A brand new...

...discovery!  

   Exiting Laming Lodge with Lamin is quickly done. The first by pirogue and the second by foot across the rice fields.

   In the « green » off season – ie the summer rains – the rice fields are used for other crops as you can see here – peppers, tomatoes, yam (3 igname) or sweet potatoes (5). Wells are dug into the ground and luckily, you don’t need to go too deep (4). Most of the land parcels are based on square monticules to allow irrigation all around.

   I discovered a tree that acts as a weather forecaster: the Honey locust tree (2 Parkia biglobosa – néré in Bambara). This flour tree, or Carob tree, makes long pods and can have 60-metre-long taproots, searching for water in the deeps. The locals keep an eye on its blossoming as when they see the tree blossom with balls/giant purple mimosa flowers (1), they know that the rainy season is just around the corner.

   The bees, whose mangrove honey is of high reputation, often swarm in the wild. Here, it was at the very top of a baobab – which makes getting the honey a difficult task (top-left and bottom). Amongst the birds we also saw … though as is often the case, from afar, a piapiac, a local crow (bottom-middle). The many water-points attract a fair number of dragonflies. Luckily, they prefer to frolic than to eat the brightly coloured vegetables ☺

   After the ricefields, we went close to habitations in the Darenka neighbourhood (top-left, bottom-right). Here, the depth of the wells surprised us (bottom-middle)! Giant termite nests (bottom-left), scattered around the area, are a common sight. We went along the Kumo Kunga lodge (middle-left) that has rooms for rent and also produces honey in its many beehives. A strange building remained a mystery to me (large photo). It wasn’t a house for sure judging by the small and grilled entrance. Lamin did not furnish me with an answer on this one.

    Four good hours of exploring… it’s time to head on home !