Bamako - Day 246

Date: April 21st, 2010
Distance: None
Country: Mali

Left in the morning to get my visa for Burkina Faso. I had to stop and get some passport pictures first. That only took about 10 minutes though. I also had the forms from the previous day, so I filled those out while I was waiting for the pictures to get printed. (It is all digital now, even here in Bamako.)

At the embassy, I had a couple of questions about the form. (My French isn't that good. Plus, how do you fill out the line: "Du:_____________"?) The lady behind the desk looked a bit cross when I came in, but as soon as I started talking, she brightened up. She was a big help. She also offered me the 5 year visa, which is only available to Americans. As it is twice the cost, I didn't want it. That was just fine, which was a relief. Dominic said the Burkina embassy in Ghana told him he had to get it. The other thing I like is they had all their visa prices posted. So there weren't any surprises. The lady told me to come back at 3:00 and it would be ready. Great.

When I got back to the mission I got into a conversation with Dominic and Manuel, a new guy staying at the mission. He was born in Cuba, but lives in London and works for the BBC. He is taking some time off to go travel around Africa though. We ended up talking about politics in South America. It has been a while since I have been that out of depth in a conversation. It is good for me though. A little reminder that there is so much out there I have yet to experience.

At 3:00 I picked up my visa. I feel great. I am all set to go. Later on I went to dinner with Manuel and Dominic. Those guys really are fun to talk with. You really do meet interesting people while traveling. It is great to hear a different perspective on things as well.

-Dravis