10-Oct-2006 -- It was another beautiful day in Burkina, hundreds of miles from any major town, and a confluence point within sight; let's go for it! Kerry Spencer, Ashley Jackson, and myself (David Wood) had spent the previous 24 hours with the Pana people, located up in the northwest corner of Burkina Faso near the Mali border (the town's name is Oue or Wé depending on who is spelling). We left around lunch time and drove the 145 km (90 miles) or so to the closest town to this confluence point (Bomborokui). Still being about 10 km from the point, we looked for a road that might get us closer; there it is, a dirt road heading right towards it! We drove out of town a bit down that road, then turned off onto a donkey cart path weaving in and out of several types of planted fields. We got within what we thought was 300 meters of the point where the path ended. Grabbing a liter of water each and one digital camera, we took off across the millet field for the point, leaving the 4-wheel drive Mazda all alone.

Unfortunately, upon arriving at the "point" we found that the manually entered spot in the GPS was about 1.2 kilometers off from the correct point, and of course, that location was not in the direction of the truck! We walked through peanut fields, watermelon patches, 8 foot high millet stalks – and did I mention the sand-spurs?! Those awful little prickly things cause great pain for their tiny size; Ashley had them all over her open sandals and skirt.

Right next to the confluence point was a large tree which afforded a comfortable spot to rest in the shade away from the sweltering heat (100°F – 38°C). Another successful visit!