A week in Senegal

On Feb. 11th, I left Mali in a big bus without air-conditioning or windows that open. It took about 20 hours to get from Kayes, Mali to Dakar, Senegal. There were 20 other Mali PCVs on my bus, and 70 on another bus all headed to WAIST- the West African International Softball Tournament that is held in Dakar every year.

                                                              Cheering on the "A" team

The countries closest to Senegal with Peace Corps presence usually show up and put together a team. This year there were volunteers from: Senegal, Mali, The Gambia, and "refugees" from the closed programs of Guinea, Mauritania and Madagascar.
 Feb. 12 
We found the housing that Peace Corps Senegal had set up for us and then went out to The Viking in Dakar to listen to some live music.
Feb. 13
I watched a few softball games at the American Club and then left with some other volunteers for downtown. We saw the presidential palace. We were walking along the road on the coast called "Corniche Est" when I had my first near-pickpocketing. There are GORGEOUS hotels and restaurants along this stretch of coast, and the thieves hang out to catch tourists. I got a falafel sandwich at Ali Baba's and then we went to N'Ice Cream got triple chocolate ice cream. It was heaven- like a creamy brownie. As the sun was setting, we stopped on a beach where fishermen bring in their daily catches. There is a small market next to it, and we walked around and saw barracuda, moray eel, flounder, octopus, shrimp, groper, parrot fish and all sorts of other strange sea animals. That night, we went back into downtown for some Portugese-influenced Senegalese food at Chez Lutcha. The menu has about 200 items, the portion sizes are huge and the food is more than worth the price. I got a delicious shrimp curry.
Feb. 14
We took the ferry to Goree Island off the coast of Dakar. It was where slaves were taken prior to being shipped to North and South America and Europe. Now days it is a beautiful island with brightly-painted buildings where lots of artists and shop-keepers live.

There is a Musee des Esclaves (Slave Museum) which is where the slaves were actually housed. It has been restored into a historical site and museum. The ambiance is expectedly heavy inside.

 Shackles used in the slave trade

Afterwards, we ate catfish sandwiches on the beach and watched some men practice traditional Senegalese wrestling- I thought their singlets were a nice touch. That evening was a Peace Corps party at the Oceanium, where I met Medy Naamane. Happy Valentine's Day to me, because he invited me to Morocco the next day. The next day I also decided I would go.

While all the other Peace Corps volunteers I traveled to Senegal with left for various destinations (St. Louis, Toubab Diallo, The Gambia) I stuck around Dakar and bought a plane ticket to Casablanca, where Medy's family lives.

More about that leg of my vacation to come :) Once again, you can see ALL my pictures from my trip on facebook, or by following this link.