{"id":518,"date":"2012-07-23T19:19:55","date_gmt":"2012-07-23T19:19:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/?p=518"},"modified":"2014-06-18T02:36:39","modified_gmt":"2014-06-18T02:36:39","slug":"painted-houses-of-burkina-and-ghana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/?p=518","title":{"rendered":"Painted Houses of Burkina and Ghana"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Our last night in Burkina was spent bush camping near a National Park called Ranch Nazinga, a popular site for elephant viewing.\u00c2\u00a0 The late afternoon was another off-road excursion down a mud track\u00c2\u00a0 to try to get into a campement that was located some 5 kms off the main road.\u00c2\u00a0 There had been a great deal of rain the previous night and day and we had to traverse some wide stretches of water.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"900\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9Q93319jv_8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>for about 20 minutes until we arrived at the Nazinga River, which normally one just drives through.\u00c2\u00a0 However, it had swollen its banks and was about 100 yards wide where the track went in. \u00c2\u00a0 I waded in to check the depth, egged on by an audience of local teenagers who kept saying\u00c2\u00a0 &#8220;ca peut aller&#8221; (it can go).\u00c2\u00a0 Clearly for them this was a spectator sport.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_520\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Nazinga-Crossing1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-520\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-520  \" title=\"Checking the crossability of the Nazinga River - it got much deeper, and faster, further in\" src=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Nazinga-Crossing1-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Nazinga-Crossing1-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Nazinga-Crossing1-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-520\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wading in to assess crossability. It may not be clear here, but that is water as far ahead as you can see, and more water off to the right<\/p><\/div>\n<p>One of the older boys said &#8220;il y a un trou&#8221; (there is a hole) and that there was\u00c2\u00a0 another route upriver where they had put in some boards to help the crossing.\u00c2\u00a0 If we had had a couple more hours of daylight I might have tried it but there was quite a current and it was getting late so we decided that discretion was the better part of valour, swallowed our pride and turned around, much to the chagrin of the boys. The fact was that we were just looking for a place to camp for the night and there was no reason for us to risk having the Landy swept downriver.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 We retraced our route through down the wet track and found a nice place to camp on higher ground to pass a very pleasant night.<\/p>\n<p>At Nazinga we were only about 40 kms from the border, but before we left Burkina we took a detour east to the village of Tiebele where the Gournonsi practice of decorating the outside of the mud houses with painted geometric patterns is still evident.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Despite the poverty Tiebele almost felt touristy as we were flagged by prospective guides.\u00c2\u00a0 There is no system for assigning guides, you get the one that you decide to stop for, but once you have chosen one it seem the rest leave you alone.<\/p>\n<p>We were taken to a complex of mud houses that are apparently the residence of the Chief and his family, the guide said some 80 people lives within the walls.\u00c2\u00a0 It was a bit more refined than houses we have seen elswhere with some very unique features.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Landy-in-Tiebele.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-522\" title=\"Landy in Tiebele\" src=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Landy-in-Tiebele-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Landy-in-Tiebele-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Landy-in-Tiebele-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_523\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Mother-with-Child.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-523\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-523\" title=\"Mother with Child\" src=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Mother-with-Child-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Mother-with-Child-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Mother-with-Child-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-523\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mom and child in compound &#8211; note the Y branch roof ladders<\/p><\/div>\n<p>We did get a sense that maybe this was more of a museum than an actual house, it seemed too neat and clean.\u00c2\u00a0 There were some people around, and women on the roofs stirring grains as they dried in the sunshine, but the place felt like it might be more a place to show the tourists than an actual chief\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s compound.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0However that did not detract from the very unique structure, which had many features we had not seen in other villages we have visited.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Guide-in-front-of-Tiebele-House1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-525 alignleft\" title=\"Guide in front of Tiebele House\" src=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Guide-in-front-of-Tiebele-House1-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Guide-in-front-of-Tiebele-House1-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Guide-in-front-of-Tiebele-House1-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Pots-inside.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-526 alignright\" title=\"Pots inside\" src=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Pots-inside-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Pots-inside-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Pots-inside-768x1024.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We could see plenty of other similar structures around, it is much less disruptive that they have one they can take the tourists to without disturbing people.\u00c2\u00a0 That is just good community tourism management.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 In the Tata Somba houses we went to in Benin and Togo we had to pay a tip to people whose houses we visited, which was a bit awkward.<\/p>\n<p>On our way out of Tiebele we stopped at the local pump to fill up our 20 litre wash water jerry can.\u00c2\u00a0 We paid \u00c2\u00a0the Village Water Committee 200 CFA (50 cents) for the water, and another 200 CFA 50 to the fellow who lugged the full water can back to the vehicle.<\/p>\n<p>Our objective that night was Sirigu in Ghana,which is about 60 km from Tiebele by road through the border crossing but probably only about half that as the crow flies.\u00c2\u00a0 We spent the last of our CFA on diesel\u00c2\u00a0 at the last filling station in Burkina at Po before we crossed the border.\u00c2\u00a0 Then after crossing the border, just as we were clearing \u00c2\u00a0Customs on the Ghana side, the last of all the check points on both sides of the border, we realized that the filling station we had stopped at in Po an hour earlier had not put the gas cap back on. As it is a locking tank it meant a full set of our keys was also still in Burkina Faso.\u00c2\u00a0 Fortunately, officials in both countries were prepared to pretend we were still in Ghana while we quickly drove back to Po to pick up the keys and cap and waved us back through when we came back 20 minutes later.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think they would do that at the US-Canada border, but then they probably would not have forgotten to put the gas cap back on either.<\/p>\n<p>We arrived in Sirigu about 5 PM, about 20 km in down a laterite road from the highway.\u00c2\u00a0 En route via the laterite side road we were pulled over by a Ghana Immigration crew that were clearly driven by pecuniary motives, and were none too pleasant about it.\u00c2\u00a0 They asked why were going to Sirigu and laughed when we said we were going to visit the Women&#8217;s Co-op.\u00c2\u00a0 &#8220;Ohhh, going for a visit are you?&#8221;\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 It was almost funny to see their reaction when they realized that we had diplomatic passports and the Land Rover they had surrounded to hassle had diplomatic plates.\u00c2\u00a0 They apologized profusely for bothering us and let us move on, but left us with an impression that the Ghana Immigration Service is not the most professional of organizations.<\/p>\n<p>Sirigu and the surrounding region is also known for decorative painting of the houses.\u00c2\u00a0 There is a strong women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s co-operative in Sirigu that runs workshops and a guest house with a lovely grounds where we were able to camp for the night.\u00c2\u00a0 There was a Dutch man staying there who had taken workshops in pottery and basket-making, and an \u00c2\u00a0American woman doing research in the region for her Masters thesis in Art History.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 A pump on the grounds was visited by a steady stream of locals, mostly children, picking up water.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 As the co-op facilities are themselves painted in the local style we did not have to go anywhere\u00c2\u00a0 to see it up close.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_533\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Laura-on-a-Sirigu-Roof1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-533\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-533\" title=\"Laura on a Sirigu Roof\" src=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Laura-on-a-Sirigu-Roof1-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Laura-on-a-Sirigu-Roof1-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Laura-on-a-Sirigu-Roof1.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-533\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Laura on a Sirigu Roof, mimicking the cover of the 2009 Bradt Guide to Ghana<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_534\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Sirigu-House.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-534\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-534\" title=\"Sirigu House\" src=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Sirigu-House-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Sirigu-House-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Sirigu-House.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-534\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Craft Shop at Sirigu Women&#8217;s Co-operative<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Sirigu more modern and refined than what we saw in Tiebele, but does not convey the historical sense.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 We visited the co-op shop in the morning and were on our way to Bolgatanga by 10:00 AM.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>PS.\u00c2\u00a0 A systems note:\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 We have now put on more than 5,000 km on the Defender in the month we have been on the road.\u00c2\u00a0 Everything is working well.\u00c2\u00a0 The early charging problems we had with the second battery have disappeared and there is no longer any loss of coolant.\u00c2\u00a0 Incredibly, there is also no appreciable oil consumption &#8211; we have used less than a half litre of since we left Accra.\u00c2\u00a0 Even the air conditioning, for which I thought it was only a matter of time before something failed, is performing perfectly.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 We did discover an interesting electrical glitch related to the faulty\u00c2\u00a0 hazard light switch that is the stuff Land Rover folklore is made of.\u00c2\u00a0 I had discovered sometime before we left Accra that if I turned the ignition off when the flashers were on the motor keeps running.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 It was explained to me by Eric our electrician that the hazard switch overides other systems and that this can happen if the switch is faulty.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Replacing said switch did not make the cut when determinng the priority things to do before we left.\u00c2\u00a0 We discovered a new twist on the switch problem one day near Sindou when our stereo suddenly stopped working.\u00c2\u00a0 I thought it was simply a fuse and on inspection found that indeed there was a fuse that was blown that could have been the problem.\u00c2\u00a0 We were still looking for a place in Banfora to buy a fuse from when we put the flasher on to turn around and the stereo suddenly started working again.\u00c2\u00a0 We subsequently learned it was just a matter of playing with the hazard switch until the radio comes on, then it stays on, at least until we go into reverse gear, which for some bizarre reason knocks the stereo off again.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 I am not making this up.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Apart from that rather humorous glitch, and a slow leak in a rear tire that needs attention,\u00c2\u00a0 everything is humming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our last night in Burkina was spent bush camping near a National Park called Ranch Nazinga, a popular site for elephant viewing.\u00c2\u00a0 The late afternoon was another off-road excursion down a mud track\u00c2\u00a0 to try to get into a campement that was located some 5 kms off the main road.\u00c2\u00a0 There had been a great [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[16,25,30,13,24,20,14,15,22,35,34,21,23],"class_list":["post-518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-west-african-wander-taking-it-on-the-road","tag-4x4","tag-africa","tag-burkina","tag-defender","tag-expedition","tag-ghana","tag-land-rover","tag-overland","tag-overlanding","tag-sirigu","tag-tiebele","tag-west-africa","tag-wheatcroft","no-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}