Senegal- Ease?

We arrived in Senegal at night and after a long, hot taxi ride with lungs full of exhaust, we were both feeling bit overwhelmed, and drawing uncomfortable parallels with previous difficult places we’ve been. On our first morning, Rani helped me get my legs under me and go talk to people in my broken French, and arrange some transportation. Just about everywhere we went was a mistake of miscommunication, but we did end up seeing some of the sights.

Day 1: we did a self-made tour to the Village Des Artes, which is sort of a commune of working artists. We walked around awkwardly with our taxi driver making some introductions, then settled in and got to see some artists at work. We saw how a wax sculpture is turned into a bronze one, some batik making, and a number of painters. Lunch on the beach, then resting at the hotel. We were lucky to overlap a bit with cousins Julie and Ross, along with kids Libby and Nate, who are turning out to be really interesting people. A nice visit to their school, and dinner at their nicely appointed apartment were an important step in making us feel more comfortable. It was great to see some familiar faces!

 Day 2: We did an organized tour of the sights, including the giant African Renaissance Monument (and it's interesting origin and many questionable interpretations), and Goree Island with it's dark history of the slave trade.

Day 3: David and Kendra and the kids arrived  and we all spent a day lounging around the hotel restaurant and swimming pool, along with Julie and Ross and kids, and then it was off to their place in Thies the following day.

Day 4: A brief visit to the Musée des Civilisations Noires in Dakar for a some very interesting art viewing, then out to Thies in taxis, with a dinner at a favorite local spot of DK, where I confirmed that Monkfish (lotte in French) is pretty damn good.

Day 5: Hanging out playing card games with the Kids in Thies, with a pretty great meal of rice and fish served on a big platter on the floor.

Days 6-11: On to Saly, a vacation spot on the coast, where we luxuriated in our private pool, and the compound public pool, and the ocean. Card games, cooking fish, dance parties, and even some synchronized swimming from the Yoder-Linds. 

Days 12-14: Into the Saloum Delta and the village of Toubakouta, where we stayed at a nice lodge and did a couple of bird watching trips. We journeyed to ile des oiseaux, where we saw clouds of terns, cormorants, and gulls in their breeding grounds. David, Rani, and I also took an evening excursion, where we stopped for awhile and watched flocks of egrets and a variety of other birds coming in to roost on a small, isolated bunch of mangroves.

Day 15 was a long, hot day of frustrating travel to The Gambia, with some trouble (solved by money) at both borders, an exhausting ferry ride, and a pizza extravaganza when we finally arrived at our guest house. Gambia turned out to be a bit of a dud, and we probably should have just stayed in Senegal. We played in the pool, had a lovely co-anniversary dinner with Dave and Kendra sans kids, and went out the last night with everyone. Rani and I had an extra day to spend in the pool and relax before the next leg of our trip, as we sent the Yoder-Linds back to Thies to continue with site visits for their students. 

I had sort of forgotten how frustrating and taxing travel in Africa could be, and this leg really wore us out. For me, the beat-down brokenness of everything, along with the dust and the heat, along with just not knowing how things work brought a lot of anxiety and stress. I am impressed by people who chose to live and work in places like this, and I will try to remain hopeful for those who don't have a choice.

On a brighter note, it was an absolute pleasure to spend so much time with my brother and sister in law and their three soon-to-be-teen children. I can't wait until the next time we can travel together.