Marbles, Swimming Pools, Waterfalls and Hippos....

This past week, I had the opportunity to visit Bobo and spend some time with a friend of mine. After five hours on a bus while it was over 100 degrees, we made it to Bobo. The bus ride was hot and the bus stop is quite the experience as well. People surrounded us as soon as we got off the bus trying to sell us everything and anything from bananas, to chicken, to eggs, bread, tissues and more! Therefore, we were happy once we arrived to our destination!

While in Bobo, we learned a new game that is played with marbles. The children of the town of Bobo taught us how to play. It was fun to learn a little more about what life is like for a child living in West Africa.

After that, we headed off to Banfora on another bus ride (luckily this ride was only about an hour). Banfora is my favorite place in Burkina Faso. It is absolutely beautiful there. There are tons of trees and the ground is green and filled with plant life. We took a boat ride to see hippos. It was amazing to see the hippos living in the wild. We had to stay a far distance away from them but we were still able to watch them come up to the surface and then go under the water and then return to the surface again. Two hippos were fighting and they were leaping out of the water towards each other. It was quite remarkable to watch! They also would slap their tails on the water to warn the other hippo to stay away.

We had the opportunity to visit some waterfalls. After taking a few minutes to build enough courage, I finally jumped off the cliff into the water. It was fun! Our last stop in Banfora were the domes. It reminded me a little of red rocks and Colorado Monument Park because of all the rock formations. I remember when I drove across country, I visited a place that looked similiar as well. I can't remember the exact name or location but I think it was near South Dakota. The domes in Banfora were real fun to climb and hike on. I enjoyed it greatly!