To give you an idea of the (admittedly somewhat dismal) transportation situation in Mali, I'll provide you with a sample transport schedule from the country capital to my village. Prepare yourself.
BAMAKO-SIKASSO: duration (6 hours... or 2 days, depending)
Head to the nearest bus station, hoping its location has not changed since your last visit. Choose the most reliable-looking bus leaving with the next 24 hours, meaning the only bus leaving within the next 24 hours. Ignore any alarming facets of the automobile, such as broken windshields, rust holes, goats falling off the roof, etc. Haggle the price down by calling the driver a bean-eater and step inside. Pretend the dirt-colored interior does not owe its hue to actual dirt. Wait anywhere between 30 minutes to 4 hours for the bus to fill up with people and rice bags. Depart.
After the bus breaks down, as it almost certainly will, check out the damage and assess whether to prepare for a night or a few hours by the side of the road. In either case, copy the other bus riders by pulling some leaves off a bush and fashioning yourself a nice napping mat. After 5 hours or so, load onto a different bus that has come to pick you up. Since this bus is already full of babies, manioc, and chickens, stand for the remaining 3 hour ride into Sikasso.
SIKASSO-MY VILLAGE (duration: 1 to 4 hours)
Head to the closest side of the road. Flag down the first white station wagon to pass by and load your baggage and bike on top. This will increase the car's total height from 1 1/2 stories tall to approximately 2 stories tall, due to the bags of woso, chicken crates, and cows already on the roof.
Squeeze in and greet the other 12 passengers; place a small child on your lap so as not to crush him/her. Realize that you made a BIG mistake when 4 men get out to push the car, since it will not start on its own. Prepare for a very long ride.
Proceed to stop along the side of the road multiple times so one passenger can inquire about local charcoal prices. Finally, find a satisfactory charcoal stand and watch as the bag is loaded and the car is again pushed to start. 20 minutes later, get out of the car: the tire has blown. Wait as the car is unloaded, the spare tire is dug out and put on, and the car is reloaded. Pile back into the vehicle... ride for 15 minutes until new tires are spotted in a pile in front of someone's hut. Stop, get out, and sit as the car is again unloaded, spare tire is removed, new tire is put on, etc. Converse in broken Bambara with a nice lady cooking up some to. Pile back in the car. Once pushed, the car will sputter on for another hour until it drops you at your village.
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