Ouagadougou!

Well arrived in Ouaga, and already a week’s gone.
I've spend theses first days invited in the home of Bukirnabé guy I met at the airport, and introduced to many people, family, brothers, cousins, and friends, invited from everywhere, and even asked already for a marriage proposal! There a great sense of hospitality from the population.
It's quiet hard for me to get in the move there, as it's very different from what I've seen in , and far from as well. People, food, and climate are very different, and that sounds quiet interesting!
People always ask you several times if your day has been all right, if you slept well last night? If your family is fine? Your brothers?... and so on for the rest of the family!
Food is still a mystery, but looks ok, a bit hard to find the places to get it.
Climate is great, even too hot! 30-35°C, but lots of dust and pollution in Ouaga.

25 January 2005

 

 

The Pigeot Delta my friend!

Not a second without seeing a moped! Ouaga is moped's Mecca and the national transport vehicle!!!
I've check for the different type available, new or second hand, and soon realised, that second hand are scary!!! So I bought a brand new Peugeot Delta, 710 euros, and only one km at the odometer! It’s a kind of vintage model with a round front light, but also off-road style with a "best quality" front shock!!! Still not as nice as Enfield or Yezdi...
That’s not really powerful either, and I understand why there are pedals... very useful to help the engine when starting!!!
Good news, there is a blank bike plate on it, that will be useful when I'll need to change the type of bike in France. I also got a couple of fakes receipts with different prices, for customs, policemen, and a blank one for !
I'm leaving tomorrow for the north of Burkina, about 300km away, first leg of my journey. No chance to get internet, as there's no electricity in many villages...

26 January 2005

 

Ouaga-Dori / 265km

Only 20km after leaving Ouaga and landscapes becomes already very dry. Baobabs, smalls villages with grass roof are part of the scenery.
The first leg of the journey goes quiet straight forward, 100Km on a sealed road before a stop in Kaya for the night. As planned, the moped burns about 2L/100Km, which makes it cheaper than buses!

Woke up early the next day, ready to leave as heat is still bearable. 6 km later, the sealed road disappears to be replaced by an earth track, a really bad one, like a field of small waves which makes it toooo bumpy... First meeting with “washing board”!
Sometimes it's possible to ride on a small pass along the main one, used by walkers and cycles. Then it's really nice, feeling like I'm on a real big off-road bike, even sounds "almost" similar!!!
But when the pass is finished, it' back in hell, speed average being less than 20km/h

Anyway, landscapes are beautiful, villages surrounded by baobabs, some nice life scene like an old man telling stories to a group of childrens under a tree, camels and touaregs in the middle of nowhere, etc, etc (my English’s not good enough to describe!)
130 km and 5 hours later I reach Bani, the seven mosques village.
I'll stay there for 2 days, the town looks like a ghost place, only wind and sand...
Had a ride in a 4X4 car in the bushes, en route for a small village full of kids as it's often the case in rural Burkina. "Too much kid says the village headmaster, people making too much"!!!

Bani - Dori 40km
I arrive all covered with red dust, the Harmattan, the desert wind woke up during the night. I'm in the Sahel now.

Every day, I'm invited to have lunch to some local friends. I spend most of my days chatting around sahelian tea, 3 following teas, from the same pot, boiled 3 times, sweeter and sweeter.

I've tried bush taxi for a ride up to Gorom (market dry). 75km, 2 breakdowns! Direction, and back ball bearing broken, both repaired with a hammer! 4 hours to ride 75 km, I would have done better on my moped!

02 February 2005

 

Middle of nowhere...

 

 

 

4x4 in the bush

 

 

 

Ridding through the Sahel

Crossing the Sahel, no more sealed road, dirt track only, hopefully not too bad.
Landscape is a bit boring, flat and dry all the way to Ouahigouya. First stop in Aribinda after 100K to break the journey in 2 legs.

Next day, 200 km on a dirt track, looks like my limit in terms of comfort, pretty tiring!
Back on the sealed road to Ouaga, got the first carburation problems because too much oil in petrol, twice more than in Europe because of heat and sand.
I'll stay a bit in Ouaga, time to make services, get a big hard case on the carrier and get my visa for Mali. Won't go in Togo and Ghana, road is long enough to France on this tiny moped. Overall, the dictator just died a couple of days ago, and the borders were closed.
Then my plans are to make my way to Bobo Dioulasso, before I change my mind!

Internet is really bad here, big problems to update and put pictures online... Coming, coming, that's Africa!

09 February 2005

 

Bobo Dioulasso

Just reach Bobo Dioulasso, 3 days ride from Ouaga.
I meet lots of western people in big cars 4x4 on the road, looking at me with big round eyes.
The road is nice now, sealed almost all the way, but still some dust from truck overtaking me. Landscape isn't as nice as on earth tracks, villages are less remote by the way.
I've fix a big hard case on my carrier, looks much better now, but will still need to paint it! I've met a couple of guys riding overland, including 2 English guys on big mopeds 80cc, 30 years old one’s, and passed through the desert!!!
I will spend a few days here, before having a look south to Banfora, and then head for , where adventure will start with the first border crossing, hope will be fine!
No policemen asked me for anything actually, just where do I come from.
People are very nice here, I’m often invited for a lunch or a drink, but never yet to stay overnight!

 

14 February 2005

Djembes concert

 

 

 

 

Bobo- Mali border 16/02-19/02

Too many toots in Bobo, I start to be upset of big cities. Theses guys spend times and money to cheat you more… They are far better than Indians! That’s a shame, because Bobo is a nice shady town, with music and plenty of bars!

3 days later, I ran away for Banfora. I really enjoy having my own transport especially when I met other travellers moaning about African “transport network”! No more rip off with taxi drivers, no more headaches, a kind of freedom!

It’s time to leave for , a dirt road used by the Dakar Rally in 2004 leads to the border through hills and forests. It should take at least 2 days and I know there are no hotels along this road. This will be my chance to try village hospitality that I’ve always heard about, but never experienced yet.

Bad luck this time, a guy telling me he has his family in a village on my way insist to invite me. In fact he’s a kind of fake guide who drives me to another guide – end up very angry, having to pay for many things I shouldn’t have to, but no choice in this crazy situation. The village wasn’t even on my way!

Next day, I try another village by my own and on my way! This time, no problems, people are very friendly, they show me their village and allow me to take pictures, and no money matters – pure hospitality. The bad point is food, they’re having tô very often, a strange untasty paste made of mashed corn or other cereals, coming with a baobab and dry fish sauce – disgusting according to me!

24 February 2005

 

Mill mashing

 

 

 

Paris Dakar dust road 2004