Blogs from Saint-Louis Region, Senegal, Africa

E' ormai sempre piu' comune da parte dei viaggiatori via terra lungo la costa occidentale dell'Africa, cercare di evitare la famigerata frontiera tra Mauritania e Senegal posta nella citta' di Rosso: qui i cordiali doganieri mauritani, che ti hanno accolto col sorriso e a braccia aperte entrando dal Marocco, si trasformano in veri e propri vampiri assetati di sangue, in questo caso dei vostri soldi; faranno di tutto per estorcervi le ultime Ouguiya rimaste nel vostro portafogli inventandosi ogni piu' ridicola scusa. Caldo, traffico e confusione non fanno che aumentare il disagio ed il tempo necessario per superare quelst'ultimo ostacolo prima di poter uscire finalmente dal paese. La soluzione? Usare il valico alternativo di Diama. Si tratta di un piccolo villaggio sperduto in mezzo alle paludi non raggiungibile direttamente dalla capitale Nouakchott, e qui sorge dunque ... read more

2 mars Je suis de retour sur Dakar maintenant, après avoir quitté l'île de Gorée, étape par étape. À mon arrivée chez Martine, il n'y a de présent qu'Adeline (la gouvernante), Praline le vieux chien et un agent de sécurité fixé à sa guérite, 24 sur 24. Martine, elle, est toujours au Kenya pour le travail. Mon hôtesse m'a gentiment remit une clé de la maison lors de son départ. "Évite les hôtels sur Dakar. Tu dépenseras ton argent sur autres choses" qu'elle m'avait dit à mon arrivée au Sénégal. C'est que le Pays est une destination plutôt dispendieuse pour les voyageurs à budget. À date, je n'ai pas pu payer sous le 15 000 francs CFA (+ ou - 35$ canadien) pour mes chambres d'auberge, aussi franchement basiques étaient-elles, et puis les auberges à dortoirs ... read more

Senegalese wildlife - mainly birds and goats If you are a nature buff and want to see wildlife in Senegal your best bet would be to go for bird watching. There are several national parks around famous for the abundant birdlife. If you want to see other wildlife than birds in Senegal there is at least one wildlife park, Fathala Reserve, where you can see typical African animals such as elephants, giraffes, zebras and lions. When we read about that park we got the feeling that it is small park, so small that it might feel a bit like a zoo. Also the animals there have been relocated to Fathala Reserve from other parts of Africa because in West Africa they have not been roaming around in the wild for many decades. We have seen all ... read more

Last year in Senegal I decided to leave the safe bustling compound of my family and being an independent (budget) adventurer, chose to travel by public (shared) taxi from the depot in downtown Dakar to St Louis in the north, 6 hours away by car; there(theoretically ) I would once again meet up with my sister and The Truck. There are many nuances to this mode of travel that are revealed only as the journey unfolds. First of all one has to wait until the taxi is full before leaving the depot...this can take quite a while as there are not exactly hoards of people making this journey on a random weekday morning. The next problem is that if you want a window rather than a middle seat where you run the risk of being sandwiched ... read more

We are now in the very north of Senegal in Saint Louis, an island town in the middle of the broad Senegal river. There is just one bridge in from the mainland and we immediately realised how small the island is, just over a mile long and quarter of a mile wide. From this little place, France ruled Senegal, Mali, Mauritania and the Ivory Coast – more than five-times the size of France. Today, it is a sleepy and dusty town of old colonial buildings in various states of disrepair. Although sand now covers the streets, it is easy to picture this as a thriving city, controlling the river from the grand buildings. Old warehouses face the main street with impressive façades and balconies. At their rear are the quays where huge cranes wait ready to ... read more