We'll start the tour with 3 days in our quaint village of Titao. Think we'll be relaxing and enjoying the simple life? Think again. Titao is a little-known tourist haven with lots of activities to make those 3 (actually 2 1/2 after the car ride) days fly by. After strolling through original dirt pathways leading to town, you can visit the "marché ladies". With a big smile, open arms in case babies come your way, and a lack of preference for what they decide your name is that day, the marche will be lots of fun. After the market, relax at "the garage" and sample one of Burkina's 6 (count 'em, 6!) beer options. Once we arrive back at the house, don't get too comfortable in those chairs, folks, because you'll be treated to a steady flow of visitors dropping by to say hi and offer tastes of the local cuisine.
If receiving visitors isn't your thing, Titao also offeres an all-inclusive 5-hr school and garden tour. This package comes complete with a full lycée tour, a planting demonstration at the town garden, warm beers at the nearest buvette, and free lycée t-shirts at the end for all visitors. In the evening, enjoy a nice stroll through town on your way to dinner at our friend Bernard's house: tô, mmmm mmmm. Keep those forks at home folks, we'll be eating this mean a la main.
In case you are worried about missing anything by sleeping in, Titao (and I suspect most of Africa) comes with complimentary roosters, donkeys, women pounding millet, and calls to prayer available every morning to drag you into the day. It's so loud, you'll swear they're actually outside your window! Market day is not to be missed. If you're like my parents, sometimes you get so tired of all this personal space and just need to get squeezed in an impossibly small space with strangers. The Titao market is the perfect place to toss that "body bubble" aside while parusing local fabrics, cookware, vegetables, mystery pills, and jewelry. Need those flip-flops repaired? We can do that too.
What's that? You're looking for a party! Well, look no further than chez nous. Bernard and the men will kill, clean, and grill the chickens while the women can whip up pumpkin pies in the kitchen (mom, that pie mix was heavenly!). I know what you're thinking, "what's a party without music?". Don't worry, our neighbor, David, has all the greatest beats for any occassion (NSync's Christmas album, oh yeah!).
And already our time in Titao has flown by. It's now time to head south: land of rainfall, trees, and non-domesticated animals. There is an all-paved route from Ouahigouya to Bobo, in the southwest, but you drive on paved roads everyday, right? My parents felt the same way so we took the shorter, dirt road south that leaves you with a healthy coat of Africa on your clothes and respiratory system. Bobo, what a town! You'll know you've hit the big time when you have a fender-bender just trying to drive by the market. Bobo has lots of friendly people offering to organize tours for you, but I'm guessing you'll want a more local experience: enter our fellow volunteer and Bobo resident, Micheal. Though he's still waiting on his official guide badge, Micheal knows his stuff. He'll show you the Grande Mosque and take you on a tour of the old quartier, all while fending off faux types with his banging Jula and his own brand of faux typiness. The old quartier is the oldest neighborhood in town and home to the "sacred catfish". Catfish that can live in a trash-lined stream where local women do their washing - there's got to be some kind of divine intervention involved! Micheal can also lead you to his friend's shop in the market for your one-stop souvenir shopping.
Had enough of the big city life? Let's get a little more rustic with a trip further south to Banfora. After all the shopping and hustle of busy Bobo, I'l guessing you will need a drink. My parents did. Welcome to Canne a Sucre. A nice-looking (we didn't stay here because they were booked) hotel with a great restaraunt serving homeade rum. I recomend getting the rum sampler. The four different flavors will tickle your tastebuds and send you off to a peaceful slumber.
At this point, you're saying, "Enough mosques, markets, and weird meals. Let's see some animals." A short drive from Banfora we'll find oursevles as Tengrela Lake, home to hippos, crocodiles, and the occassional monkey. This boat trip isn't for the faint of heart so leave your fears and any expensive camera equipment in the car as you climb into canoes in search of hippos. Leaks are optional, but you know my parents, they want the full experience; we went for it. Once the thrill of paddling by hippos in a canoe with a steady intake of water is over, it's time to unwind with a picnic lunch next to Karfiguela Waterfall. What, you say, waterfalls in Burkina Faso?! Oh yes, my friend, but don't let that cool crisp water tempt you into taking a dip unless you're looking to take home some more souvenirs of parasitic origin. Before leaving the Banfora region, we'll stop and visit the domes for some quick rock climbing. Again, I understand your surprise: rock climbing and hills do exist in Burkina. Man, this trip just keeps getting better.
On our way back to Ouaga, we'll make a quick stop to see some sacred crocodiles. What's so sacred about them? They're not even tempted to eat the live chicken we brought as a gift until it's practically placed in their mouths. The guides will offer to let you touch the crocodiles but my parents had some bizarre attachment to their limbs, so we passed this time.
Before heading back home to those comfortable beds and temperature-controlled cars and homes, there's one more must-see stop to make: Nazenga Park. A quick trip south of Ouaga towards the Ghana border, will bring you to Nazenga where you'll sleep in individual huts and eat meals overlooking a lake (supposedly, you can spot elephants swimming in the lake sometimes). Nazenga offers driving safaris through the park twice a day, but you're just as likely to spot elephants, wild pigs, and various deer-ish animals driving in and out of the park. Bring along the goal of seeing "at least one" animal, no need for electricity before 6pm, something to keep you occupied while you wait on meals and you won't be dissapointed.
Sadly, our trip is coming to a close. Before leaving, there is one thing on our to-do list: dinner at Gondwana. This chiche restaraunt is also an art gallery displaying African art from different ethnic groups. It's a classy place. It also has delicious food so go ahead and stuff your face with everything from the pre-dinner rolls to the after-meal tea and liquer. A final note for making your trip to Burkina a success, follow my parents courteous example, and refrain from getting sick until returning to America, so as to not inconvenience anyone during the trip. (Just kidding, mom. I'm glad you're feeling better.)
More sincerely, a huge thanks to everyone who stuffed my parents suitcases with cards, cookies, and other assorted gifts for us. You are fantastic and we really appreciate it! Thanks to my parents for being such troopers during their trip despite a few hiccups. We had a really great Christmas and hope you all did too.
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