http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Senegal/Fatick/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Africa , Senegal , Fatick en-us Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:33:57 BST Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:33:57 BST After weeks of metropolitan comfort spent between Bamako and Ouagadougou the mere idea of hitting the devastated road of Africa again on vehicles that common sense would have scrapped two or three decades ago seemed just depressing. And as always happens in these cases when one must choose between a present of lazy convenience and the promise of an unsafe future the latter continues to be del http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Senegal/Fatick/Sokone/blog-216049.html Vanaf Dakar gaan we zuidwaarts even onder Dakar monden de rivieren Sin en Saloum uit in de Atlantische oceaan. De SinSaloum delta die zich daar heeft gevormd is een uitgestrekt gebied met moeras lagunes en mangrove bossen. We gaan met een relatief comfortabele maar zeker 20 jaar oude touringcar richting Mbour vandaar neem we een bushtaxi naar Joal Fadiout twee kleine dorpjes aan de rand v http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Senegal/Fatick/blog-158403.html Photos that slipped throughI'm sat in WAAME's office in the suburbs of Dakar trying to agree final expenses and taking advantage of the high speed internet connection while they discuss budgets amongst themselves in true Senegalese style I could be here some time I've just realised that there are many images of Foundiougne I haven't posted so thought I'd do this one last pictorial blog from Da http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Senegal/Fatick/Foundiougne/blog-100787.html Farewell FoundiougneI have one full day left in Foundiougne. Itrsquos been nearly seven weeks since I rolled into town full of enthusiasm and energy. There have been times where the weeks have felt like months as Irsquove struggled to understand conversations. But there have been times when Irsquove felt a real fondness for the town and I will be sad to say goodbye to some of the friends I http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Senegal/Fatick/Foundiougne/blog-100304.html The Village Road ShowAfter the success of the public education and demonstration day see ldquosunshine at nightrdquo the group decided that a trip out to some of the villages was absolutely essential to see if the demand they are sure exists is as massive as they believe. The group had already met many people from the villages who told them that their ldquoASERrdquo Association Sngale http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Senegal/Fatick/Kamatane/blog-99585.html La LutteldquoLa Lutterdquo has several meanings in French itrsquos often used to signify a ldquostrugglerdquo or ldquofightrdquo as in ldquothe fight against povertyrdquo. When it comes to traditional wrestling though La Lutte surely has to mean the struggle the largely female audience has to contain itself.Picture in your mind those wellscreened images of screaming women a http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Senegal/Fatick/Foundiougne/blog-99584.html The End of RamadanKorit is the second biggest day in the calendar for Senegalrsquos majority Muslim population. Also known as Eid Al Fitr Korit marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan a month of fasting and prayer which needs to be carefully and sensitively considered when running a four week training programme that coincides exactly.Training schedules have to be weighted towards theory http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Senegal/Fatick/Foundiougne/blog-97589.html Sunshine At NightldquoSoleil Pendant La Nuitrdquo Sunshine At Night was just one of the posters we put up around Foundiougne's market place early on Tuesday morning before the traders arrived. Tuesday is the townrsquos weekly market and the road outside WAAMErsquos Centre De Resources is always packed with people overloaded buses and carts goats sheep donkeys pigs and hungry looki http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Senegal/Fatick/Foundiougne/blog-97587.html A Storm In A PirogueMy first truly free weekend since arriving in Senegal and I was really excited at the prospect of getting out on the water in a Pirogue the long narrow motorised canoes which have hit the news recently as desperate people make desperate efforts to reach the Canary Islands. Our pirogue was designed to carry 20 people but felt amazingly unstable with just ten. The ones tackling http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Senegal/Fatick/Foundiougne/blog-95623.html Therersquos more to life than goatsIrsquove been a ldquoresidentrdquo of Foundiougne since the 16th September Two and a half weeks doesnrsquot make me a fully fledged resident I know but itrsquos enough for me to start feeling a bit more involved in the town and slightly less obsessed by the weather. Itrsquos long enough for me to know the difference between two different types of http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Senegal/Fatick/Foundiougne/blog-94289.html An Introduction To TeachingIt wasnrsquot a good start. A weekend in Dakar to try and find some music and dancing turned into a 5 hour journey in a stress position crammed into an ldquoAlhamrdquo exhaustion headache fever chills and an early night. Decided to see a doctor in Dakar as I had some classic malaria symptoms and my legs had been completely perforated by mosquitoes in my first http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Senegal/Fatick/Foundiougne/blog-94288.html Life with the goatsIrsquove been in Foundiougne for 5 full days 3 of them with no electricity which is ironic since Irsquom here to teach a group of youngsters how to build market and sell small solar panels for powering radios charging mobile phones and charging small LED lamps. Funny but the first thing people worried about when the power went off was how they would charge their phones http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Senegal/Fatick/Foundiougne/blog-90638.html HumidityIf you could see this intense humidity the way you can see a dense freezing fog solidify the air on a cold January morning you wouldnrsquot be able to see past your elbows. The air has a density that seems to block your pores fills your nostrils your lungs your eyes your ears and your mouth.Your eyes if they could penetrate the hot fog would see a thick cloud of chocking black smo http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Senegal/Fatick/Foundiougne/blog-90637.html The Ginger Starts to WiltI knew that it was going to be humid. I knew that it was going to be very hot. And I knew that there would be mosquitoes lots of them. But I really hadn't quite prepared myself for Foundiougne in the rainy season. I remember sitting in the solarcentury office in London back in July as the temperature hit 34.9C and everyone wilted. I remember trying not to complain kno http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Senegal/Fatick/Foundiougne/blog-90636.html We took a septplace most of the way to the Sine Saloum delta. Me Luke and a Senegalese man were shoved into the back row where the windows donrsquot open. The men in front of us didnrsquot open theirs so there was no airflow. About an hour into the trip we started noticing a really strong exhaust smell and it felt like hot air was blowing onto us. We asked the middlerow men to open http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Senegal/Fatick/Ndangane/blog-27037.html