Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

The taxi that took us to the bus station in Ouaga was an absolute wreck. The roof was so low we had to slink down in the seat so we could fit our head under the collapsing roof. The interior roof linings were falling down and we had to hold them up so we could see out the windows. There were no window or door locks or handles. The boot was rusty and the boot door tied with a strip of rubber tyre tube and when we hit a bump everything jumped up and down including the lid. The differential thumped and there didn't seem to be any brakes and we seemed to stop at the same time as the engine. Fortunately the taxi couldn't move very fast so we were in no danger of a hight speed crash.

The bus was a complete contrast, with air conditioning and a modern interior. It sat in a yard that kept the SIM card andmobile phone recharge sellers at bay. The DVD was terrible with lots of shouting and screaming which made the locals laugh and they seemed to enjoy.

Some newspaper articles suggested there may be robberies and kidnappings following the unrest so we hid money in our shoes and hid our photo cards in case the camera was taken. Fortunately we had no problems.

The road to Bobo was pretty good but the fields were extremely dry. We saw lots of mango trees and a few fields of onions. The few water holes were alive with cows drinking and children swimming.

We found a small hotel a short walk from the bus station and in no time we were accompanied by a wannabe guide. The town is full of guides who want to show you the old city with its potters, weavers, and blacksmiths as well as the mosque.

We could see the white painted mud mosque from the hotel terrace and watched as the locals sat under shelters outside to pray. The local village children played their own version of hop-scotch
under the trees and the guides kept trying to sign us up for a tour. Bobo has had none of the unrest that other places in the country have had so we were looking forward to relaxing there.

The 'mango rains' have arrived: short thundery storms with brief rains that swell the ripening mangoes. Luckily they came at night. The rains reduced the temperatures from the high 30s but they roze again in no time.

We treated ourselves to a pizza at a restaurant run by a Catholic Mission. It was like an oasis in the middle of sandy and dusty streets. There was a fountain in a large courtyard with lots of bushes. The tables were decorated with tablecloths and napkins and Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons' played in the background. We enjoyed ourselves so much we couldn't resist finishing the meal with a mango sorbet. This is such a change from the restaurants that sit on the dusty streets where we get spaghetti, couscous, or rice with a tomato paste sauce.

The city, although the second largest in Burkina Faso, feels more like a village. Most of the streets are dusty and unsealed but most have huge trees lining both sides. From the top of our hotel we could see how leafy the city was.

We caught up with our Belgian friend Frederik and spent most evenings together eating in different restaurants.

The market had many stalls of cassava tubers.

We were lucky enough to find a Lebanese supermarket to buy yoghurt and a few things that made a change to the usual fare found in the street stalls or local restaurants.

Both John and Frederick were happy to find a place that showed Real Madrid and Barcelona. We jammed in to a hot room with about 100 other men. They were all pretty loud when their favourite team or player did something special or were reprimanded by the referee. Once again I was the only woman and we were the only foreigners.

We had been keeping an eye on the government advisory sites online and the British site advised against travel to Mali from Ouaga so we decided to head to Mali from Bobo instead. It appears that some rebels from Niger have taken tourists near the Mali border.

Before heading off we decided to make a short trip to Banfora a short distance from Bobo.