Koubri....A picture tale
on Wonderous Wanderland (Burkina Faso), 03/May/2011 08:22, 34 days ago
At about 30km to the South of Ouaga:Hidden within a quiet forest, the friendly yoghourt-making nuns of La monastère des Benedictines de Koubri welcome you for a silent (re-)treat: no sound but the birds singing, crickets chirping, insects buzzing, leaves rustling and....well, nuns singing in the (very) early morning mass :).The yoghourt is sold in every supermarket and shop in Ouaga - and other cities throughout Burkina - and seems to be their trademark. But the nuns - and monks who live in another building, separated from the nuns by the farm where they grow some of their produce and keep their cows and chickens - also make all sorts of jam (papaya, mango, pineapple,...), fruit juices, honey, bissap wine, washing up liquid (!). They sell handmade postcards, candles, rosary's, crosses, etc. and they run a maternity hospital nearby. So besides their strict praying-routine during the day, they seem to be quite productive to say the least.Following that same bumpy road further south towards Kombissiri you come across tiny villages, big lakes, and green fields. Playing children start screaming enthousiastically when we pass by and wave frantically"Nazarra, nazarra,....Bonjour les Blancs!" Sitting on the back of the motorbike, I almost get a glimpse of what it must feel like being the queen of England - and I keep practizing on 'the appropriate wave' :). It also reminds me that next time we take a trip out of Ouaga I have to bring something - pencils, balloons, sweets,... - anything to give to the children.Finally we arrive at theAuberge Les Bougainvilliers,a hotel owned by a Burkinabe business-woman but run by a Belgian (!) woman fromLiège.The hotel is set in a nice green environment, surrounded by orchards full of papayas, bananas, oranges, lemons and mangos. There are strong smelling Eucalyptus trees and the beautifully coloured flowers of the Bougainvilliers. The rooms are nice but a bit over-priced - and so is the menu. There is a swimming pool, table tennis and petanque, you can hire mountain bikes and even try quad-biking to explore the area. It is obviously aiming at a good-earning (mainly) white public, which can afford to come all the way out here in nice big 4 x 4 cars for a nice sunday afternoon visit with the family. And with success too!For me personally, the big attraction of this place has nothing to do with the pool or the food but all the more with the fact that it's situated next to a huge lake. We have visited theAuberge twice now and while most people are crowding in and around the pool, I spent most of my time sitting on the concrete pontoon overlooking the lake. The pontoon early in the morningThe pontoon at sunset The sun is just a misty and hazy spotlight behind the grey clouds.The water mirrors the same greyness and reflection."As above, so below" ;)Here and there a few dots of colour where long slim boats carry lone fishermen across the water. They are pushing themselves forward quite handily with the help of a long stick, throwing in their nets while balancing on their rocky boats.They also fish without boats. This man was walking up and down the lake in the burning sun, throwing and catching his net for hours on end.