So work has given me a nice red 100 cc motor bike. Work is little ways out of town so this is a nice luxury. I wish the bike had one less motor and two more pedals though. I think I will buy a crappy pedal bike to get around town and to and from work and only use the motorbike for long work trips.

Today I had to go to the bank in Mopti 12 km away. Mopti is a bustling compact city constrained by the Niger river. People drive like everywhere else in West Africa which means that it is not uncommon to see bikes swerving across lanes or cars parked in the middle of busy streets. Drivers just aren’t as predictable as they are in Canada, which leaves me a little on edge.

I arrive in the morning when traffic is busiest and have never been to Mopti so I don’t know my way around. I’m glad that this is my third day on the bike and I can now up shift and down shift with only a 20% chance of stalling. Going down a dirt road I come to a paved one that seems to lead to bigger buildings, and maybe banks, on the left. I give the old hand signal to let everyone know I’m doing a left hand turn. On the paved road the first car to come my way is giving me the old naughty finger shake. You know the one your mom gave you when you stole all her cookies with the pointer finger wagging back and forth. I decide to err on the side of caution and pull over and stop to see what his problem is. Just then a police officer comes up to me with the same finger wave letting me know I’m in trouble. I look down the street and notice it’s only one way. Then I look at which way everyone is going, not the same way I am. Ouch. The officer informs me that I have violated an official Malian traffic rule that does not allow one to go the wrong way on a one way street. Off to the police station for me.

At the police station I am sternly sat down and my keys are confiscated by an officer with more blank spaces than teeth. They want to know what I’m doing here and how I managed to go the wrong way on a one way street. I assured them Canada also has one way streets and it is not the concept that I had trouble with, it’s just that I missed the sign. They tell me that I must pay a $15 fine, which is kind of big when you are trying to live on a few dollars a day. Wondering if they are trying to take advantage of a newly arrived foreigner I ask if I get a receipt for my fine. They are none too happy to hear my question. I spend the next 10 minutes trying to talk myself out of getting into even more trouble for hinting at the possibility of corruption. We establish that I have caused many problems and that the police are all a bunch of great guys. I crack a few jokes and eventually they decide I’m not a bad apple. Now I know that fines in Mali do in fact come with a receipt. Just as I go to pull out the $15 and go on my way they tell me I can go as long I make sure to solve problems rather than create new ones. I hope I’m up to the task and on Saturday I’m looking for a pedal bike.