Beautiful Day

After 10 hours in a bush taxi driven by a madman we finally made it to a small village in Haute Guinea for the grand fish festival. Let me preface this by saying upon arriving at the tree lined main avenue dotted with clusters of adorable thatch huts my fellow Fouters and I realized the village is exactly what we pictured Africa would be like when we learned we were coming to Africa. The drums were fierce and after dropping our gear off at our sleeping quarters we went to investigate. We found a crowded village square and finally made our way to the front and there we sat watching all the dancing and drumming. You might be able to find footage on line the national news service RTG (I think) was there among others with video cameras.
Later I fell asleep to drums in the distance and awoke to a different sort of pounding: women pileing rice in giant mortars and pestals. Working in tandem one, two, one, two slamming their pestals down. After breakfast we toured the bustling village, checking out an ancient fort- its been around since the village started and villagers would go there for protection if they were attacked. Then we walked to the Niger River and waded in. One by one 7 out of 10 flopped down into the river as the cool water washed over us clothes and all. I had brought a bar of soap and it made the rounds as we washed off the travel dust. It was great.
Now the fishing: there is a very large mar(very muddy, shallow lake) everyone surrounds the lake with nets and these wooden cones they use to stick into the bottom and hope they caught a fish. At no discernable signal everyone rushes in. I got stuck in the muck and had to dig out my sandals and continue barefoot. My makeshift net didnt work but I had fun wading around watching the fun.
The best part: returning to the Niger filled with thousands of Guineans and cleaning off the mar mud, exfoliating my feet with river sand. The day ended in rain but after the storm we went for tea. All in all one of the coolest experiences of my life.