Weekends in Dakar

I went kayaking this morning. The water was a bit choppy but it was still a nice paddle. Seeing the coastal cliffs from the water, looking down onto the rocks below and jumping in for a swim is all part of the fun of a kayaking outing here in Dakar. I went for the first time about 2 months ago and I have gone several times since. When the water is calm and there is no wind my favorite route takes us out to Cap Manuel where you can see Ile de la Madeleine in the distance and waves arriving from “au large” (the wide open ocean) crashing into the cliffs at the Cap. I keep a nice safe distance from the cliffs but even from afar it is impressive to see. We also frequently stop in one of the bays that offer a bit of protection from the big waves and tie our kayaking together and everyone jumps in the water. Today even with a little wind, not to much sun, and larger waves the water temperatures was still fairly warm.

My weekends in Dakar have been busy for the last 2 months or so. I have spent several weekends working a few hours on various pressing work projects and also of course like everywhere I have ever lived weekends are the time to run errands and relax. Additionally, I usually have one outing on the weekends which involves the water in some way. In recent weeks those have included a visit to all three of the islands surrounding Dakar: Ile de Ngor, Ile de la Madeleine, and Ile de Goree.

Ngor Island is a great place to go for a swim and some delicious very fresh grilled fish. It is a short 5 minute boat ride from the main land. There are no cars on the island but some permanent or weekend homes along with eateries and some tourist shops. It is near the Point des Almadies which is the western most point in Africa. From the island you have an unobstructed view towards the Americas (Caracas, Venezuela, is more or less at the same level as Dakar)… about 3,200 miles or 5,200 km away.

Madeleine Island is a bird reserve about 4 kilometers off Dakar. It is a rocky place with some grasses and low growing trees that with stand the winds off of the ocean. In the period that I went there were only cormorant everywhere. There is a beautiful protected cove on the island where you can snorkel. It was like being in a tropical fish aquarium, blue, green, rainbow, and purple striped fish everywhere. I loved it!

Since my arrival in Dakar I have been to Goree Island twice, most recent last weekend for the Diaspora Festival. It is the biggest island near Dakar and also the one with the most historical significance. Goree was the outpost for Europeans during the slave trade. There remains one home with some of the original slave house structures restored and the infamous door of no return. The door led out to the ships waiting to take the slaves to Europe and the Americas. Pope John Paul II set foot on Goree by entering through that door and then gave a speech asking for forgiveness for the churches role in slavery. The island is full of colonial style homes painted in yellows and reds, as well as blues. It is beautiful. I recently received my Senegal official resident card whose only advantage that I have found so far is that I can pay 3 dollars for the ride to the island instead of 10 dollars. This means that I can go more or less whenever I want, which is great.

Other weekend outings include concerts, movies, dinner with friends, and quiet nights at home. The French Cultural Center near my house has lots of concerts and movies, which are not too expensive or free even. There is smaller movie theater nearby as well where you watch a movie outside and get a drink all for 5 dollars, a far cry from the 12 dollars people pay for movies in the US. Of course here we have the risk that the power might go out in the critical moment of the movie but it is all part of the adventure. Over the last month or so I have started to have several new friends to go to concerts, movies, and dinner with. It is nice to have a bit of a social circle. I have even had people over for dinner a few times including a fun make shift Mexican dinner 2 weeks ago.

I have posted pictures of most of my outings on my Picasa website (see link to right).
I am headed out to the south eastern part of Senegal tomorrow for 10 days or so. I will have limited e-mail access while I am gone but I will hopefully have a blog and lots of pictures to share when I get back.