Oct 16-22: Dakar, Senegal

 I knew Kenya was a mostly very coddled experience, but going to Dakar was still quite a shock to my system. First of all, it was hot and sticky and did I mention steamy? I don’t think I’ve sweated that much in my life. Apparently it can be quite temperate most of the year, but I happened to be there in the hot season. 


Dakar is on the westernmost edge of the African continent.

Then, of course, there was the language barrier - everyone there speaks French, Wollof, and other native languages. Some people spoke some English, but definitely not everyone. 

Then there’s the traffic - Dakar is on a point of land, and a big chunk of its center used to be an airport and is still closed off. There are often only two main roads to get from one area to another, and they are just jammed with cars, buses, some motorbikes, and even a few two-wheeled carts pulled by a horse or donkey! At one point it took us 90 minutes to move 5km, and my travel companions marveled that it was the worst traffic they’d ever seen, after traveling to and living in many parts of Africa and Asia. 






There were also good things, of course! I was staying with friends who’d only been in the country for a week, and it was good to get to spend time with them after only brief visits over the last 10 years or so. The cost of living is such that they have a person who tidies their house and cooks them dinner, so I got some fantastic Senegalese food right at the dinner table! I also got to go to a local small grocery store, which I didn’t get to do in Kenya.  

We also visited a museum, a historical site, and did an overnight getaway; I’ll share about those separately.

My overall impression of Senegal is that it’s more prosperous than Kenya. Pollution is a big challenge - lots of really old cars on the road. The people were fabulously dressed in styles ranging from African - brightly colored fabric, long draping lines on both the women and men - to more Western with beautifully fitted suits. It was an interesting experience and I’m glad I had friends to help make it easier.


Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 29, 2022 at 12:45 PM

    I keep wanting to "like" individual pictures. This continues to look amazing!

    ReplyDelete

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