Flying from Cameroon (to Ethiopia to Togo) to Mali

First let it be said that the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport is beautiful and large though it only has 11 gates. Lots of great shopping, clean, and best part of all: we got two passport stamps for our one-day entry and exit! Travelers and our passport stamps – we go hand in hand.

Again, flying from Cameroon to Mali was no easy task. As direct flights don’t exist, we first flew to Ethiopia where we spent our night’s layover, then to Togo to pick up more passengers, and finally to Bamako, Mali. For those who enjoy visuals, please see our flights below:

Yes, we started in Cameroon, flew east to Ethiopia, then west to Togo, and then North to Mali!

At Bamako, we bought our visas hassle-free for $40US each. All we would need to do would be to get them renewed as the airport only issues 5-day visas. Making sure that the extension visa would not cost anything more, I also took the man’s phone number in case we ran into trouble later on.

Note: When traveling in West Africa (or any country for that matter!), always, always, take down the phone number of the legitimate government worker/nice person that helps you. It will save you hassles later on (and you’ll see why when I blog about trying to get the visa extension!).

Right outside the Bamako's airport entrance was an Ecobank (same bank in Cameroon that Liz has and accepts Visa cards) and an Orange phone store (so we could buy our SIM card). Things felt too easy…and then the ATM ate Lindsey’s debit card.

Sigh…this is backpacking Africa.

Note: If the ATM does not accept your card after two tries, do NOT try again!