back on all of these pictures, I think I forgot how tiring Mali can be, Amy was a trooper and hung in there, it was about 100+ degrees out and we biked 25Kilometers to a "hotel" in the dogon cliffs.

Don't we look cool! Break #1 of the bike trip, we are descending from the cliff top.

We biked by 3 or 4 waterfalls that day, it is rainy season right now, so the falls were pouring down.

The road less traveled.

Once we got to our destination and were rested up, of course Amy and I did some shopping, and guess what she bought? A purse. Duh...she is a Martin.

Chill-axin at our "hotel" and admiring the beautiful scenery.

A part of being in Africa, is getting sick, unfortunately Amy encountered this, she was down and out for about 2 days. Poor Ames.

Back at'em, Amy was feeling better, but not good enough to bike the 25K out, so we rented her a Cow Cart. (This picture is for you Gpa Jack)

HOME SWEET HOME-VILLAGE LIFE:

After our bike trip, we spent 4 days in our village. Amy got to experience what we have been living for the last 15 months. She was there over the Muslim holiday Ramadan, so we got to cook with the ladies, dress up, hang out with the kids and just talk.

Playing Skip-bo, the sun had gone down and there is little to do with no electricity. So we played a lot of cards.

We had a few miserable hot nights, but Amy and I were able to laugh it off in our tent. Well, we tried to laugh it off.

All dressed up and literally no where to go, okay well the neighbors house. Yahoo!!!

Smalls, grew on Amy. (Check out her fab dress, girl looks good in everything.)

MOPTI-THE VENICE OF MALI:

...Or so they claim. After village life, we needed a refresher, a shopping trip and some pizza, so we headed to Mopti. It is a city that rests on the banks of the Niger river. It is a main tourist attraction and a must see.

Only the best for Amy, riding in style. (Our taxi into Mopti)

Lou, Amy's roommate in Austin, is in Mali for a few months, exploring the country and seeing if she wants to come back and work. So she was able to meet us in Mopti and add even more laughter to our trip.

Pre-shopping picture, Amy, I and Lou.

We took a sunset boat ride, we got to see a few small fishing villages on the river. It was so peaceful and relaxing.

ON A BUS:

Just when we thought our adventures were done, we hopped on Malian transport. It took us 8 hours to go, what should have taken us 3 hours. Never mind the fact that before the 8 hour bus ride we were waiting on the side of the road for 3 hours just to get on the thing. I don't even know if you can call it an adventure, maybe more like a "hot mess." I will let the pictures do the talking.

Good Ole' Diarra Transport. This picture was about 30 minutes into the bus ride when we decided to stop and load about 50 goats on the top of the bus and 5 crates of chickens. An hour and a half later, we were ready to continue the trip...

So nasty, the bus was so nasty! So after our hour and a half stop we take off with goats and chickens in tow and with just our luck it starts to rain....

usually rain is good, cause it cools the temperature down, but that day, it was hell....

lets just say the bus was missing a few windows and screws, so rain, "goat juice", and chicken filth started coming in through the non-existent windows and ceiling....

did I mention, that there was a hole in the bottom of the bus, so the engine fumes were coming in also...

oh, and this was the slowest moving bus I had ever been on, and we would stop every 10 minutes....

oh yeah, and we had to stop once because one of the goats fell off the side of the bus and was dangling by its horns, as we were moving...

once we finally reached our destination, we all had to wash our pee infested clothes, backpacks and selves, we were a "hot mess!"...

good thing Amy and Lou were there to laugh off the situation, it will be their material for jokes for years to come...

Here are the men loading up the goats, they first put them in rice bags and then hauled them to the top of the bus by their horns.

Goats on top of the bus

Shopping always pays off, Amy and Lou are sporting their new Turban Cloth, to help protect them from the "goat juice" coming in the window.

All good things must come to an end. I just wish it could have lasted a little longer. (not the bus ride, but Amy's visit)

THE END!!!!