Happy Valentines Day everyone! Although here in darkest, well hottest, Ouagadougou it’s not a day that appears to be celebrated. But being the clever, okay sneaky, bugger that I am I bought a card and some unmentionable undergarments while I was in Los Angeles. Christi is suitably impressed at my thoughtfulness, garnering me a much deserved brownie point. Remember this moment dear reader, it might just pre-sage bigger things to come.
Ouagadougou is hot. Did I already mention this? It’s a baking, draining kind of heat where all you want to do is sit in the shade, preferably with air-con and a cold, and I mean an ice-cold drink. Trouble is we have one day to explore the capital of Burkina Faso so it’s now or never. In temperatures of 102oF, though, exploration quickly loses its appeal in favour of an internet cafe with arctic levels of air conditioning. So instead of burning on the streets of Ouagadougou we’re now freezing in the cafe. Amazingly the internet connection is lightning fast and Christi uploads photos to Picasa, while I look to the future and life beyond the Dragoman truck. Is it even possible for wimpy travelers like Christi and I to travel around Africa by public transport?
One thing I do learn from surfing the net is that Ouagadougou is blessed with a profusion of French-style patisseries, which might make for an interesting Valentine’s Day date. Christi agrees. Finding one open on this Christian holiday is another matter and walking the streets with the sun beating down is miserable. It’s so hot that our sweat evaporates immediately leaving salt licks behind on our bodies. We are more than a little relieved to eventually stumble across a Turkish patisserie that is open. The shop is pleasantly cool – could you imagine trying to sell frosted cakes without air-con? Talk about kids in a candy store. Christi and I pig out on chocolate croissants, frosted pastries, cold drinks and even ice cream, all for CFA 4,000 (US$8). It’s definitely one of our more memorable Valentine’s Day celebrations.
Perhaps it’s because I’m now enjoying a monster sugar high, but I suggest exploring at least a few of the tourist attractions. Christi laughs at me and immediately returns to the internet cafe, but I gird my loins and follow in the heroic footsteps of some of the world’s greatest explorers, including Edmund Hillary, David Livingstone, and Robert Scott and set out to see something of Ouagadougou. I do find the Downtown Mosque, the Maison du Peuple (a culture an art venue) and the Place des Nations Unies (United Nations Square, which is outside the offices of FESPACO. Surprisingly this is not a guerilla or terrorist organization, but the organizers of Africa’s most prestigious film festival), before returning (exhausted) to Christi’s cybercafé.
Taxi back to the OK Inn hotel and immediately relocate to the pool where the water is fantastically refreshing – sheer bliss. Strangely, dinner is off the truck tonight and we have to forage for ourselves. Rather than eat in the hotel restaurant (which is expensive) we wander down to a local supermarket and grab a few goodies. Unlike the reserved Arabs of North Africa who prefer to socialize in private, Black Africa lives on the streets. The locals in Ouagadougou are extremely friendly: the streets are full of music, outdoor restaurants, and socializing.
It’s another baking night under canvas and while Christi and I try to sleep the locals are having much more fun than we are out on the streets of Ouaga.
Blog post by Roderick Phillips, author of Weary Heart – a gut-wrenching tale of broken hearts and broken test tubes
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