Ouch! That Monkey Just Bit Me! Backpacking West Africa..

This blog post was originally published for Do It While You're Young, a community and network for women ages 18-35 who previously or are currently traveling, studying, working, or volunteering abroad.

I’m a believer that your age should never be greater than the number of countries you’ve visited.

I’ve lived in Europe, volunteered in Asia, and done quick stints in Australia and across North America. Couchsurfing, solo traveling, Contiki tours, eco-service trips, Peace Corps, you name it! Though a passion for travel still ignites a fire in my petite belly, there aren’t many experiences that can really make me say, “This is crazy!” Until a few months ago; however, two girlfriends and I decided to backpack West Africa for 24 days…

Mali – The Gem of Africa

Staying at the Sleeping Camel in Bamako allowed us to acquire the “need-to-know” information about the city. The Artisan market had an incredible selection of wood crafts and jewelry forcing the three of us to stock up (why I bought a drum the first day to carry around I still don’t know!). The music scene and night life on Route de Bla Bla – yes, that’s really its name – allowed us to kick off our trip in full force.

There may be nothing more awe-inspiring than UNESCO’s World Heritage town of Djenne. It’s here where we were mesmerized by the Grand Mosque- the largest mosque in the world made completely from mud! Not only are the homes constructed from mud as well, but they are multi-storied creating an ancient town of varying building heights.

Soon it was time for our three day hike across Dogon Country. At arrival our guide stated “We are going to hike for 15 kilometers this afternoon. This will take five hours if you walk well.” Keep in mind that I’m a former New Yorker that used to take the subway from 34^th to 42^nd Street! Nonetheless, sleeping on roofs under the stars and seeing pure, untouched Africa was incredibly surreal. During our (ridiculously long) hike, we came across Tiogou, a village built on rock formations supporting waterfalls and Youga Dogourou, a village where inhabitants live inside a mountain’s crevices!

Burkina Faso – No Man’s Land

After an ATM fiasco (let’s just say $400US was taken out of my checking account though I never physically received the money!), we jumped on an 8-hour bus to Bobo-Dioulasso (where you ask?!). Yes, Burkina is very much OFF the beaten path, part of its lure! The country is one of the poorest in the world, yet since it is a transport country, the roads are upkept.

We received a local tip to shop at Gafreh Boutique, a fair-trade store that showcases products created from recycled plastic bags. At Banfora, we touched the Karfiguela Waterfalls and the Sand Domes of Fabedougou before heading off to Burkina’s capital, Ouagadougou (say this five times fast!).

Togo – Not the Sandwich, But a Lovely Country

When we reached Togo, we searched the village of Goundoga for a secret “castle in a cliff” (okay, maybe not too secret as we read about it in a Lonely Planet guide, but it’s definitely not a touristy place)! While traveling there, I realized we had no clue where we would spend the night. “Would you like to stay at the chief’s house?” my chauffeur inquired. Yes!

It turns out our “castle in the cliff” was actually a mini-fortress with a steel ladder built into the side of Mt. Semoo during the 19^th century. The Chokossi had established an empire; however, the Moba resented this and built the fortress to hide from soldiers and tax collectors. Just like the IRS!

After a 12-hour ride (yes, 12 hours!), we welcomed the cool-climate of Kpalime, a tropical paradise amongst hilly forests, artisan markets, and cocoa and coffee farms. The best activity to do here: butterfly hunting!

Lome was my favorite city of the trip with its gorgeous beaches (check out Aneho too!), great shopping, delicious restaurants (Vietnamese pho anyone?) and voodoo! An affordable place to stay is Le Galion, which is walking distance to the beach. I would have recommended Chez Alice, 12km away in Aveposo, but the hostel’s monkey bit me!

Benin – Beaches and Stilts

The trip ended with a quick stop to Grand Popo – another beach resort (we needed it!) and Ganvie, a stilt village only reachable by canoe! At Ganvie, 30,000 Tofinu people live in stilt houses that sit two meters above water. Back in the 17^th century, the Tofinu fled here to escape slavery as their attempted captors, the Dahomey, were afraid of water and disallowed to enter it due to religion.

Be warned: backpacking West Africa is not for the novice tourist or for those lacking patience! Bush taxis (i.e. squeezing 8 people into a taxi!), non-existent time-tables, a beating African sun, and constant negotiation are just the realities of a trip like this. However, for those searching for adventure, you will find nothing less!

Running From the Border: A Journey Across West Africa

We knew that before we finished our service, we wanted to explore other parts of Africa. So on a rainy night in Yaounde, we bought our tickets to fly to Mali in July! We’d head overland to visit Lindsey’s best friend serving in Peace Corps Burkina Faso, bush taxi down to Togo, and fly back from Benin.

Getting there was a triumph in itself as direct flights weren’t an option and we first flew to Ethiopia. Though we searched Couchsurfing for a place to spend the night’s layover, Ethiopian Airlines took care of us by putting us up in a swanky hotel complete with hot showers and an all-you-can-eat buffet. The next day, we flew to Togo to pick up some more passengers, and then finally landed in Bamako, Mali.

Our journey flying across Africa!

The whirlwind trip included climbing mountains, butterfly hunting, canoeing across lakes and rivers, napping on beaches, dancing all night, and shopping for everything from Obama pagne to hand-woven and decorated mud cloth. The trip was even more memorable as we met world-famous fashion designers, Peace Corps Volunteers, chiefs of villages, and some of the nicest random people that helped us out from time to time.

Hiking between villages in Dogon Country, Mali

A small boy sells fans at the Grande Marche, Bamako, Mali

People always ask us of the trip “Was it the same as Cameroon?” On surface level, yes, pagne was everywhere and transportation was uncomfortable, but when you take a deeper look, each country was beautiful in its own way. In Mali, we found not only mud homes, but ones that were multi-storied creating an ancient town of varying building heights. Burkina Faso, being a transport country, had remarkable roads and the nicest people (no “white man” or “nassara” yells!). Togo was a mix of tiny villages in the North, lush rain forests in the South, and beautiful beaches on the coast with voodoo culture thrown in. Benin was a great place to end with a trip to Ganvie, a village that rests on stilts!

The largest mud mosque in the world, Grand Mosquee, Djenne, Mali

Banfora Waterfalls, Burkina Faso

Stilt village of Ganvié, Benin

However, this is not to say that the trip was without its challenges! Bush taxis almost every day, a car accident with a visit to PCMO (Peace Corps Medical Officer) Burkina, five-hour long hikes beneath the beating African sun, worm and rash outbreaks, monkey attacks, and a brief runaway stint from the Togolese border are just the realities of backpacking West Africa. Luckily, we’ve mastered the fine art of negotiation; I saved us from paying 5.000CFA in Mopti, Mali for a “mandatory” visa extension fee and let’s just say that Lindsey Dattels has a future immigration officer husband waiting for her in the Contonou airport who allowed us to board the plane back to Cameroon.

Monkey attacks are no fun on a vacation

If you’re looking for an adventure (because it was anything but relaxing!), consider backpacking West Africa. We’ll send you our Excel itinerary!

*Note: The first version of this article appeared in the November 2011 edition of the US Peace Corps Cameroon's Small Enterprise Development Gazette.

Sure, We'll Stay at the Chief's House!

While living or traveling in West Africa, one must get used to waiting. Time is relative and life rolls on at a leisurely pace. The taxi guys that Anna called to take us from Koempoga to the main street were about 45 minutes late, so we waited. We took a car halfway to Sinkasse and then the driver made us get out and wait for another car. A car finally came and in Sinkasse, we found a van to take us to the Togolese border (after waiting for it to fill up with people of course!).

Why yes, that is a motobike hanging off the side of the car...c'est la vie

We are becoming quite skilled in traveling in uncomfortable positions

We negotiated 750CFA (~$1.50US) for the taxi guys to take us to both immigration offices (leaving Burkina and entering Togo). Thank goodness that we had legitimate visas because we were stopped by police even before reaching immigration.

In all of my traveling experiences, the visas for Togo were the easiest to acquire! In the main room, there was a large sign dictating the prices for each respective country. Further, after providing the 15.000CFA each (~$30US), we received a receipt-looking stamp inside of our passports dictating exactly how much we paid – no corruption here!

At the Togolese border, we found a bush taxi (normal size taxi that crams in 8 passengers) to Dapaong for 1.000CFA (~$2US). We wanted to stay for the Saturday market of this lively city, but alas, we were called to the tiny village of Goundoga, 22km from civilization, in search of a secret castle in a cliff (okay, maybe not too secret as we read about it in a Lonely Planet travel guide, but it’s definitely off the beaten path)!

The ride was beautiful as we rode past Northern Togo’s mountains and greenery. My taxi man asked me where we would spend the night. There should be a hostel in the next village 1km out, I thought.

“Would you like to stay at the chief’s house?” he inquired. Let me think…yes!

Road to Goundoga, Togo

The chief’s son met us at the local school to direct us to the house. The taxi men also arranged to our transportation as well – so nice! The rest of the night was spent talking to the chief’s family.

Goundoga, Togo

So there we were just chatting away underneath the stars in this tiny West Africa village at the chief’s house. Moments like these make life feel dreamlike, yet so real at the same time.

Kompoega, Burkina Faso

We spent the night in Kompoega, a small village in Burkina Faso and post of PCV Anna Callahan (a.k.a. Lindsey’s best friend from high school)! It was highly convenient as Anna lived only about an hour and a half outside of Ouagadougou and the village was on the way to Togo, our next stop.

Kompoega, Burkina Faso

As the country sits in the Sahel, cold drinks were necessary! Though Anna doesn’t have electricity at her house, the market area luckily did – even enough kilowatts to host a film club for the community!

After touring the health clinic she worked at, we headed back to say hello to the family that lives in her compound. The rest of the night was spent making dinner (wearing headlamps in the dark of course!) and relaxing. Simple day, but a good day!

Typical Peace Corps photo

In other places, you would take away a knife from a four-year-old. Here, she is the best cook in the family!

Traditional outdoor kitchen

Ouagadougou - You Are an Expat City

First stop was to where else, but Burkina Faso’s Peace Corps Medical Officer! No worries, we are fine, but this allowed us to stock up on necessary medical supplies. Warning: Peace Corps plug coming…Having a worldwide Peace Corps network is very handy as staff/PCVs are very willing to assist you in places to stay, equipment, etc. Love being a PCV!

After leaving a note for a fellow Cameroonian PCV who is now serving Peace Corps Response in Burkina (can’t believe we just missed you, Mike!), we headed off to run our errands. We had to go to same places that we were all too familiar with: the bank (thank goodness for plastic!) and Immigration. The Visa d’Entente allows entry into Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Ivory Coast, and Niger all for just 25.000CFA. As border crossing visas in third-world countries could be debatable, we wanted to have our visas in advance. Of course, the Immigration Officer stated that if we were lucky, we could have the visas in two days. We’ll take our chances at the border then! And if anybody out there knows where you can acquire this magical Visa d’Entente outside of the five countries it serves, please let me know! They “ran out” in Cameroon!

Ouagadougou (still can’t pronounce the name correctly!) is surprisingly an expat city. Burkina is one of the poorest countries in the world, yet since it is a transport country, the government (this is what the local Burkinabe tell me) upkeeps the roads and the infrastructure is impressive. There are also Western restaurants and hang outs for expats of all worlds. Walking around the center of town, we stopped for hot dogs and ice cream sundaes for lunch. What?

Afterwards, we headed off to the Village Artisanal de Ouaga, a government-run cooperative center that hosts a variety of artisanal crafts. Here one can find everything from baskets to leather goods to dolls to wooden giraffes! Interestingly enough, the overwhelming majority of pieces are fixed, so if you’re not one to haggle, this will be your spot! And if you’re like me and love the fine art of negotiating, don’t worry, you can still bargain hard on the marked prices away!

Needing some time to relax, Liz and I headed back to the Peace Corps “case (transit house)” to pick up laundry, check the internet, shower, and relax. Dinner was spent at a Chinese restaurant and then back into town with some of Burkina’s PCVs. At Salon du The, I ordered a “Grog drink” for my sore throat and we spent the rest of the night dancing away. Good times!

Bobo-Dioulasso To Ouagadougou (Yes, You Are Cool if You Can Pronounce This!)

After my fellow travel mates picked up medication for worms and giardia (c’est la vie), we headed off for some serious shopping! First stop: Gafreh Boutique. A fair-trade organization comprised of women members, Gafrah showcases products created from recycled plastic bags. I picked up a wallet, while the other girls picked up handbags.

Gafreh Boutique - Bags are created wholly from recycled plastic bags!

At the Grand Marche, I negotiated for a waist belt ($1.50US) and a leather keychain ($.80US). Though we had some annoyances (local Burkinabe men following us ALL throughout the market), it was much tamer than most market experiences, so it was all good! Best buy of the day? Obama pagne (fabric) for $4US! I think I’ll make an Obama apron.

Afterwards, we made a quick pit stop at the Grande Mosquee. Resembling the Grand Mosquee in Djenne, Mali, the building was built in the 1800s and is comprised of mud and clay.

Note: The entrance fee (5.000CFA/$10US) to walk inside of the Grand Mosquee in Djenne, Mali is NOT worth it as the outside architecture is much more impressive than the empty inside room. However, 1.000CFA/$2US donation to enter the Grand Mosquee in Bobo-Dioulasso , would be worth it to satisfy one’s curiosity.

Grande Mosquee, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso - Yes, look closely, I'm there!

After lunch, we headed on a straight, four-hour bus ride to Burkina Faso’s capital city of Ouagagoudou (say that five times fast!). It was interesting to stay in another country’s Peace Corps “case de passage (transit house)” and listen to other PCV’s experiences. Resembling the experiences of the PCVs in Mali, the PCVs of Burkina Faso share one country that is relatively the same everywhere in terms of climate, landscape, and language. Needless to say, they were very jealous of Cameroon’s “Africa in Miniature” reputation with 10 regions and 250+ ethnic groups with rainforests, waterfalls, Sahel, beaches, mountains, etc.! And as most Cameroonian PCVs have electricity, most PCVs here don’t!

Thank goodness, otherwise, how would I write this blog?