Wildlife update

For those of you who may have been unaware up until this point, please let me assure you that I have some highly developed princess tendencies. In the most particular regard, when it comes to sharing my personal space with creatures of the insect family, let me just say that it just won't work. And as luck would have it, the tropics don't just host that lovely extreme hot weather that I am such a fan of, but also a plethora of creepy-crawlies that seem to attain gargantuan sizes.

These guys are testing my limits - have a look!


Mega-moth

I think this fella, who was on my notebook this morning, would give the bogong moths from Victoria a fair run for their money.


Drainpipe dweller

And this hideous 5cm long beast crawled out of the drain and onto my cake of soap last month.


African huntsman

This African version of the huntsman appeared in my bathroom one evening, right beside the toilet at eye level - and - not only that, after I snapped my photo, it leapt off the bottom of the curtain and chased me out of the room - I KID YOU NOT, it was a high adrenaline moment, and the spider won.

But it's not just at home I get to enjoy insect company, the bugs have invaded the office as well.


Map-loving mantis

Who knew that praying mantis' were fans of geological maps? Found this guy on the map cabinet on Friday morning.

I have to say though, I am starting to appreciate some of the aesthetic talents of various of these African insects, just look at this grasshopper...


Mardi-gras grasshopper

... extraordinary!

And on Saturday morning on the way to the mess for breakfast, I was greeted with what looked like a snow drift under the light poles.


Flying ant carnage

It's the time of year that the flying ants come out (apparently quite tasty, lightly fried in a smidge of vegetable or peanut oil - not sure I'm quite adventurous enough for that) and they all lose their wings at the same time. It really is quite amazing and lovely.


Look how many there are!

Exploration Party!

The lovely Marcus arranged a party for l'Equipe d'Exploration on the first Saturday in June to welcome all the new team members (me, Simmo and Kev) to Syama. It also coincided with a visit from his Dad, and the early arrival of the rainy season!


Outside table?

The weather followed us in on the short drive from Syama to Fourou and had Marcus feeling a little unsettled to say the least.


My party sux

So we sat around for a while being buffetted by the high winds and watching the spectacular lightshow, feeling only the odd drop of rain every now and again as Nana assured us the weather wouldn't hit Fourou - we would have dry seats for the festivities.

And - yay for us - Nana was absolutely right! Team Exploration arrived in their finest with spouses and kids in tow, so the party was bound to improve.


A night out in Fourou


Mariam and Bintou - looking exceptionally fine

Simmo, who had insisted prior to the party that he wouldn't be dancing, showed that it was all a big front, because he ended up with a very large fan base.


King of the Kids

And I helped entertain Simmo's fans for a while.


If you're happy and you know it ...

It's very hard not to dance when you have the balafons going full tilt - check it out ... (the video thing is a bit of an experiment - I'm not at all sure that it's going to work)


Sound and light show


Serious style on the dance floor

The spots you can see aren't raindrops, but dust specs from all the fancy footwork on display.


Adrian stepping out to entertain me and Mariam

So after several hours of dancing and watching the happy faces, and listening to the fantastic music - Marcus declared the party a success!


Marcus, Tony and Simeon

After about 4 hours on the dancefloor, dodging the rain and sweating it up in the heat, everyone was exhausted and it was time to go home ...


Have we reached the end of the fun?

Fond Farewells

When you work on a remote site anywhere and do those long, long stints, life and time telescopes and it means that unless there are good people around - no one survives in tact for very long. All the more so if the team you are working with is very small - when it doesn't hang together, nothing is fun and life D-R-A-G-S on and on and on.

For me, arriving to work in a place like Mali has had its unique roller-coaster of emotions and discoveries to contend with - and I can only imagine that when the time comes, after collecting that whole range of weird and wonderful experiences, it will be just as strange to leave.

Two weeks ago (and it already feels like more than a month) we said goodbye to our friend and workmate Wade. Wade arrived at Syama two years ago when the expat team was very small, only 6 or so people, and listening to his stories of his time here and the hardships that everyone struggled along with together (plumbing misadventures, dire situations with food and sanitation, Christmas alone in camp) it really sounds like a fantastic adventure.

So Wade leaves behind the people who became his family over the past two years and the guys were all very sad to see him go. He made some great friends and will be missed by them all.


Wade and the guys together for the last time


... on my way ...

That's one way to say goodbye - the other way involves the bar ...


Mr Cool surveying the scene

No farewell party would be complete without sharing a rite of passage with Marcus - the last surviving member of the original team ...


Shotgun heroes

... and a last dance - yeah!


Ready to go now

Good luck Wade - keep on having fun.

Tasting Notes

Now you must understand that the heat scrambles my better judgment - and I know that there of those of you out there who will say "Good lord, girl! What were you thinking?" and the short answer is an old and favourite cliché, desperate times call for desperate measures.

As I managed to max out my baggage allowance on the way over, (and that's a great story in itself) I had absolutely no room for ANY comestible goodies so I arrived completely unprepared - no wine, gin or chocolates at hand. So when Kevin slipped up to Bamako in mid-May I requested that he bring back a couple of bottles of white wine, and as many blocks of chocolate that he could fit in the esky, to try and improve my comfort levels here at Syama Resort.

However, Kev is not a great wine lover. In fact, sending him out to source something for me was like asking me to procure an autograph of any famous sportsperson - completely out of the range of his experience!

And the first bottle I tucked into was exceptional to say the least - also, not having the correct tools available, the boys suggested that we just push the cork in, Ali ... As I said, desperate times ... and so I sampled the vin de pays of that esteemed wine-producing nation -


Lebanon's finest

Lebanon! Kevin claims that it was the fact that he can't read French, however it clearly stated, in English, Product of Lebanon at the bottom of the label. To be fair though, it was a pretty big favour to ask of a man who doesn't drink wine at all.

The first glass was tolerable I guess, given that it had been several weeks since sampling anything, but that was the one and only glass I managed to get down - and then Marcus, being a curious man, decided he would give it a go a couple of days later - I've not seen anyone spit something out so quickly! His comment was, "I'm not sure what urine tastes like, but THAT is what I would expect it to taste like - that was dire, and I will drink just about anything!"

Luckily, Mike C arrived a few days later and Kev asked him, since he was coming from France and is a bit of a wine and food buff (yay!), if he could please bring a couple of nice bottles with him to keep me sweet and happy. And Mike did bring a very lovely sancerre and a delicious hermitage - and he told me I can find the sancerre at Charles de Gaulle next time I'm passing through.


Sweet relief

And as I intend to educate myself properly about what France has to offer on my upcoming breaks, the future at Syama Resort is looking decidely less uninspiring. In the meantime, I'll stick with the G&Ts - they have the anti-malarial bonus going as well.

(Sam, Benny - if you boys are still standing, you can't tell Chris, okay?)