Trip to Koudougou - Part 2

After about three-quarters of an hour on the Ouaga-Bobo road, heading towards the Koudougou turnoff, Aristide asked me to pull over. We were passing through the village of Kokologho and he wanted to buy some chickens for us to eat for lunch after we got to Hotel Photoluxe. I was surprised! I thought we’d be buying our meals in the hotel restaurant or at one of the several roadside eateries that were sure to be nearby. But when I asked, Aristide informed me that the hotel had a kitchen and he was planning on giving the chickens to the cook to prepare for us. I’d never heard of doing this at a hotel before (even in Burkina), but figured that since his family runs the place, he must have special privileges.

The women stayed by the minibus with the children while we men wandered into the Kokologho market in search of chickens. After a good chunk of time walking and looking, we finally found the poultry part of the market. The guys began joking that they shouldn’t have taken me along with them. Having someone with white skin at their side would surely result in a hefty increase in prices! Haha, this may have indeed turned out to be the case because Aristide didn’t think the chickens that were being offered for sale were worth the price being asked for them! He determined to look elsewhere along our route. But before leaving the area, we noticed piles of guinea fowl eggs for sale on the ground. Aristide asked me if we liked eggs. When I said yes, he bought two dozen or so to give to the hotel cook for our breakfast on Sunday morning.

As we started back to the minibus, a guy rode by on a bicycle with several larger roosters hanging by their legs from the handlebars. “Now those look like the kind of chickens I want,” exclaimed Aristide. “At least they have some meat on them!” Stopping the man, he negotiated a favourable price and purchased two roosters, after which we walked the rest of the way back to the minibus.

Throwing them in the back of the bus with the baggage, we all then climbed back into the vehicle and continued on our way to Koudougou. I drove a little faster than before. I wanted to get to Koudougou before those chickens decided it was time for a bathroom break!