Climbing hills and other scenic sites (continued)

Other Scenic Sites

We also visited Lake Sonfon and Bumbuno Falls – both sites with cultural and spiritual significance. The visible lake of Lake Sonfon is quite small – especially since it is the end of the dry season – but grows large during the rainy season.

It is surrounded by a vast stretch of green. During the rainy season the water level rises quite a bit.

The area is supposed to be protected from hunting, farming and mining leaving no legal livelihood for the very impoverished village on the shore of the lake. I saw evidence of farming and mining – there is gold in the area.

They say that in the rainy season the water over the falls is even more impressive.

To visit most of these sites, the guide arranged with a local guide to let the community know I was coming. I would first be taken to see the chief and present a small gift of money and kola nuts. Kola nuts are the traditional gift to the family when proposing marriage but also used in general as a gift of respect.

My kola nut bundles were smaller and wrapped in less thread. The pink and white are the sweet and bitter kola. They are both pretty bitter and contain caffeine.

To reach Lake Sonfon and Bumbuna Falls, we drove for hours over very rough roads with homemade bridges past many villages. Here the guides check out a bridge before we attempt it in the car.

None of the villages have running water or electricity. There were a few solar panels and generators. Some villages have wells but many do not. Some have schools or small clinics but others have to walk for miles for those services. Villages with wells, schools or clinics often have them because of a donor so long term support or the ability to make repairs are lacking.

Land was burning everywhere to prepare for planting before the rainy season. We saw piles of timber from illegal logging and illegal gold mining. The exploitation of natural resources that has taken place for centuries has benefited few here. Communities have limited options to support themselves and few are environmentally sustainable. Still it is difficult to witness such blatant destruction.