Working my way back ...

  Yesterday was a bouging (moving) day from Koudougou

to Ouagadougou. 

  In Burkina it is pretty easy to bike around. The highways

or main roads aren't congested with cars. The space is

mostly taken up with motor-scooters. Also, there is always

a little breakdown lane on the side of the road that keeps

a cyclists out of harm's way. The fact that many people use

bicycles also keeps the respect for bicyclists relevant.

  Last week in Ivory Coast, we noticed that there weren't many

scooters or bicycles. We were mainly in the big city (Abidjan)

and maybe that is a factor. But it does seem that Ivory Coast

is more developed and it looks like development brings the 

'one driver one car' phenomenon. 

  It was the first time that I traveled from Koudougou (in the 

north) to Ougadougou. It wasn't raining and that was all I 

was hoping for. It is about 87 km and starting at 5:30 and 

arriving at 12:30, was no world record. It was sunny and 

hot until arriving in Ouaga (as us Burkina veterans call it).

That was also a taking into account stopping to have a 

coffee and bread. Plus other stops along the way for water.

With the ability to speak the major local language here, it 

also takes a little more time at the stores. There isn't a 

lot of white people who can speak the local language.

The people are always entertained by it and they try and 

keep the conversations going. On my side, it's usually fun

and I leave there feeling good about connecting, albeit for 

a short time, with someone in Africa and in their own language.

  Now, I am in Ouaga and maybe tomorrow or the next day 

will return to the village. It will be riding my bike again. 

It is about another 85 km from here to the village.

  I prefer the bicycle as it gives me the chance to meet

people along the way in villages with different names. 

Yesterday the name that stuck out to me was 'Kokologho'.

A village about half way from Koudougou and Ouagadougou.

  Today it is chilling out and working on a few reports we must

submit before our departure. Oh yeah, it's also a way to prolong

the feeding frenzy undertaken since leaving the village for 

vacation. But soon, it is back to rice and sauce as one option,

beans and rice the second and sardine sandwiches the third.

No more hamburgers, fries, fresh fish, pastries and the rest

of the stuff. I actually may live longer on the village diet, 

probably shouldn't complain.