Saturday, July 16, 2011

Sporting in Burkina Faso

Finally got to go the famous bike market today - where you can find a lot of things, some hidden treasures even.  as always the Burkinabe are friendly, honest, gracious. where do these people come from - they live in this hot, land-locked, poor country and if you were to drop some money on the ground, they would chase after you to give it to you.

i also learned today why biking is so big here. the former president (Sankara) decided to give his seal of approval and support to a bike team (touring) long ago and ever since then biking is a huge national sport. i remember my amazement the first time i saw a Burkinabe pelleton (fancy bikes and bright colored shirts/shorts included) racing by on the outskirts of the city.  there is even a 'Tour du Burkina' that takes the riders all across the country (i think it lasts a few weeks...but i could be making that up). what is even more amazing is that many of the roads here are dirt or in very bad shape and here these guys are riding on those skinny tires. so much to love about this place.

here are a couple of photos from the market - hard to photograph the essence of the place. one of my colleagues got a great cross bike for $140. we were all ready to bargain hard, but when the shop owner's first asking price was $150, it seemed dishonest on our part to take a reconditioned Trek bike for much less.



Mechanic for the national team. working on one of their very nice bikes.
 Wanted to throw in a few more photos from the Banfora trip. these are the beautiful rocks.  reminded me a lot of a small version of Red Rocks Nat'l park just outside of Las Vegas. exact same sandstone rock.
this is a good bouldering problem and nice photo op, too bad i only had my running shoes on

this is at Sindou Peaks, the center area, with cliffs surrounding, has been used for movie sets

dont you just want to climb this...

and this...The Domes. i actually think the climbing would be better here as there are tons of features and the rock is more solid


just like at Red Rocks, the rock has an oxidized patina coat that makes for great/interesting hand/foot holds. and it is beautiful to look at...rock as natural art
The weekends here have been so fun filled of late. i head home next week for my vacation in the US and i am not looking forward to it as much as you would think i would be. i just keep thinking about all the stuff i need to take care of - it will be a busy few weeks of errands and appointments. weekends here are truly about hanging with friends and the African pace of life.  i cant wait to see Otto, my family, do some camping, get away from the heat and hang with my PDX friends - so of course it wont be all bad :)

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