One of prime locations for spotting hypos in Burkina Faso is Tengréla lake in the country around Banfora. Being in the area I certainly didn’t want to miss it. So I saddled up my trusty Little red Ted and hit the road. I was still a bit cautious with him as he was throwing tantrums last night but today he was willing to go for a ride.
Now the best times to go hypo spotting is either early morning or late afternoon. Sunrise and sunset. When it is fresh and the sun is weak. It’s apparently what hypos like. It is also the time when all the tourists flock to the lake to see them. So I opted against those times and instead went there at noon. Hoping for a miracle.
And miracle it was. Until about 11am the sun was out in all its force but then gradually started hiding behind mist and clouds. The pirogue man warned me that there is only the slimmest of the slimmest of chances of seeing them. But we went out on the lake nonetheless. It was hot and stuffy but besides us there was only one other pirogue on the lake. Two fishermen were plying their trade. And that was it. Nobody else in sight wherever you turn. The whole lake for ourselves.
We were heading in the direction the pirogue man said was their preferred spot and if they were to be seen it would be there. Closing in we started hearing them making noises and his face changed. Suddenly he was full of optimism and assuring me it just might be my lucky day. And all of a sudden there was this loud sound followed by a splash of water some 20 or 30 metres to our left. And hypos started popping out one by one and playing in front of our eyes. We were there with them for the next 10, maybe 20 minutes just enjoying their show and joy. But there was one, the guardian, that had his eyes fixed on us just in case we might want to do something funny and interrupt their game. But he needed not worrying. As both of us, the pirogue man and me were more than happy to enjoy such privilege and have them to ourselves.