En dehors l'hotel

Having had a post-arrival blood test, showing I'm still negative for Covid, I've been outside the hotel to see some life in Niamey. And we've moved!

It was my birthday last week. It must be hard to excel yourself when you are Superman, but he did!

I was thoroughly spoiled with a full day program, starting with the museum - this is the ticket booth. No sign, no prices, no 'exit through the gift shop'.

It was a kind of inside-out museum, most exhibits are outside, like this 'Tree of Ténéré'.

Known as 'the loneliest tree in the world, it existed, improbably, in the desert for at least 100 years, its twigs not taken for firewood nor its leaves given to camels, 400km from the next closest tree. Its fragile life was ended in 1973 when it was hit by a drunk truck driver.

The remains of the tree were brought to the museum, and a sculpture of a tree now stands in the desert.

The museum also houses a small and depressing zoo. Nevertheless, the sight of the hippos waking from their nap and getting into the water fascinated this little mite.

There is also 'un village artisanal" where I acquired these pretty leather flip-flops and a necklace made of old Tuareg charms (they are sewn onto clothing as decoration and as a kind of 'evil eye', for protection when crossing the Sahara).

Having exhausted the delights of the Museum, we headed back to the car in the baking heat. A cool drink seemed in order - our water bottles having been drained. As intriguing as the restaurant behind the blue and pink curtain looked, we couldn't resist the allure of the terracotta building, which turned out to have a wonderfully colourful - if shabby chic - interior.

Refreshed by a cold beer, we drove through town and down to the banks of the river Niger. A small boat took us to an island, where a bar/restaurant is built on stilts, over the fast-flowing water. The prime seats require a bit of a climb, they are located on platforms built into the willow trees. So there, in our little tree house, Superman carved my initials in the bark, and we had a tasty lunch of fish and vegetable brochettes.

Sun protection, not elegance, is my watch-word.

A rest and a swim back at the hotel, a thoroughly lovely Zoom call with a couple of dozen friends and family, followed by a dinner in a courtyard restaurant completed my birthday celebration. To close out this posting, here are a couple of pictures of sunset over the majestic river Niger. You can even see Superman in one of them.

And we have now moved from the hotel to the brown house. We're busy with cleaning, gardening and general de-browning, and are happy there. The pool is no longer rancid, and the tomatoes are staked and growing. More in a future post.