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Saved: November 30th 2021
Laini with Ammasome
In the courtyard of the Hotel Satimbe in Bandiagara.Back in Bandiagara after the Dogon trek. We needed a day to get caught up on laundry and repacking. We opted to sleep on the roof back at the Hotel Satimbe, rather than the cell-like room, but it was different with the noise of a larger town and more lights. In the courtyard at the hotel we met Adele and Anne-Spohie, both from France. They are travelling separately, on bikes, but have hooked up for this leg of their journeys. It was nice to share the hotel with fellow travellers for a change, we really enjoyed visiting with them, regardless of our language barrier (they both spoke good English).
The following morning as we were awaiting breakfast, the young fellow who works at the hotel - Ammasome - shyly approached us and started giving us gifts. Necklaces, earrings, small carvings. We were so touched by his generousity and his kindness. We certainly didn't expect to receive gifts and we really didn't think we had made that much impact on him, but I guess we did.
Monday was market day in Bandiagara, so after breakfast and a brief stint at the internet café, we headed out to see the wares.
Laini with Hassan the Jeweller
In the photo I am actually turning the wheel on the right that acts as a bellows for his small fire. It is a great market (they all are really) and we enjoyed wandering around the stalls looking at the amazing array of items for sale. At one point the narrow lane was jammed with people and carts so we decided on a whim to duck into a side street and head back to the hotel. We got maybe 200 m and an older gentleman called out to us to come over and have tea. I wasn't sure if he was going to try to sell us something, but we had nowhere to be, so I told Peter we should go check it out. It turned out he is a jeweller, and after a glass of tea he got to work showing us his trade. Now this is no fancy showcase shop or even a well-stocked workshop. He sits on the ground and has all the tools he needs around him to create stunning jewellry. The earrings I am wearing in the photo are a work in progress, but he lent them to me for the shot. It was one of those "couldn't have planned this" moments that we will cherish.
On Tuesday morning we left early to start our
Our Untrusty Steed
Photo taken early on the first day, when we were still enamoured with bike travel. journey to Burkina Faso. The owner of the hotel helped us to arrange our travel, and before we left he also gave us gifts. Ammasome carried my bag all the way to the bush taxi with a smile on his face. I wish he smiled in the photos because his smile is so contagious.
For the first time, we didn't procure visas in advance for Burkina Faso because the Lonely Planet indicated it was easy (and cheaper) to get them at the border. We decided to try it out. The journey and the border were seamless. The taxi wasn't full so we had plenty of room and the border officials were very professional and polite. We arrived into Ouahigouya (pronounced wah-ee-gee-ya) and quite easily found our accommodation. Most people travel straight through Ouahigouya onto to the capital Ouagadougou, so there were no "guides" hassling us, or souvenir sellers telling us "just to look, it's free". It is a small, laid-back town that we enjoyed wandering around. When we crossed the border, I noticed that Thomas and Olivier had crossed just the day before, so we wondered if we would cross paths with them again.
We decided that we
would take the bus up north to Dori and then onto Gorom-Gorom, for the famous Gorom-Gorom Thursday market. Looking at the map, it seemed that we should be able to get their easily from Ouahigouya. However, after inquiring at the bus station, no, it would not be easy from Ouahigouya, but rather we would have to travel south to Ouagadougou (Ouaga to the locals) and then change buses to head north for Dori.
The next morning as we approached the bus station early we saw Thomas and Olivier. They had spent two nights in Ouahigouya and because their time was running out they would head straight for Banfora and then see Ouaga before they depart. It was great to run into them and we were able to pass the time in the Ouaga bus station with them until our respective buses left.
We arrived in Dori just before 6 pm, and according to the Lonely Planet, transportation is easy to find on the morning of the market. So even though we were offered a taxi up to Gorom-Gorom on Wednesday night (another 3 hour taxi ride) we declined so we could get some rest and were confident we
Before The First Flat
If only we travelled this light all the time! would get on an early taxi in the morning. When we arrived at the gare routiere early we found out there are no taxi's going to Gorom. Well, there was one, but it needed 14 passengers and we were the only 2 he had so far. It was not looking good. A young fellow indicated to us that he thought it would be best if we took a moto to Gorom. I thought he meant hitch a ride. Nope - he meant take a motorcycle. We decided to go for it as Peter has his motorcycle license and we really wanted to get to Gorom. They brought a bike to us that was just a step up from a moped and after the negotiating for price, filling the tires with air and the tank with gas we departed.
The road to Gorom is a dirt road that is mostly washboard making for a very bumpy ride. After the speedometer fell out for the second time (from hitting a big rut) we put it in the backpack. Obviously it wasn't working anyway. It was a pretty great feeling heading out onto the open road on our own, wind in our
Peter And His Camel
Peter's first camel ride, I think he is starting to like them almost as much as me! hair, on a very quiet road. It took 3 hours to reach Gorom on the bike, we stopped often because the backsides were not used to this kind of travel. The bike was not the best. It was somebody's brother's, cousin's, neighbor's, son's, friend's, uncle's bike that had not been maintained all that well. The front tire was pretty wobbly and the bike itself was made for smooth city streets, not rough dirt tracks. On arrival at Gorom we stopped for a cold drink and went to get on the bike and discovered the back tire was flat. Some local boys helped to push the bike to a mechanic and we went in search of accommodation for the night. After a brief rest out of the sun and heat we decided to check out the famous market and also see if the bike was fixed. The market is very colourful and vibrant. The best part for me was the people, especially the Fulani women who wear their wealth in the form of earrings, necklaces and large silver dollars attached to their braided hair. We also found camels! It was described as an animal market where cattle, camels, sheep, goats and
donkeys are traded, but it was really a small group of Tuareg men standing around with a few camels who whipped out the saddles as soon as the tourists showed up. We both went for a small walk on a camel, it was not the desert trek I was hoping for, but it was fun nonetheless. Besides, my sister-in-law said she didn't want to see another photo of a camel unless I was riding it - so here it is!
While the market was enjoyable, it was the journey that was memorable. The next morning we woke to a flat front tire, so off we headed to yet another mechanic to fix another tire. The bike was starting to cost us more and more and we haven't left Gorom yet. The trip home was fairly uneventful until we were about 8 km from Dori. We took a shade and drink break, only about 5 minutes, and when we tried to start the bike it wouldn't start. This went on for awhile and a fellow on a bike stopped to see if he could help, as did a man with a donkey. When we finally got the bike started we
Need We Say More
Happy Donald is not looking all that happy these days.
Hamburger joint in Ouaga that we did not eat at, but had to take a photo of. found the back tire flat. The man on the bike and the man with the donkey both tried to help us, but it was no use. We started walking and pushing the bike. We were pretty thankful that it was only 8 km as there was very little traffic on this road and at least we could walk the 8 km quite easily. After about 2 km a 4WD stopped to help us. Inside were 3 French Canadians and their 2 guides. They put the bike on the roof, made room for us in the vehicle and drove us back to Dori. It was so kind of them to take time out of their travels to help us out. After we got ourselves settled back into Dori (and said Good Riddance to our bike) we met them at their hotel and bought a round of beers as a thank you. They were heading back to Ouaga that same afternoon, while we would be departing on the bus in the morning.
Ouagadougou (wa-ga-doo-goo) is the capital of Burkina Faso and is one of the more laid-back capitals in West Africa. We stayed in a hotel right in the center of
Cool Day In Ouaga
Had to put the gas station thermometer photo in! town and once the souvenir sellers got to know us and left us alone, it was a great location. It was HOT HOT HOT in Ouaga. The gas station thermometer picture was taken on a cool day. The first day we saw it the temperature was 46°C. YIKES!
We spent 6 days in Ouaga as we had to have our Burkina Faso visas extended and then apply for our Ghanian visas. It was a nice city to walk around and explore. We ran into the 3 French Canadians a few times and also got to know a few travellers at our hotel. All in all it was a relaxing stay. We also got to know the two people who ran the cafe for the hotel, and one of the cleaners as you will see by the photo. They were delightful folks that were so friendly to us even though our French is so limited.
We headed for Bobo-Dioulasso next and enjoyed a few days wandering around the second biggest city in Burkina (pop. 360,000). We ended up in the same hotel as the travellers from Ouaga and so we spent some time with the 6 of them. Two Canadians,
Hotel Yennenga Ouaga
Simplice, Laini, Adama, Marina and some unknown who wanted to be in the photo. Simplice and Marina worked at the cafe and Adama was the hard working cleaner. 3 British and one Swede. It turns out we will all be heading for Banfora at the same time too.
Next stop Banfora. After Banfora we will enter Ghana. Not sure when we will see the next decent computer, so until then ... bye for now!
Lots of love,
Laini and Peter
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non-member comment
How much was gas there ? Here it is a whopping 125.9 for the most part I bet it was way cheaper to fill that bike and fix both tires than it is to fill my Jeep LOL. I'm jealous you got to ride the camel enjoy yourselves and read you soon.