Our departure from Ouaga was slightly delayed by the need to obtain visas for Mali through which we may or may not be taking a quick detour via depending on whether we can get permission to cross the Cote d’Ivoire / Guinea border. This border has been closed on and off over the past year due to Ebola and presidential elections in both countries. Ouaga is the last place in which we can obtain Malian visas so we have acquired them just in case… Consequently we didn’t make it to Bobo that day and had to stop and bush camp en route.
Bobo, Burkina’s second city, was in places reminiscent of India with animals grazing on mountains of rubbish. Actually the rubbish throughout West Africa so far has been quite astounding. Sadly the countryside is littered with plastic bags and cities are full of smouldering piles of rubbish.
From Bobo, we headed to the southwest of Burkina, the Banfora region, which is much greener and lusher. Spent an afternoon by some fantastic waterfalls and then a beautiful bush camp for the night amidst these incredible rock formations shaped like domes.
From there a short drive early morning to take a piroque (wooden canoe type boat) on the lake to watch hippos. As it turned out, just the one hippo put in an appearance... Then on to visit a sacred baobab tree whose guardian was quite a unique character! Next was one of my favourite places so far - Sindou peaks which are these stunning rock formations where we enjoyed a late afternoon walk and the fabulous views. We were based here for two nights and also made a visit to a cave village in the hills that tribes formerly used up until the 90s to escape tribal conflicts.
Next stop - Cote d’Ivoire, a country that was once doing relatively well, then was torn apart by civil war which only ended in 2004. One can reasonably anticipate that a border crossing will take several hours even if you already have a visa for the country that you are entering. This one was yet further delayed by a new rule introduced by the Ivorians that you now must have proof that you have had the meningitis vaccination. With typical African logic, if entering by air or any border other than a northern one, it is not required. However, the officials refused to budge and so we had no alternative but to have the vaccination. Once across the border, the roads became very pot holed and dusty thus further slowing our progress.
Some more longer driving days ahead as the distances between places of interest in Cote d’Ivoire are greater, but there is never a dull moment on a road trip through Africa. There will always be numerous road blocks and police stops to contend with, although to be fair the majority of officials so far have been very friendly. They seem to be fascinated by the truck and use any excuse to get on board and have a look around! One of my favourite sights was that of four cows being transported on top of a minibus! They appeared to be quite content - probably a normal mode of transport for them - but I couldn’t help but wonder how they got there in the first place. I wish I had been able to take a photo but as there was a policeman nearby, I wasn’t able to do so. A definite no-no is taking photos of armed police!
News just in is that the Ivorian Prime Minister has finally signed off our permit to cross the Cote d’Ivoire / Guinea border. Great news as it means we won’t have to make the Mali detour after all so a lot less driving and only three nights of bush camping ahead of us as opposed to five which in fairness was not an appealing prospect given the oppressive heat. The humidity has increased massively in the last couple of days and we are all slowly melting…
Trying to upload some photos as I write this but - quelle surprise - the wifi is a little on the slow side...
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