Bamako - Day 242

Date: April 17th, 2010
Distance: None
Country: Mali

It was a pretty slow day. I did find the local internet cafe and get some stuff posted. Also wrote a few e-mails and checked on my package. Which FedEx thinks is in Paris. They couldn't tell me where the office here in Bamako was. None of the taxi drivers seemed to understand what a FedEx was either. Maybe this will be harder than I thought.

I spend the rest of the day just recovering. I am feeling much better, but still not in tip-top shape. Oh, and I think the culprit is Giardia. So avoid that one if you can. I am thinking I will have to change the way I drink water. My friend Jonathan sent me an e-mail about water. As a geologist he described the best types of wells (closed/cased). He also went on to describe various kinds of treatment methods and what they are good for. In talking with my friend about this today, my friend Dominic had something quite insightful to say. He said that what you need isn't water, it is cool water. If you boil water, you get something hot and undrinkable. Even if you treat it, by the time it is ready the water has warmed up. So you either have to drink right from the well, or by filtered water. I think I will start doing more of the later from now on. In most towns you can buy a sachet of water that is pretty cheap. I am going to try and get the majority of my water that way from now on.

-Dravis