Travels Westwards

I’m in West Africa for a couple of weeks, working with Finance colleagues in Burkina Faso and Mali prior to our taking on their accounts in our office in Nairobi. Other than a trip to Ghana in 2000, this is my first time in West Africa, and certainly the first time in Francophone West Africa. I’ve not been off the Centre much, so other than the obvious difference in language and climate: Nairobi was about 16C when I left, whilst in Ouagadougou (great name!) it’s a very humid 30C! One of the things that has struck me when I have ventured off the Centre is the number of bikes, both pedal and motor, and particularly the number of ladies riding them! Not something we see in East Africa. Where you do get bikes (more upcountry than in the city), it’s generally men riding them, with ladies possibly riding side-saddle behind them. Here, there are plenty of ladies riding along in their finery, sometimes with babies strapped to their back, and / or basins and bags balanced on their heads.
We went to a Craft ‘Market’ this morning, which is where I got to try out the djembe. Not sure that I’ll make it to the percussion section of the orchestra just yet!