To Bobo

On Easter Monday I travelled from Ouaga (short for Ougadougou) to Bobo Dioulasso, where I am going to be working. Air conditioned coach, quite comfortable, 5 hour journey. You need to get to the depot early; bags have to be checked in and labelled with masking tape and marker pen so they get given back to the right people – this is an upmarket coach operation, no goats tied to the roof. No more than one adult per seat, sometimes 2 kids. Quite quiet on the coach, they showed a film (James Bond, Moonraker, dubbed in French) and then some local soap on little screens like on a plane. One official 10 min stop half way, where passengers get mobbed by vendors of all sorts of things. Think I was the only white person on the coach, so extra-mobbed!

In between, unofficial stops about once an hour for children and others (not me!) to pee by the roadside. I didn't have a good enough view to see if there was any attempt at decency. When we arrived in Bobo, there was a delegation from Sida Ka Taa there to welcome me, which was really nice – even if I didn’t catch all the names, I could understand most of it and they were all really friendly. To a hotel to rest and refresh, and then out with Bobo based volunteers, all welcoming too, and some who are visiting from Ouaga. Took advantage of last night in hotel to wash my hair – looking forward to being in my own place and being able to make tea!