So You Want to Visit Burkina Faso!

While I am cognizant that Burkina Faso will probably not be the next Turks and Caicos, some of you expressed erstwhile interest in coming to visit Burkina Faso. Dave and I would love to have visitors and we even have a lit pico upon which you can sleep at our house. Orodara, the mango capital of Burkina Faso, also features the lovely Hotel le Prestige, a Western-style hotel that is easily one of the fanciest in the region but still would probably be a 2 star according to US standards.

First and foremost, here is a non-inclusive list of reasons to come to Burkina Faso:
-Is there even a slight possibility that you would ever again have someone to visit in Burkina Faso, especially anyone as lovable as me and Dave?
-Life here is very cheap by US standards, so while you might have to spend a bit more on a plane ticket, once you’re actually here you will spend very little money.
-There are great nature sites to see, such as the waterfalls and hippo lake of Banfora.
-The Burkinabé are renowned for their welcoming and friendly disposition.
-See wonders never before seen by most American eyes, such as butter and mayonnaise that don’t require refrigeration, pigs and goats wandering the streets and teapots not being used to serve tea (actual purpose to be revealed upon arrival).

Here is what you need to know in planning your trip:
-Before you leave, you will have to start taking Malaria prophylaxis. Volunteers here take two kinds, Mefloquin (weekly dosage) and Doxycycline (daily dosage). I have heard that Mefloquin is a bit more, shall we say, prophylactic.
-Your doctor will probably recommend that you get a whole other slew of shots / vaccinations to prepare for your visit here. We had to get Hep A, Hep B, rabies, inter alia.
-Travel health insurance is strongly recommended. If you have to get air-evacuated back to the US for a sudden illness or other medical emergency, the cost can go north of $25,000.
-One must fly through Paris to get to Ouagadougou. Air France is the only US Government approved airline that flies here. I’ve heard a lot of volunteers use Air Maroc sans problème, except that they only fly to New York and Montréal in North America.
-The bus trip from Ouaga to Orodara is approximately seven hours. Five hours of the trip is in an air-conditioned bus. Of course, if you came to visit we would retrieve you in Ouaga and escort you down to Orodara.
-There isn’t an abundance of “touristy” stuff to do here. Dave and I primarily spend our time working on sustainable development, planning lunch and dinner, reading and playing scrabble.

We seriously would love visitors! No stay too short or long. We’ll be sure to have plenty of fresh mangos, papayas and avocados on hand in anticipation of your arrival.