timbuktu

What an interesting evening.  We met a local woman in the St Luis hotel lobby who is one of the hotel staff and was interested in our journey.  Turns out she is Malian, and comes from the city of Timbuktu (yes, there is really a Timbuktu).  She ended up joining us at the dinner table and we had a delightful hour or so learning about each other's culture.  

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's travels.  A dud battery has seen me dreading stopping the bike today because it then involved a lengthy process to jump start it in order to continue.  One of the friendly staff from the hotel hailed a cab and piled in with Gary and I to locate a battery.  Large capacity bikes are not common in Senegal, and we visited three closed stores before finally locating one that was open (at 8pm).  For under $100 we enjoyed a lengthy taxi ride, guided tour in perfect English, and a brand new battery.  I really like this place.