Hettie, Laura, and I headed up north to the backcountry for a 2 day safari adventure. Living IN the ship is a whole world of its own, so it was nice to actually be off the ship and enjoying being IN Africa and being completely immersed its in incredible culture and people. We took a 8 hr bus ride complete with a full 8 hrs of blaring African Pop music and soap operas, ha. and a 4 hr off roading drive into the Pendjari National Park.
Considering we had "speed racer" as our chauffer we didn't scare off all of the animals! We saw baboons, elephants, antelope, alligators, buffalo, hippos and much more. Lions and cheetahs have not been seen in the park since Feb. The early morning time when they may be seen, our car broke down (luckily not in the field!) so if you know the scene from "Little Miss Sunshine" when the whole family is running behind the car and trying to jump in after it starts.... well my friend...that would be us ;) and we missed them possibly coming for a morning drink at the watering hole. 
( this particular elephant SUPRISED us as he came up from the river and we got a little too close , My head was out the window mind you at this time until I heard its trunk making a charging trumpet sound. yIkes!)
Other fun was had as well, with the right connections you too can illegally enter Burkina Faso for a short ride and eat FuFu with the security guards!
Almost 30 years ago they were almost totally unknown to the Western world and remain one of the most untainted tribes left. For hundreds of years they have been building their mud fortresses in the Atakora Mountains. These huts are 3 stories tall, the first level being to hold storage and their livestock at night, as well as the elderly of the family as they cannot easily climb the stairs. If anyone tries to attack them the elderly can yell up to the rest of the family and warn them before the enemy climbs through the kitchen and then out to the roof where the children sleep, food is dried, and up another level into the tower where the parents and babies sleep. There was a 3 day old baby inside this one when we climbed up :) The grandparents were almostly naked and passed out for their siesta to the side of the house when we came, and stayed that way the whole time! The small lump with bird poo and feathers on it at the lower half of the above picture is the voodoo shrine where they sacrifice their chickens to keep the Gods happy.
The last night we watched an amazing thunderstorm come across the town. It was the first sign of rainy season coming and I can't tell you how felt it good to be cooled off by the fresh rain. On the bus ride home we saw tons of children going to and from school in there little uniforms, not only are they adorable to watch, but encouraging to see as its a sign of the importance of education they emphasize in the country compared to other areas of W. Africa that are more underdeveloped. The more I am here in W. Africa, the more I see education really is there key here to rise above the poverty that surrounds every city and every village here.
