Ouaga

You wouldn’t think a place called Ouagadougou would be a haven of civilization amid the African hinterland that is the Sahel. And you would be right – but it’s surprisingly close. My hotel in Ouaga is so much more comfortable than the one in Niamey, it’s hard to quantify the difference. … OK, wait – maybe that’s an exaggeration. I suspect it will be all too quantifiable when I get the bill. But you get my point.

Ouaga has paved roads and shops, and though it’s still most definitely West Africa, it has the sense of being Somewhere, as opposed to Nowhere (Niamey) and Hell (Abeche). In terms of its development, I would say it’s closer to Dakar than it is to its Nigerien neighbour.

Edit: I’ve come back to this entry 24 hours later, and I must say the shine has worn off a touch. It’s all relative, I suppose – Burkina is the second least developed country in the world; only Niger edges it out. A few minutes ago I decided to sit outside by the pool and order a sandwich while I wrote. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? Well it’s not. If this weren’t the only place I could get a decent wifi reception, I’d flee. It’s 37 degrees and it smells awful. I prefer not to speculate about the origin of the foul odor that’s wafting over the walls, but given the hygiene habits I’ve seen in this region, I don’t think it takes a creative mind to form suspicions. What a wonderful backdrop for lunch.

As usual, I’m working too hard to see much of the city, and so far I haven’t taken a single picture. There was a brief period where it looked like I was going to have to take a car to Ouaga from Niamey, following the usual cock-up by the agency that made my travel arrangements. It would have been a seven hour journey, and I hate cars. But I was still slightly disappointed when I made the flight, because I think it would have been really interesting to see the countryside. Instead all I have to show for my visit by way of pictorial evidence is a couple of (hilarious) postcards I bought in Niamey. (Wish you were here ones. I kid you not. “Wish you were here in Niger – because I HATE you.”)

I leave tomorrow night. Even though it’s Saturday, I’m not kidding myself – I’ll be working. Nor do I think it terribly likely that I’ll be back. But you never know – I thought that about Chad too, and look what ended up happening there. I spent enough time in Le Meridien at $300 a night that I probably could have afforded a house.