The itinerary

In case you were wondering, especially given the delays around Kalila, my current plan is laid out below. If I have to stay here more than another, say, 5 days for Kalila, then I may need to revise the below fairly substantially.

Ghana

• Stick around Accra for a few days until everything is sorted for Kalila's surgery
• Head north to Wa in the Upper West region of Ghana with Uncle Negro and probably Nasir. That's where their family roots are. Visit the Hippo Sanctuary and take a mini-safari in the famous Mole game reserve, and then get dropped off at the border with Burkina Faso. (Estimated date now Sunday 11/28)

Burkina Faso/Mali

• Bus it through Burkina, probably with a day or two in the capital Ouagadougou, on the way to central Mali
• Do a few days of guided hiking through Mali's famous Dogon Country, a string of very close-together, very traditional villages set on a beautiful escarpment way the heck in the middle of nowhere.
• Try to make it to Djenne's world-renowned Monday market on the way to Bamako (estimated date now Monday 12/6)
• Spend a couple of days in Bamako with former DePauw student and current Fulbright scholar Alys Moore (http://alysinmali.blogspot.com/)

Senegal/the Gambia

• Take some combination of train and bus through Senegal to the Gambia to stay with my friend Ibraheem Ceesay, who I worked with at Copenhagen last year (estimated arrival now Sunday 12/12)

The Holiday Whirlwind

• Fly back to Accra on 12/18
• Fly home to DC on 12/20, get dress tailored for Portia's wedding
• Fly to Greencastle on 12/22 in time for our annual Christmas party the next day
• Fly back to DC on 12/27 for Portia's New Year's wedding!