A trip with Briant

About a week ago, I (Harmony) got to ride along on a flight to Dakar, Senegal.

This is the BE 1900 at the Bamako airport waiting for it's passengers.

Briant and Jake, the other FO. The plane just got back to Bamako with Jake and is leaving for Senegal with Briant.

The cockpit.

We made a stop on the way at the Sadiola gold mine. This is what part of the mine looks like from the runway.

Briant, flying the approach into Dakar, Senegal. We are over the Atlantic.

Senegal’s beach.

This is where we spent a few hours sleeping and eating before our 2:30 a.m. departure back to Bamako.

Two young beggars

These little boys were walking by our house. When they saw my camera, they wanted their picture taken. They are showing off a still live lizard that they caught. The lizard will likely be their lunch!

The waterfall near Sibi

At the end of this post is the waterfall that we went to see about 4 weeks ago. Here are pictures from the trip.















We saw some interesting rock formations and lots of mud hut villages.













In this village, we picked up a "tour guide" to show us the way through the woods to the waterfall. He was 15 and spoke just enough French to get us there.



















Finally, about two hours later, we made it to our destination. We would not have make it without an SUV. About half of the drive was on a rocky path and over several small creeks.

What Briant has been up to...

10/3/06

On monday, I got to fly to Timbuktu. To be honest, it wasn’t that interesting but it is fun to say I’ve been there now. Next time I go I am going to get a stamp in my passport. We flew the South African ambassador and some executives from a sugar company up there so they could do some sightseeing. I got to talk with the ambassador for a little bit but I didn’t realize who he was. I felt like an idiot when I asked if he was Malian! Oh well! He was very nice. His three kids all go to the American school and Harmony will have them soon in her art classes.

I have been flying quite a bit lately. The company that bought SAS about a year ago is short on pilots and they asked me if we would do some flying for them. I am happy to do so because it means I will get more hours. I am scheduled to fly everyday this week and will probably spend Thursday night in Conakry, Guinea. It has been a good learning experience to fly with some different captains because each one flies a little differently.

I have enjoyed getting to know the Malians who work for SAS at the airport. They clean the planes, refuel, and help out with all kinds of stuff. There are probably about eight to ten guys. A couple of them speak a little English and some speak French but they all speak Bambara. They are very happy if you show an interest in learning Bambara. I asked a couple of them to teach me some and now I know how to say a few things. I know I will never be fluent but it is fun to know a little bit. One guy wants to work on his English so I told him I would help him if he helps me with French and Bambara. Sounds like a good deal for me, two for one! I’m sure it is funny to watch us interact because I speak very broken French to them and they speak very broken English back and then I have to ask them to repeat the Bambara words a million times. (I’ve started carrying a folded up piece of paper in my shirt pocket so I can write stuff down, if I don’t I would never remember how to say stuff). Hanging out with the workers is one of my favorite things to do here. They are all very friendly. I think they like being friends with an American.