4th of July in Banfora

Banfora is the garden spot of Burkina Faso. about a 5 hour drive on mostly good roads. it has the feel of the Africa i remember in the East. Lush, green, a little cooler, with gorgeous accommodations including pool and a garden to sit in. For me it also had the feel of being home on a road trip because of the hiking and the climbable sandstone rock.

We started the 4th of July weekend with a reception for all Americans in BF at the Ambassador's residence. there was a good turn out, it was relaxed and they even served hot dogs and mini hamburgers. i do like this holiday because it gives me a time to reflect on all we have in the US and how lucky we are.  Being overseas always makes me feel a touch more patriotic.  don't get me wrong though, the US isn't perfect - i have also always felt that no matter what country i am living in, i have something to learn about community and sacrifice.

Now on to the pictures. I cant wait to go back. Esp because there are huge rock formations just begging to be climbed. i was told you cannot use ropes, so thank goodness i have all my bouldering gear.  I am plotting a trip for when Otto gets back to include camping with some other families, hiking to some caves and of course climbing.

Entrance to the Sindou Peaks

Hiking at Sindou Peaks

View of the Peaks from the road. like many interesting rock formations, they just appear out of no where - hard to capture the beauty with a photo.

Hippo lake. there was a lightening storm just over the lake, so we elected to skip the boat tour that searches for hippos, instead we hung out with some locals where were fishing at the lake. Carp was the catch of the day.

The Waterfalls (Cascade in French). Family doing their laundry.

At the top of the Waterfalls. lovely and easy hike up here.

The path that leads to the route to the top of the Waterfall.

Hiking and scrambling at the Domes. this is near the Waterfall, not associated with Sindou Peaks. this was a very cool site, smaller, but lots of climbable sandstone.  All of these areas used to be under water.

A few photos of our lovely hotel - Cascade Palace. there is also another older, very nice hotel in town called Canne Sucre (sugar cane). We did see lots of sugar cane fields in the area. this is a huge agricultural part of the country.