Blogs from Senegal, Africa - page 3

26 février Martine a quitté Dakar pour se rendre au Kenya hier (le travail oblige). C'est donc aujourd'hui que j'organise ma première aventure en autonomie au Sénégal. Mon plan est d'aller dormir sur l'île de N'Gor, sur l'océan, tout au nord de la ville. L'endroit est supposément bien prisé des surfeurs, avec ses immenses vagues qui déferlent entre l'île et le quartier des Almadies sur le continent. Je prend donc place dans un taxi jaune, noir et déglingué qui me conduira à la plage de N'Gor d'où partent les pirogues pour rejoindre l'île. Pour m'y rendre, le chauffeur inconnu me demande 3000 francs CFA (+ ou - 7.50$) alors que je lui en offre 2000 (+ ou - 5.00$). On s'entendra à mi-chemin donc, au prix de 2500 francs CFA (+ ou - 6.25$). Tout se ... read more

22 février Debout dans la foule de la Gate 311, située dans un recoin de l'aéroport, j'attend mon tour pour entrer dans le shuttle bus qui me déposera à l'entrée de mon avion, tout là-bas, à la dernière des pistes de décollage de l'Atatürk (Turquie). Après son atterrissage au Sénégal, l'avion où je prendrai place repartira aussitôt pour Nouakchott, capitale de la méconnue Mauritanie. Voilà qui explique la présence de tout ces berbères zénaga qui m'encerclent donc, suant en grappe une désagréable odeur de friture au travers de leurs boubous et de leurs turbans d'hommes des sables. Je suis le noyau blanc dans l'attroupement. Les Mauritaniens discutent bruyamment. Il y a de la nervosité dans l'air. De toute évidences, les voyageurs en toges sont beaucoup plus à l'aise sur un chameau que dans un avion. ... ... 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

A pink lake, which is not very pink, a colonial city, which lacks colonial buildings, and an old town, which is not so old Here comes the second blog entry from our Christmas/New Year vacation in the Gambia and Senegal. Since we spent much more time in Senegal than in the Gambia we also have more to write about from there. We will divide the Senegal part of the trip into four separate blog entries. This one will focus on three places: Lake Retba, Dakar and Saint-Louis. Lake Retba Lake Retba is a lake just north of Dakar which is a popular place to visit for people who travel in Senegal. There is a beach near the hotels/resorts and there are several activities you can do but the main attraction is the lake itself. Lake Retba ... read more

Dear All Greetings once more from Dakar. I have come full circle now in my journey so far, although am only around halfway through the whole trip. I always find it interesting to return to the same place I started a trip in – when I arrived, and although I had very good first impressions still, Dakar seemed very much a step back from the development of Europe. It still is so, but after two and a half weeks in the Senegalese hinterland, and The Gambia, this place seems so developed in comparison, and it is almost a luxury being here. The Hotel Oceanic, although very basic by European standards, also seems luxurious now, with very quiet air-conditioning, hot water and a powerful shower, fast and continual WiFi connection, and no electricity or water cuts (these ... read more