Ouagadougou (BF): just relax here
N 12°21.616' W 001°31.286'
It was great to be back on the bike leaving a trail of dust behind us on the way to the border. As always we are exited about the next country and at the same time a little sad at leaving another behind. Then there is also the anxiety about the border crossing itself: how much red tape, the mood of the officials, bribes, will it be crowded or not, will we have to queue. On the Malian side customs was easy and done with almost Germanic efficiency, and immigration was almost philosophical as we had a short talk about the difference between the more materialistic Europe and the social family structure in Mali with the officer at his lonely post in a tiny village. It was surprising as well as reassuring to encounter such insight of development elsewhere, and at the same time pride and conviction of their own African values in a remote place like this. Then 10 km across no-mans land to the Burkina immigration post where we got a warm welcome and understanding for my request to squeeze the stamp on some used page in order to save the precious blank pages in our passports. Customs was a cruise and soon we were in Ouahigouya where we had lunch. Once again we were amazed at how much can change when crossing a border.
During lunch we had the pleasure to meet a retired government employee who now dedicates himself to social work through a church. We were impressed by his open- and calmness and his deep understanding and concern for the currant problems in his country. Surely it was no coincidence that he was from the era of Thomas Sankara, the first and very visionary President who, as others of his calibre in Africa, was not allowed to complete his socialist projects. The relatively good infrastructure we saw en route to the capital, and in Ouaga itself were for us proof enough that early politics had given it advantages over most of the West African countries we had visited. Through conversations during our stay in Ouaga this feeling was confirmed.
It was great to be back on the bike leaving a trail of dust behind us on the way to the border. As always we are exited about the next country and at the same time a little sad at leaving another behind. Then there is also the anxiety about the border crossing itself: how much red tape, the mood of the officials, bribes, will it be crowded or not, will we have to queue. On the Malian side customs was easy and done with almost Germanic efficiency, and immigration was almost philosophical as we had a short talk about the difference between the more materialistic Europe and the social family structure in Mali with the officer at his lonely post in a tiny village. It was surprising as well as reassuring to encounter such insight of development elsewhere, and at the same time pride and conviction of their own African values in a remote place like this. Then 10 km across no-mans land to the Burkina immigration post where we got a warm welcome and understanding for my request to squeeze the stamp on some used page in order to save the precious blank pages in our passports. Customs was a cruise and soon we were in Ouahigouya where we had lunch. Once again we were amazed at how much can change when crossing a border.
During lunch we had the pleasure to meet a retired government employee who now dedicates himself to social work through a church. We were impressed by his open- and calmness and his deep understanding and concern for the currant problems in his country. Surely it was no coincidence that he was from the era of Thomas Sankara, the first and very visionary President who, as others of his calibre in Africa, was not allowed to complete his socialist projects. The relatively good infrastructure we saw en route to the capital, and in Ouaga itself were for us proof enough that early politics had given it advantages over most of the West African countries we had visited. Through conversations during our stay in Ouaga this feeling was confirmed.
posted by Retobados at 12:36 PM
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