Camels in the desert heat

I spent a rather long time in the market yesterday. A couple hours, at least, which, given the intensity of the surroundings, is quite a while. Ashley came over to my house looking frazzled around 11. It was her first time in Douentza market, and she did it alone to get to my house. Luckily, I had just made some ice water in my new pitcher, so she could cool down. The plan was to go out together and see the animals, as mentioned yesterday.

We left shortly thereafter, and I surprised myself with how well I had gotten to know the Douentza market. “This is the kola nut corner, this is where you can find Fulani wedding blankets, this boutique always has plastic products, even on non-market day,” etc. We went fabric shopping a little bit too. She wanted to get a couple wrap skirts and I’m on the hunt from white eyelet to make a sun dress. The day before, she’d lent me a really good Fulfulde book, which I started pouring through. I felt vindicated, since already, I could carry on small conversations in the market. I’m of the impression that people give you better prices when you speak their language.

I didn’t find quite what I was looking for, but Ashley got a couple of fabrics. As we were leaving a cloth boutique, we ran into Nicolas and his friend David, he apparently had swung by my house to drop off my (Dave’s) tortilla pan. We went the rest of it together.

We stopped at Ashley’s house to eat a little bit before going to the animal market. Then as a treat afterwards, we introduced Nicolas to the Phenomenal Yogurt. He had the initial reaction that most do: wordless bliss. When he finally spoke, he said, “To think of all that time I wasted not drinking this yogurt.” My thoughts exactly.

David split off from the rest of us, since he had something else to do. Nicolas grabbed his moto and went ahead of us with a random little Malian kid towards the animal market. When we got close, I could make out the sandy silhouettes of camels in the distance. I pointed them out to Ashley, but she couldn’t see them yet. Finally, she saw the group of 12 or so camels seated across the sandy field and got positively giddy. And I thought I got happy about camels.

We walked up to them and examined them, looking like permanently smiling furry dinosaurs or a flock of mammalian flamingos when seated. I explained their floppy lips, their squishy feet, and their impressive chest callous that keeps their body off the hot sand when lying down. She wanted to ride one, but didn’t have her camera, so maybe we’ll go back next week. Also notable at the animal market was a bull with the largest horns I had ever seen in my life. Each one had to be between 2 and 3 feet long. Not a bull you want to make mad.

I wanted to find a mortar and pestle in the market, but after scouring the back alleys, calabash row, the bean corner, to no avail, I gave up and went home. I took another bucket bath and lay around in front of the fan making Fulfulde flashcards for the rest of the afternoon.

In the evening, I joined Ashley and we went to get salads at our usual restaurant (where they make the Phenomenal Yogurt, the PY, if you will). I got mine with fried plantains and a little bit of beans. Delicious, nutritious, and filling.

Last night, I thought I would try and even out the temperature inside and outside of my room before bed by closing the door and cranking the AC for a while. When it got to feeling like an ice cave, I looked at my new thermometer. 87 degrees. I opened the door to go to the bathroom and I was hit with a hot blast of air, meaning it had to be at least 90 degrees at 11PM at night. In the desert. Which, by further deduction, means it must be 100 plus during the day. Ah yes, I will be glad to go home.