In the AM, we were greeted by smiling black faces. Luckily, I had been up before dawn
for my diarrhea break!. We walked the dogs, and saw two more dogs like the parti male.
While we ate breakfast, more and more people came. Just standing outside the car, talking
and laughing. Women also. Made two more pics of the other dogs with three boys. These
people LOVE to have their pictures made. So after that we left and continued to Aribinda.
The market in Aribinda hadn’t really started yet. Lots of the booths were empty -
only found spices and food for sale. Uschi bought some macaroni, biscuits and evaporated
milk and we left. The road after Aribinda was very good. We saw lots of dogs but none of
good quality. After seeing real Azawakhs in Northern Niger, these really must be mongrels.
I don’t want to breed with them. I wish that I had taken the first red puppy that we
were given. Even if we didn’t see the parents, at least he was in the region with the
real Azawakhs. There were some ugly dogs in North Niger, but they were near the big towns,
not in the remote areas and they were still better than anything we’ve seen in
Burkina.
Tonight, we parked in a lonely spot. We will be in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso tomorrow
afternoon. I feel a bit better, but I’m out of Lomotil and relying on Immodium. Man,
is it harsh. Went into the bush after we parked and stripped and bathed ALL OVER. It felt
good to have the cool breeze on my bare skin while I bathed. Tonight Uschi is making
Guinea soup. The meat is dry and not at all fatty, so I think I can at least get some
broth down. Uschi is worried about my electrolyte levels with my not being able to eat
anything. All I’ve had for two days is a bit of cake and tea with sugar. I’m
sure losing weight. And my feet are flat - no
swelling at all that I had at first. I hope I can get something down tonight for the
Flagyl is really harsh on an empty stomach. Also really bitter!
There are some empty huts near our parking place. I found a nice piece of smooth wood for
Rhonda, hope customs will let it through. No visitors last night, we sat in front of the
fire for a long time.
