Connect the dots

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Top 10 West African Things I Will Miss

10. Vibrant markets - always the same, always different. The further north you go, the more colorful they get. The best tourist activity in every city and all the villages you pass along the way.
9. Fresh tropical fruits and juices everywhere - floral mangos, juicy pineapples, tart tamarind, ruby red hibiscus, and spicy ginger.
8. Clay homes with thatched roofs and granaries - depending on where you go, the styles may differ, but the concept is the same.
7. Laws of physics taken to its limits - self made jalopies loaded with passengers and stacked with cargo and women using their heads to transport anything from ceramic jars of water to a pile of wood for cooking.
6. Dusty, red, potholed, unpaved roads.
5. To in Burkina, pate in Togo/Benin, and tizet in Ghana - a cheap street starch that always comes with a tomato based meat or fish stew. Think dry, thick Farina.
4. Getting back to basics and off the grid - brown-outs, bucket showers, and squatting in holes.
3. The sweltering heat - 100degF and hotter is still better than snow, any day.
2. The ORIGO guys - Paulin for organizing and storing the junk now being sent to Brooklyn, Marcel's swift maneuvering to avoid potholes, people and livestock on the road, and Soul for always looking after our best interests and tolerating Alex's difficult moments.
1. The genuine smiles and bonne arrivees you are greeted with everywhere you go.

2 comments:

  1. Wow!!! Great pictures and stories. You guys are having such amazing experiences. I'm SO jealous.

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  2. I could not disagree with you more on point #3. But you know that. More pics of the little one!!!!!!!!!!!

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