Viper Hill tour

We headed up Viper Hill on Sunday afternoon for a look around. It is located just outside the hospital compound, and is named as it is due to the Vipers that tend to come out and lay on the hot rocks in the afternoon sun. Thankfully God was looking out for us (me!) that afternoon so that we saw no snakes. We began the trek up on our own but quickly gained some tour guides! These little boys knew some French, mainly Hausa, and so in our limited way we communicated with them as best we could. The hill is not that high up, but it does give a lovely view of the village below and the outlying area around. It is really a beautiful area with some trees, red rocks and soil all around. The top of the hill is a plateau, and they have begun to dig trenches all along it, as shown in the picture. The boys explained to us that this is to become a garden of sorts - we understood it to mean they would plant vegetables there, and the trenches were for catching rainwater during the rainy season. All the trenches are dug by hand, and as we were looking around, saw in the distance some men doing just that. What very hard work, particularily in the hot African sun. The effort required to grow anything here is amazing. The trees located on our compound are strong and beautiful, but the gardeners have to soak them in so much water daily. We are extremely thankful for all the shade we can get!