Day 112: Dakar, Senegal

Fishing Fleet

We started our day in Senegal at the onboard medical center. Jess has had a persistent GI infection for 11 days, and nothing over the counter was providing any relief. The Dr squeezed her in, and prescribed something that provided relief. We went out to visit the ship-side bazaar that sprung up, and they would not let Jess off. We went back to medical and found out that she had a medical quarantine and was confined to the cabin. She wanted some textile, and was trying to direct me from the balcony, but I ended up running back and forth until I found something to her liking.

Pop up Bazaar

We had an afternoon city tour booked, and found out that Jess couldn’t go. She asked me to take a lot of pictures, and there was a lot to see in this city of 3.6 million.

The first stop was a marketplace, that seemed to carry everything. There were fish and raw meat and all kinds of vegetables and crafts. I wish I could share the smell of this place! Wow, very funky!

Dakar seems to be experiencing a lot of capital inflow, and there were a lot of construction projects. I don’t know if these were active or constant. Our guide said that the new president is encouraging development and growth, and it seemed to be prospering. However there is a lot of poverty, beggars and aggressive vendors, so I don’t know what kind of safety net programs are in place. Also, it is a Muslim country, but there seemed to be a lot of non-Muslim women out and about.

We stopped at a church, which I would have mistaken for a Mosque. It wasn’t really comparable to the churches in the European settled countries but it was charming. Apparently they place a high value on American made goods but Chinese goods and counterfeit goods are everywhere.

Massive tree

We visited an art gallery where they use glue and different colored sands on wood boards to make the pieces. They gave us a demo and it was impressive!

Next we visited an incredible monument. It was the highlight of the day for sure!

Drummers

We saw some other sights and stopped at a cultural center and saw more drumming and dancing. Here, the vendors were really aggressive, not taking no for an answer. I had to leave my chair and walk away from one lady when I wouldn’t buy a bracelet.

Dakar was an interesting stop but I doubt I will ever return. Africa is a land of contrasts, but I’m happy to be returning to Europe.