On the Road in Burkina Faso

Not a very imaginative title, I know, but guess what? I just found out that you can add pictures on this website. So now you can all stop going to my facebook page to check stuff out, and I can make my posts a lot more pertinent to my travels. I'll warn you right now: this is all going to seem very cool and exotic. I have to admit, it kind of is. I'm in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou right now, and eventhough it's kind of a calm, slightly boring capital, just the name alone I think wins it points for originality. I've officially been out of Niger for about a week now, and I've been hopping from city to city, visiting Volunteers, and helping with any Agriculture related projects that I might have any experience with.

Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso are the two biggest cities in Burkina Faso, and while I've met a lot of really cool Volunteers, there wasn't really much to distinguish them from Niamey. I'd spent over two months stuck in Niger's capital, so I needed a break from cities. I found it in Banfora.

Banfora is Burkina's tourist Mecca. To be honest, there isn't a lot to see in Burkina according to the guide books, but Peace Corps Volunteers are always a good bet to see the really cool stuff. In Banfora, I stayed with a Volunteer named Brad and got to visit two of the coolest geographical sites in the area. I'll get the names later when I update this post, but the Domes are about 15km from Banfora, which I managed to get to with a rented bike. Evidently, they are only one of two sites in the world where the erosive forces have worked to create these entirely unique rock formations. From the nearby waterfalls, you can hike along Banfora's main water supply to the Domes, and you have a great view of the local sugar cane fields.

Now that I'm no longer a Peace Corps Volunteer, I have no restrictions on any kind of stupid thing I want to go off and do in the African countryside. So what did I do? I rented a moped and took it 50km into the bush to see the Sindou Peaks.

Let's just put it out there: I've never driven a moped before. I've always wanted a motorcycle, but I've also harbored a secret fear of them. No more. It was so much fun. Granted, I did almost crash it into a fruit stand, but once I got away from town, away from the goats, children, and fruit stands, I really had the laterite road all to myself. It meant that I was coated with fine red dust by the end of my trip, but what a feeling.

The Sindou Peaks are a chain of rocky spires that extend from the city of Sindou. There's really no other way to describe them other than fantastic, as in, I thought I was on the set of some Hollywood fantasy film. I honestly expected a Muppet to jump out from behind the rocks. Maybe Hoggle would lead me to the castle of the Goblin King. If you understand that reference, then more power to you. But seriously, doesn't this look like a place where you'd find faeries?

Unfortunately, that's all I have time for right now. I'm heading up to Mali and Dogon Country bright and early tomorrow morning, so I'll be out of any contact for quite a while. Hope everyone's safe and enjoying the holiday season. I'll be spending it in Mali, where there's no snow, but at least I don't have to deal with the cold. I'm sure I'll have some amazing pictures in the next post, but until then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. - Sterling