What some travelers to West Africa are missing

by | Mar 5, 2013 | W. Africa

living_room

lounging with a Tuareg family from Timbuktu in Bobo-Dioulasso

I have not yet posted the sequel to the piece on toits rouges. I was traveling to Burkina Faso, attending the FESPACO film festival and spending a few days in Bobo. I will finish that post up in the next few days, but right now I want to write a short note about something that I think some travelers to West Africa are missing out on.

I spent a good part of last Thursday laying on a carpet, taking tea, falling in and out of sleep, talking and joking with a family and a couple of friends. I spent Sunday doing more of the same, only with a few card games thrown in and the carpets moved to an outdoor patio to profit from the cool evening air.

Travelers who are chasing sights and attractions have a tendency to miss this — the simple pleasure of sitting and being with people. Perhaps they don’t know that you can make discoveries about a place while lounging around a living room. Maybe it sounds too much like “doing nothing.”

If you are planning on visiting the region, go ahead and pencil in some time to post up in a living room, under a tree, on a street corner, wherever, with new friends and the only objective being to enjoy each other’s company. It will be worthwhile. Promise.

8 Comments

  1. Stephanie Waasdorp

    Cool! This is the best about visiting new countries and this is why I don’t really like traveling from one recommended spot to the other… you miss the time to just be with people.

    Reply
  2. Monique

    I’m all for being not doing……especially when I travel. All that ticking off places on maps and guidebooks, makes me dizzy.

    Reply
  3. Sophie

    I once spent practically an entire day at a market in Harare, sitting on a crate, doing absolutely nothing. The world came to me – people selling popsicles, hardboiled eggs, beer, others just to chat. It has been about 15 years, but I still remember it vividly.

    Reply
    • phil

      Sounds perfect!

      Reply
  4. Chantal

    Back in Europe yesterday after four weeks in Ouaga… harsch !! A collegue of mine was asking me before I left : “Four weeks… what are you going to do such a long time there ?!” Not understanding when I answered that I won’t travel anywhere, won’t visit any perticular site, won’t do any safari or so. “Just” lounge with friends, drink tea, talk, laugh, dream, drink a second tea, play with children, rebuild the world, smile to people I can’t communicate with, eat what comes around, drink a third tea, and so on. “Just” so much !!

    Reply
    • phil

      Well said, Chantal!

      Reply
  5. sylvester

    You seem to do a lot of travelling, ever been to Nigeria ?

    Reply
    • phil

      not yet!

      Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Scoot West Africa

Want to travel with me in West Africa? A friend and I run scooter trips in the region. scootwestafrica.com.

Postcards from Timbuktu


Send a postcard from Timbuktu to anywhere in the world with just a few clicks on a website. Support former tourist guides and artisans in the process.