Day 71, Thurs 10 Dec 2009, 7390km, Foret de la Faya, Mali

Having successfully obtained my Burkina Faso, Togo and Ghana visas, reaffirmed my limited attention span with 4 museums, had my stomach turned by various animal parts in the fetish market and inhaled enough smog and dust to feel like a "I've been a 30-a-day man" my whole life, I decided it was time to move on from the music capital of West Africa this afternoon. While staying in a live music, sporting and mosquito breeding venue has been lively, it has hardly been  peaceful and I needed to escape the Mama outside who has taken full advantage of my weakness for fried food, experimentation and lack of French, in taking all of my money. I'm still suffering from the pain in my right butt cheek, which is likely to be an inflamed nerve, I took some anti-inflamatories, tied my seat wings in with dental floss, liberally applied some cream and very gingerly negotiated my way out of the moped and taxi mayhem that is Bamako. My next very important appointment is to be Ouagadougou for the 21st Dec to meet Helen, which should just give me time , if I can hold my nerve, to explore Mali's historical towns along the Niger delta before heading south through Dogon country. Tonight I'm camping next to a mobile home with a couple who speak a lot of French very quickly!