Hotel Nabaloum Bobo Dioulasso

Even if Koumi and Le Guinguette are not far away from Bobo, it was nevertheless well into the afternoon when we returned to town. The first thing we wanted to do was to find a restaurant and have a late lunch. „Lonely Planet" guide book recommended several, but of all of them the only one open at this hour was „L'Entante“. I mean, some others were open, too, but they were just serving no food at the moment. We were too late for common lunch time, at least according ...

Maybe our choice of when to go to Koumi wasn't exactly the most fortunate one. The sun was relentlessly glaring down from up above, burning everything in its way. Occasionally it felt as if whoever hadn’t sought a shelter in the shadow wasn’t altogether in their right mind. But then again, whenever you decide to venture out at these latitudes, unless it’s in the night, you may not be entirely yourself. So at least in terms of daily temperature, we didn’t have ...

In addition to skipping breakfasts, Naprisca seemed to like indulging in a habit of sleeping in. So while she took time to really get going into the day, I slipped out and went into town. There was no need for her to follow me, say, to the post office. I had those postcards on me which I had bought back in Ouagadougou, they were now written and I just had to send them off. Then, as Marina Market was just a block or two away, I could drop by to buy some food and water ...

The rest of the trip to Bobo-Dioulasso passed more or less on the same note as the part one. For the first-time European visitor there was the same country outside, and for the rest of passengers there was the DVD sequel from Nollywood soap workshop. By the time we finally reached the Bobo gare routiere, everyone was happy. Soap fans had with relief seen the ending of the tense soap plot, and my camera memory card was richer by more than hundred pictures.

Once out, and with our luggage ...

Today we went to visit Sanga's maternal grandma in her village. On our way there we picked up Van Damme a friend of Sanga’s and made two other stops. First was to see the

Land where Sanga hopes to build his school. The land was owned by his father and needs some work to handle the rainy season before construction of the school can begin. Sanga’s dream is to build a school like ...

After breakfast we went to the museum in Bobo. Again we were unable to take pictures inside the museum but could outside. It seems to have something to do with the some of the objects being sacred. The museum had artifacts and clothing worn by hunters in the old days. They did not wash these clothes for five years so that the animals would not get their scent. The clothes actually smelled. Outside was a replica of a house with many of the household objects in it. There was ...

... br>We returned to Sanga’s for the end of evening rutual. Ann opens the windows to air the stench out. Then Dave and Ann read their books on the patio while Sanga closes the windows and sprays a lovely lemon scented insecticide in every room. We then have to wait 20 minutes before returning into the house. People here buy aerosol cans of insecticide like we buy toilet paper. Buying it in big quantities so that you have lots and never run out!!

... Adama and the guide. Both Dave and Ann learned a great deal about the religion and the mosque which was built in1880. From Adama’s point of vue and according to the Koran, we are the same people and we come from the same beginnings. We discussed religious wars and how the media, politics and fanatics can mess everything up!!

We visited a traditional village. Each quarter had its own traditions ...

... gave out piles of maple sugar lollipops to children and adults as well as some exercise books.

We tried to stop at Boromo; to see the elephants. We were told that there was no point going into the forest during rainy season as the elephants do not need to come to the river. We appreciated the honesty of the guides who could have taken us there at any rate.

We arrived in Bobo and went to Sanga Market then to ...

The sojourn to Bobo-Dialasso in the South West of Burkina Faso was a new destination for any overland truck, a bit of exploration so we were told. The area nearby is known for its rocky mountains and waterfalls and it was this area we were keen to explore. Upon arrival in Bobo I headed for the nearest Pizza place.


Western style junk food is a luxury in most places in the Sahara and West Africa in general so I had to take advantage of ...