I can only say that this was the best New year celebration I have ever attended! After bobo we headed to Banfora to camp at the Karfiguela Falls. We were on our way down a bumpy road towards the falls when we came across a bridge that was out. The locals had made a detour around the bridge but we didn't think the truck would be able to pass through! Our New Year's eve plans were rescued by a young man on a motorbike. He lead us down another route through the sugar cane fields, winding around the irrigation equipment until we reached our destination! In order to get up to the water falls you had to walk through a huge forest of Mango trees, and up a hill. The falls were amazingly beautiful and oh so refreshing to swim in!
Of course, we had ourselves a rockin party and spent tons of time hanging out with the local kids. They loved playing with our soccer ball and the little girls in their party dresses really enjoyed doing yoga with Ivy!
The absolute best part was a village tour and New Years party I was lucky enough to stumble into! At the campsite, we met a young kid named Abdul who offered to take a few of us up to his village for a tour! We went with him and he assured us our presence would be no intrusion. In fact, he said the people would be really amazed to see us there! What an experience! As we walked through the village, he showed us how the families organize their huts around a central courtyard area and even took us into his hut so we could see his personal space. As we walked from family to family, children and grandmothers alike came out to wish us a happy new year and talk to us! In the evening, we were invited back to the village New Year celebrations. All the ladies and children had their hair done beautifully and everyone was celebrating. In one section of the village about 50 people were crowded around a 27" television to watch a movie, in another section their was a full bar and dance party talking place! We danced to modern French music. The young mothers danced with the babies on their backs and crowded around to dance with us! At the end, Abdul walked us back to camp holding the hands of his new friends ( Zach and Shaun) and introduced me to his sister. This young guy was doing his best to learn English but has no access to a teacher and very few books available. He enjoyed the time he spent with us, learning new words and doing his best to put his English to the test! We gave him a French -English travel dictionary off the truck and showed him how to use it! He was super happy with the book and we were super happy to hit up a real village that was not on the tourist track!
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