Meltdown in Mali

Mali. Bloody hell it’s hot. It’s so hot that if this weather came to the UK it would be banned under health and safety. Mick’s ambient temperature gauge stopped working after it hit 50 degrees and just read ---- which without looking in the instructions probably meant ‘You’re having a laugh.’ That’s not all that’s playing up in this heat, so too is my bike’s radiator fan which doesn’t work and my Garmin 60CSX GPS unit which won’t turn on or off after about 10am after Satan himself really stokes up the furnace.
Anyway, we made it here without any problems at all after our earlier worries. The first official that wanted our documents was Malian so officially we didn’t even enter Senegal at all. Apart from the heat and the many many stops along the way for liquid the riding has been pretty uneventful, with plenty of waves from the locals and no ‘bumsters’ as Mick calls the ones that are always hassling the tourist. Our first night here we again wild camped away from the road (this looks like a cheap trip) where after a nice pasta meal we kipped in the open with no tents. The following morning having avoided a visit from a scorpion or a snake during the night we set off for another 360km or so day much like the day before except at the end of it we stayed in a nice air conditioned(!) room at a campsite just south of Mali’s capital Bamako and had beers, steak and just general luxury that we all take for granted at home. That luxury was short lived for our final day in Mali as we again wild camped in the open with the termites on top of what seemed in the morning like a snake nest. Despite my earlier problems and dislike for this place it seems things are definitely improving. I now have only a couple of mossie bites, my skin has returned to normal after my sunburn and the temperature has cooled to a somewhat chilly 38 degrees. Not only that, but as we head east the people are much more friendly the place is cleaner and nobody wants anything more than a wave, smile or chat. Next stop Burkina Faso with its wonderfully sounding towns to collect my passport which is hopefully about to arrive in Bobo-Dioulasso...