17th of December Mopti-Burkina Faso border
Up early again we made our way to Biadangara via Sevara and wandered around the market mostly unspoiled, bought some gifts and pastry. Once again there were some wannabe guides at the petrol station offering trekking trips to the Dogon Country, but our plan was getting to the Burkina border the same day so we just crossed the rocky plateau called Falaise de Biadangara on a steep and winding road. This was largely a dirt track with villages and neatly composed onion and pumpkin fields next to streams with clear water covered with water lilies, the drive had fascinating panoramic views of the plateau and the surrounding countryside.
The road to the border was just a dirt track with lot of potholes. Customs on the Malian side were pretty straight forward but on the Burkina side they did not accept the Carnet de Passage and we had to pay for a Laissez-Passer of 5000CFA. It was 250km to Ouagadougou so we decided to pull off the road and camp another night out in the sticks. We spotted a green bee-eater sitting next to us in the tree as we ate dinner.
After cooking it was Ben’s turn for a shower, fully foamed the water pump gave only a small burp and he realized that we had just run out of water. But as a real outdoor man he managed to sponge himself down with a half cup of water.
The road to the border was just a dirt track with lot of potholes. Customs on the Malian side were pretty straight forward but on the Burkina side they did not accept the Carnet de Passage and we had to pay for a Laissez-Passer of 5000CFA. It was 250km to Ouagadougou so we decided to pull off the road and camp another night out in the sticks. We spotted a green bee-eater sitting next to us in the tree as we ate dinner.
After cooking it was Ben’s turn for a shower, fully foamed the water pump gave only a small burp and he realized that we had just run out of water. But as a real outdoor man he managed to sponge himself down with a half cup of water.
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18th of December Ouagadougou
Ouagadougou welcomed us with dust, heat and a traffic jam with cars and motorbikes adhering to no traffic rules whatsoever. Thanks again to the tracks4africa GPS map we found our way to the Nuns of the Catholic Cathedral but they were full. After we had a look at the Auberge de Samaritaine next door, finally we opted for the Pavilion Vert a bit out of town centre, though it was clean if nothing else. Outside temperatures rose to 40C° and we wished we were back in the countryside with the clean fresh air and breeze or even dreamed of the coast having a nice refreshing swim.
We decided to stay for 1 night to get the car washed and refueled and of course refill our water tank. As it was Saturday there was anyway no way to get a visa for Ghana we decided to go to Togo first and get the visa in Lomé so as not to have to wait around for 3 days.
We decided to stay for 1 night to get the car washed and refueled and of course refill our water tank. As it was Saturday there was anyway no way to get a visa for Ghana we decided to go to Togo first and get the visa in Lomé so as not to have to wait around for 3 days.
