Recent Comments
Ingeborg on Little Mohammed ellen on Painting the Malian way… Jo on For the rich only Froukje Duijtshoff on Creating a new balance Els van Huizen on Culture shock
Monthly Archives: March 2012
Not easy!
‘Look at that!’ Talouta’s finger is pointing outside to the women passing by in the pouring rain. It’s raining cats and dogs, neither one of us, nor any of the other people around, is even considering to leave our shelter … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Family Life, Feelings, Food, Mali, Needs, Season
Tagged easy, grateful, heavy, Mali, market, Papillon Reizen
Leave a comment
Water
We all know how important water is for life in general. However most of us may not always be aware of it, taking water for granted. Just open the tap and it’ll be there! Or not..? In Mali nothing is … Continue reading
Posted in Feelings, Health, Mali, Money, Needs, Season, Water
Tagged bill, hot season, Mali, Papillon Reizen, precious, water
Leave a comment
Safety guaranteed?
‘How can you guarantee safety?’ was a question I recently received by email. The sender was talking about journeying in Mali, more specific about the journeys we offer in Mali and the safety of our guests. I was fascinated by … Continue reading
Posted in Feelings, Mali, Needs, Papillon Reizen, Safety
Tagged guarantees, guide, Mali, Papillon Reizen, safety, Timbuktu, travel agency
Leave a comment
Creating limitations…
The North of Mali is hit severely by the Touareg rebellion, started by the MNLA (Mouvement National de la Libération de l’Azawad) on January 17th this year. Touaregs, soldiers and civilians have lost their lives in the Northern territories over … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Feelings, Mali, Needs, Safety
Tagged Azawad, borders, limitations, Mali, Papillon Reizen, rebellion, Touareg, war
Leave a comment
The hunger for revenge
‘Monique, where are you? Are you at home? Are you planning to come into town?’ Willemien’s questions are following one another. Responding on me working at home, she tells me it might be wise to stay there. ‘There’s a huge … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Feelings, Mali, Religion
Tagged arms merchant, justice, Mali, Papillon Reizen, police, rebel, revenge
Leave a comment
Bus journeys the Malian way…
‘I am no more going to travel on a Bittar bus!’, I firmly stated again to Ibrahim. And he finally agreed that indeed they were no more the best busses on the road. It’s not that they don’t have good … Continue reading
Posted in Energy, Feelings, Mali, Needs, Time
Tagged best before, break down, bus company, bus journey, happy, Mali, Papillon Reizen
Leave a comment
A thief
Entering a bus station in the early morning recently, I was surprised to see a man lying on the ground right in the middle of the huge courtyard. His belly on the sand, that started to warm up by the … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Feelings, Mali
Tagged elastic band, humiliation, Mali, Papillon Reizen, police, shame, thief
Leave a comment
Peace and war
‘Tens of thousands of Malians are fleeing, seeking shelter in neighbouring countries and more are crossing the borders each day.’ Sentences like these can be read in international and Malian newspapers on an almost daily basis. The Tuareg rebellion has … Continue reading
Tolerance
Mali is well-known as a country, where the different ethnic groups peacefully live together. There have been the incidental Tuareg uprisings in the past, but with the latest peace pact that seemed to have come to an end. Seemed to, … Continue reading
Posted in Feelings, Mali, Needs, Papillon Reizen, Safety
Tagged Mali, Papillon Reizen, peace, poverty, rain, rebellion, tolerance, tourism, Tuareg
Leave a comment
MoInMali 