In March, I took a road trip to Burkina Faso with six friends and it was a wonderful, relaxing, interesting couple of days. When I returned to Bamako and downloaded the pictures, there were many other photos from my R&R as well. So, now you get to see pictures from my Nov/Dec trip AND from Burkina Faso! And, from my April R&R in Italy!
First, USA R&R. I spent a few weeks at my parents' house in Durham, NC. My Minnesota grandmother flew down and we got to spend a lovely week together, catching up and enjoying chilly Durham. My brother and his wife came for Thanksgiving so I had time with them as well. And most importantly, I got time with my fantastic mom and dad, who are my biggest fans and my favorite people in the world. And so I present to you, R&R 2016 pictures:
First, USA R&R. I spent a few weeks at my parents' house in Durham, NC. My Minnesota grandmother flew down and we got to spend a lovely week together, catching up and enjoying chilly Durham. My brother and his wife came for Thanksgiving so I had time with them as well. And most importantly, I got time with my fantastic mom and dad, who are my biggest fans and my favorite people in the world. And so I present to you, R&R 2016 pictures:
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| My grandma Nancy watching the birds in my parents' back yard. |
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| The neighborhood bamboo grove that my father's "Bambusero" group has made visitor-friendly. |
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| Pretty house with a pretty tree in Parkwood. |
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| Dad and Joe. |
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| Proud dad at the red hydrant grove. |
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| Bamboo groves are so pretty. |
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| Off to visit the goat farm! |
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| Hungry goats. |
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| This guy loved my grandma... and her cane! He stuck by her like a faithful pet, begging to be patted and head-scratching on her cane. |
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| Silly kids! |
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| By goats! |
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| Smiley mom on the hill! |
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| Thanksgiving with my awesome family. |
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Next up is my recent trip to Burkina Faso! A few weeks ago a friend of mine asked if I'd like to join a group planning a road trip across the Mali-Burkina Faso border, and after dithering and procrastinating, I finally decided to do it. To give you an idea, this isn't a trip that is taken lightly: the security situation in Mali is such that travel farther than 50 kilometers out of town, or any trip overnight, has to be approved by our regional security office. For our trip, we had to provide details: what route would we take, what communication devices would we have, where would sleep, what tourist sites would we visit. We were also given locator devices to take with us.
Next up is my recent trip to Burkina Faso! A few weeks ago a friend of mine asked if I'd like to join a group planning a road trip across the Mali-Burkina Faso border, and after dithering and procrastinating, I finally decided to do it. To give you an idea, this isn't a trip that is taken lightly: the security situation in Mali is such that travel farther than 50 kilometers out of town, or any trip overnight, has to be approved by our regional security office. For our trip, we had to provide details: what route would we take, what communication devices would we have, where would sleep, what tourist sites would we visit. We were also given locator devices to take with us.
Luckily, this meant a very well-planned trip, and off we went directly after work on Friday! We took two cars and motored to the border. There were five stops to make, though I couldn't tell you what was done at each. We showed our passports a couple of times, the vehicle owners presented their "carte grise" or registration cards, and paid the various "peage" or tools. We chatted with the border police, who were various shades of stern, jovial, or disinterested.
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| On the way to Burkina, we stopped for a quick road-side picnic. |
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| Banfora Hotel |
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| Asha at Domes de Fabedougou |
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| Domes de Fabedougou |
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| Cascades de Karfiguéla |
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| Water pipes |
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| Yes, we went to McDonald... no golden arches but the burger was delish! |
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| Lake Tangrela, where it is sometimes possible to see hippos. Not the evening we went, however. |
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| Ladies selling baskets. |
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| Ready to take a hike! |
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| Our little adventure group. |
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| Size. |
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| Artistic photography in cool landscapes. |
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| Our guide managed to take us places just before the hordes of school-kids... we were on our way out of the hiking area, thank goodness. |
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| Giant baobob. We went inside and learned its history. |
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| Cashew tree fruit! |
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| Start of our walk through the historic area of Bobo Dioulasso. |
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| Narrow alleyways. |
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| Fish stew, anyone? |
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| Water collection. |
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| A little musical interlude. |
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| The Bobo Dioulasso mosque. |
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| Inside the mosque.
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And last but not least, here are a few pictures from my Italian R&R. Friends of my parents decided to spend a year in Italy, renting apartments in different parts of the country to explore different regions.
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