Two weeks ago we, the trainees, left Ouahigouya to visit our sites. I headed south west of Ouhigouya to the Tougan area. Part of this exercise was to not only visit the sites, but also to get a better understanding of how transportation in Burkina Faso works, which is somewhat chaotic.
On Thursday morning I met up with some others who were catching the same bus to Tougan . I got to the station around 10:30 am for an 11:00 am departure. Unfortunately, we had to wait for our bus, which was coming from Ouagadougou. The bus finally arrived around 12:30 pm and was so full that the company, STAF, had sent a second bus to cover the Ouaga – Ouahigouya leg.
Getting a seat on the bus is not trivial. There are no tickets with assigned seating and the operation is first-come-first-seated. There was debate as to whether the second bus was going to continue on to Tougan, so we loaded our bikes (on the roof!) and ourselves onto the first bus. It was so full we had to stand in the aisles on top of coolers, baggage and who knows what else.
We waited and waited to leave, packed into a very stuffy and aromatic bus. Then we received word that they had decided to send the second bus to Tougan as well. So we left the 1st bus (leaving our bikes) and moved over to the spacious 2nd bus. Just after getting on the 2nd bus everyone started getting off to go back to the 1st bus! We followed suite, but luckily right after getting off we were told to get back on. So two buses went to Tougan...
The trip was fairly uneventful with no mechanical trouble. Looking at the decor and various posters, etc. I would date the buses sometime in the 70’s. So mechanical trouble is a founded concern. The major difficulties on the trip included much too loud music, dust from the bus in front of us and potholes. We stopped at most towns to let more people on or to let some off. There didn’t seem to be a lot of organization, but the guys running the operation really know what they’re about. At each stop girls with peanuts, pois de terre (I think dried chickpeas, very good!), wild grapes and other edibles would come to the doors/windows.
After about two hours we pulled into Tougan, where we moved to the other bus for the rest of the journey. Tougan is a nice quiet town. It has the best yoghurt in the world (made from powdered milk!) and the bread from the boulangerie is very good. The town is also clean as compared to Ouahigouya.
Before we could leave Tougan, the bus needed some repairs. To be “exact” something was loose underneath and needed to be soldered. Luckily the “Atelier de Soudure” was right across from the bus station. The bus pulled up in front, repairs were made and we were on our way again.
On Thursday morning I met up with some others who were catching the same bus to Tougan . I got to the station around 10:30 am for an 11:00 am departure. Unfortunately, we had to wait for our bus, which was coming from Ouagadougou. The bus finally arrived around 12:30 pm and was so full that the company, STAF, had sent a second bus to cover the Ouaga – Ouahigouya leg.
Getting a seat on the bus is not trivial. There are no tickets with assigned seating and the operation is first-come-first-seated. There was debate as to whether the second bus was going to continue on to Tougan, so we loaded our bikes (on the roof!) and ourselves onto the first bus. It was so full we had to stand in the aisles on top of coolers, baggage and who knows what else.
We waited and waited to leave, packed into a very stuffy and aromatic bus. Then we received word that they had decided to send the second bus to Tougan as well. So we left the 1st bus (leaving our bikes) and moved over to the spacious 2nd bus. Just after getting on the 2nd bus everyone started getting off to go back to the 1st bus! We followed suite, but luckily right after getting off we were told to get back on. So two buses went to Tougan...
The trip was fairly uneventful with no mechanical trouble. Looking at the decor and various posters, etc. I would date the buses sometime in the 70’s. So mechanical trouble is a founded concern. The major difficulties on the trip included much too loud music, dust from the bus in front of us and potholes. We stopped at most towns to let more people on or to let some off. There didn’t seem to be a lot of organization, but the guys running the operation really know what they’re about. At each stop girls with peanuts, pois de terre (I think dried chickpeas, very good!), wild grapes and other edibles would come to the doors/windows.
After about two hours we pulled into Tougan, where we moved to the other bus for the rest of the journey. Tougan is a nice quiet town. It has the best yoghurt in the world (made from powdered milk!) and the bread from the boulangerie is very good. The town is also clean as compared to Ouahigouya.
Before we could leave Tougan, the bus needed some repairs. To be “exact” something was loose underneath and needed to be soldered. Luckily the “Atelier de Soudure” was right across from the bus station. The bus pulled up in front, repairs were made and we were on our way again.
loading my bike onto the roof
the 1st bus 
the 2nd bus
a cool cloud
pois de terre
the best yoghurt on the planet
repairs at the atelier de soudure
village along the route (with baobabs)
taking the bikes off
poussière - dust storm before the rain
poisson cheval (evidently there are fish in Burkina Faso!)
3 comments:
That's one hell of a fish for an inland nation!
I'm incredibly impressed that your bikes made it to the roof. When do you move to the site for good?
We go to our sites after our swear-in at the end of August...so September.
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