Burkina Faso 'Land of Honourable Men'

So what is it about Burkina Faso that made us want to return for a third time this trip? If you were to look up its 'vital statistics' you'd soon learn it is the third poorest country in the world with a life expectancy just above that of present day Zimbabwe. Yet both the country and its people have hidden depths.
Around the Banfora region in the south-west of the country (where we've spent the last 9 days) are some incredible rock formations and waterfalls [see pics 1&2]. Meanwhile the sense of pride held by the people for both their past and present is striking. This can be seen throughout the country in the order and cleanliness of the towns and villages and by the importance they continue to attach to the upholding of tradition in the face of change and modernity. Many of the villages conform to a matriarchal structure and the women like nothing better than sharing their stories and the latest gossip over a calabash of millet beer [pic. 3].

Tomboctou la Mysterieuse

Festival of the Desert

The festival held in the Sahara desert some 50km north of the 'mysterious' Timbuktu and accessable only by 4WD or camel has held allure for both Sanna and I for many years.

The event, situated amid sand dunes at the very edge of the desert, successfully combines its origins as a Touareg gathering with its newly acquired status as an international world music event. Artists this year included the great Salif Keita, Vieux Farka Toure, Bassekou Kouyate & Habib Koite. A fantastically organised event with all the facilities you would expect (running water and clean(ish) toilets) and some you wouldn't (the Malian army providing festival security with AK47's and tanks patrolling the perimeter!).

After 3 days though we were ready to hit the sand again and took the lesser travelled northern route ( 2 days, 630km) through the desert to the town of Segou on the banks of the river Niger. From here we plan to travel south into Burkina Faso again to visit the Banfora region before returning to Segou for the festival here at the end of the month. (www.festivalsegou.org)

And a Happy New Year

Wishing all of you a very Happy New Year!!

We spent the new year period travelling north through Ghana's eastern 'Volta' region [above pics] between the Togo border and Lake Volta - the worlds largest artificial lake. 84000 people were displaced by this hydro-electricity generating project when it was started in the 1960's. At the time it was estimated enough electricity would be produced to supply southern Ghana with a surplus to sell to neighbouring Togo. Unfortunately the funders (an American company) placed such high dividends on the project that it never realised it's potential. By the time these financial restrictions were lifted, the ever reducing water level of the lake coupled with rising demand means Ghana will still need to import power from it's neighbours.

We left Ghana amid election fever. After a closely fought Presidential election, the two main parties had a run off scheduled for Dec 28th - the day we were driving through Accra. After 3 days of counting the outcome was announced: one constituency had rumours of vote rigging so they would have to re-vote as without them the balance stood at 49:50! This process could run and run........