Spring Break Trips

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I arrived in the village at the end of the second trimester of the school year, just in time for spring break. Three weeks with nothing to do? Might as well visit some other cities.

I spent a weekend in Banfora, a city in the wetter, greener south. I joined a group of volunteers who crammed into a nice hotel room where there was a pool. Oh, sweet escape from the heat. Three of us took a bike ride to a waterfall about 15 km out of town. The falls were beautiful but too rocky and schistosomiasis-infested to swim under (Guinea waterfalls are way better, sorry). We hiked from there to “the domes,” a series of rock formations in the hills. Gray layers of rock have been eroded by ancient ocean waters into massive domes and pillars. You can climb on them for a panoramic view of the surrounding farmland.

Most of the volunteers in Banfora that weekend are education PCVs who will be finishing their service after this school year. Their numbers have dwindled since they arrived but they’re left with a really cool group. Everyone was fun, laid-back, and welcoming to me.

So the next weekend was a party in Ouaga for the group of Ed PCVs who will be leaving soon. COS (close-of-service) parties are a huge event in PC Burkina and volunteers come in from all over the country to send their friends off. The house was full and I was lucky to find a spot for a mattress on the roof where I could sleep until about sunrise. People made crazy costumes, put on skits, and put together a slideshow for the group leaving. We spent a day at a nice pool, then began the COS “Clash of Sectors” tournament: teams of Education, health, and Business volunteers competed in events such as kickball, karaoke, and flipcup. We won.


My regional capital is Bobo-Dioulasso, which means “home of the Bobo and Dioula peoples.” It’s a large city that’s rather nice. Quite a few ex-pats in the area means that there is a real grocery store and some nice restaurants and hotels. There are internet cafes, a post office, and a huge market where I can get just about anything I need. The best way to get around the city is by taxi - though their dingy inside and sometimes overcrowded, they’re pretty cheap and reliable. There is a PC office with a computer and a kitchen we can use.

We stay at a small hotel near the office. It provides basic, cheap accommodations (bed, sheets, fan; bathrooms and showers outside), so it is popular among frugal travelers. In my times there I’ve met people from all over Europe in the middle of various adventures through Africa. Many travel by motorcycle or land rover from country to country, visiting landmarks or doing projects along the way. A couple of weeks ago, some other PCVs and I hung out with two English guys and a girl from South Africa who were in the middle of a trip from Paris to Capetown…on bicycles. Not even really good bikes. I was impressed. They’ll be traveling for about a year, doing some volunteering along the way. Fun people - best of luck to them.

This weekend I’m back in Bobo for Easter. I spent a night in Orodara, a city southwest of here that is central to some other volunteers. It’s a transit point on the road to Mali, with a large market and some good restaurants springing up. Back in Bobo we visited Jon’s friend, a Frenchman who hires local artisans to make quality musical instruments to be sold in Europe. Most popular are the djembés (drums), but catching on are the balafon (like a wooden xylophone with calabasses underneath) and (I forget the name) calabasse guitar-like instruments. Well-made versions of these have beautiful sounds, and there are some great traditional bands.

I spent Easter with my neighbor Jon, Diego, and Jack. We spent half the day at the office trying to watch movies on the computer but none worked except the Jackass movie. Jack got some Velveeta in a care package and made us great cheese omelets. Another volunteer had left some community Snickers bars in the fridge so we had a feast with dessert. We went to dinner at a little place on the edge of town that had good food and live music for a little while, then four drops of rain fell and the musicians left. The guys are a fun group, so it was a good Easter overall.

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