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Djibril had a friend come from the USA to visit and he wanted to go to Ile de la Madeleine. I've wanted to go for some time, but you know how it is when you live someplace, you never get out and do the 'tourist thing'. Djibril opted out; said he was afraid of the snakes - but I am sure it was the pirogue ride that was daunting to him! In any case, Rob and I had a nice time. We rode over in a motorized canoe with a military man, several workers, and an Imam.
The island is about 4 km away from the mainland of Dakar, just off the Corniche Ouest, but you can see it clearly from shore. The biggest challenge was finding the embarkation point! The island is uninhabited and was declared a National Park in 1985. The main island is called 'Sarpan' (I have no idea why, I read that in a book; and it has two little inlets as well and several 'lumps of volcanic rock' which I suppose are too small to be called 'islands' themselves.
Our guide's name was Amadou, so I write what he has told me on blind
faith that it is accurate! I have done no historical research to verify any of the facts; that is my 'official disclaimer'.
The island is famous for the dwarf baobab trees, ‘Baobab Ne’ in French. They don't grow tall, but stay short and spread the branches out along the ground like more roots; this is said to be attributed to the wind patterns on the island and Amadou tells me that they are not found in any other place.
Amadou tells me that there are four islands surrounding Dakar, two are inhabited, Goree and Ngor and two are uninhabited, this one included. I asked him why and he explained that there are evil spirits on Ile de la Madeleine which make it impossible for people to live and cultivate here. You will see in the photos, a makeshift house perimter out of a pile of bricks; he said that in the 1700s a French priest who was being punished got sent to the island to live there as a missionary. Not exactly sure who he was supposed to be preaching or evangelizing to! In any case, Amadou said he died there because of the evil spirits (and well,
also he was about 90 or something, but whatever explanation works for you…). In any case, the structure is there to remind people of his presence and the contributions he made to the island; of course, what those contributions might be, are absolute mysteries since nobody actually lived there with the guy!
Beside the priest’s ‘house’ there is a little lookout tower where one can see the tiny ‘islands’ or rocks. You can also see Dakar but it always seems to be hazy. I’ve never been off Dakar and gotten a good skyline, the sky always looks grey; I am not sure if it is smog or cloud cover, but in any case, it always seems to be hanging over the city.
You can see the ‘Sacred Baobab’. This is where the aforementioned Imam comes almost every day to pray for Dakar. The park authorities don’t have any problem letting him come and they even assisted him with placing the sand and the rocks. He doesn’t even have to pay for the boat anymore!
You can see the workers cutting up the metal from the ship wreck into sheets to dispose of them later. At first I
thought they might be prisoners because they are accompanied by an armed guard, but Amadou says they are Port Authority staff members. Maybe the guy with the gun is to keep them from stealing anything like shells or sand…because there is not enough of that stuff of the mainland!
I had to put in some of my attempts at ‘artsy’ photos. I haven’t used these close-up lenses since I’ve left my Nikon N70 and gone digital. This is the first attempt with the Tiffin lenses and the D200! It was quite fun though, and I guess the shots are not all that bad; so much more challenging than with the macro point-and-shoot!
So now, when one walks around the island there are these beautful rocks. We were pretty far away, but approaching the cliffs, and I was asking Amadou all sorts of questions. We were discussing the rocks and he told me there was an old volcano not far off, so Ile de la Madeleine is essentially made from volcanic spew. But, you can see there are several different looks and colors. In my defense, from afar, the bottom rocks look black, the middle layer looks light brown
and the top layer resembles snow capped mountains. When one is approaching, the Cormoran (black birds - and again, a disclaimer - I know nothing about Ornithology and that is what Amadou said they are called and he is the one who told me how to spell it!) look kind of like penguins on a snow topped mountain (which is why I labeled the photos that way - I am aware that they are NOT penguins so nobody has to put that in a comment to me ! Anyway, after snapping several shots of the washed and rounded black rocks, I asked him why the others were brown; he explained that was from sand, dust and wind. So, I asked him about the white caps….here comes the “American Tourist Moment”, are you ready? He said, “Excuse me?” So, I repeated my question, ‘Why are those rocks white? Are they also volcanic rock or are they different? What makes them white?” He hesitated, and then added as politely as he possibly could I suppose, “Ugh, that is bird poop!” I about fell over laughing! I was waiting for this deep scientific explanation….and of course, the closer we got, the more the
smell confirmed his explanation! In the photos I took when we were closer to the nesting area, it is definitely clear that the rocks are covered in poop, but in my defense, from far away, you can’t tell at all! You can tell I know little about Geology as I do about Ornithology!
Approaching the nesting area, you can see all of these tiny trees. It is very surreal; I felt like a giant in a miniature land, as I towered over the tops of the trees! These may be the trees he called “Atropha Chevalier”, but honestly, it has been a really long time since I went and I don’t quite remember. In any case, you can see how the Cormorans have taken over the neighborhood and built nests all throughout the trees. You can also see that they need some really good ‘public health birds’ who are willing to share lessons on sanitation and safe removal of excreta! Can’t get through a blog without a good public health message!
There is a nice one of a Heron; he seemed to be the only one hanging out with the Cormorans. The white birds are “Phaeton” (insert disclaimer
here) or nicknamed ‘Paille en queue” after the long feather that looks like a straw coming from the tail. Check me out! I scaled the side of the poop covered rocks to get right in there where they are nesting. I felt at least 10 years younger! I got some great shots of this cute couple and then one loner who was hiding and finally got tired of my nosing around his pad; he came out and took off for me in a wonderful display of fluff and feathers!
This giant baobab made a great place to hang out for a few minutes and get back into the close up lenses for the bug shots. The shells are barnacles were also shot with those as well. That is all I can think to say for now. All in all, it was a wonderful little excursion and a great place for me to take my boys on ‘special time’. Although, be warned if you intend to visit, the cost is much higher than is noted in the Lonley Planet Guide. It was about $30 for two of us, instead of the listed $5. I always feel very helpful when I
can put ‘actual tourist info’ in my blogs since I know that is the true purpose of the blog; but I just like to write stories!
Sorry for any typos, my spell check is broken.
Happy trails…
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Dave Saum
non-member comment
how to grow dwarf baobabs?
Thanks for your great blog and pictures of Ile de la Madeleine. I recently bought some seeds on eBay from the dwarf baobabs on Madeleine island and I want to grow them inside my home near Washington, DC. I have grown some East African baobabs that are now 2 meters tall indoors after 3 years, and they have to hibernate every year due to their origins in East Africa where there is a dry season every year. I stop watering my baobabs from November to April every year so that they drop their leaves and go into hibernation. I have read that they will die without this hibernation. Now I wonder if the Madeleine dwarf baobabs need the same hibernation? I see from your pictures that there were no leaves on the trees when you were there. So that suggests there is a yearly hibernation for these West African boababs. Can you give me any information on this? Thanks, Dave (you can email me at: dsaum at infiltec dot com)