Senegal, in a whirl

I landed in Dakar at 5 am on July 7. JC picked me up at the airport and we spent the day in the Dakar market and walking around. The next day, we headed out of Dakar on the 4 hour sept-place (seven-seater station wagon that is the main form of transportation around the country) drive to the Peace Corps Regional House in Kaolack. The next day, we make the last leg of the journey to Wilanene, JC's village, about 7 km outside of the town of Kaffrine.

Our days in the village were pretty lazy: we woke up around 7 am and usually walked to another village (anywhere between a 15 and 45 minute walk) to check up on the farmers that JC works with. We'd get home around 11 and cool off with a quick shower and a book. Naps were the normal before and after lunch. We'd do some planting or watering or clean the hut. More reading or napping or both. Sometimes we go sit outside the compound and visit with the women who'd walk passed. Dinner was served late, after JC's host mom closed the robinet.

We went to two baptisms while in the village. One was for a woman who JC didn't know very well and the other was for her friend, Fatou. The women got very dressed up and there was drumming and dancing in the evening.

After spending about 5 days in the village, we headed out to the island of Ginak and slept on the beach there. JC thought that she got stung by a jellyfish, but we're not sure if it happened. We only spent one night on Ginak and then headed back to Kaolack to stop over on our way to the Langue de Barbarie, a bird park in the northwest of the country. There, we canoed and took a boat to visit the Island of the Birds and did some more napping and reading.

After the bird park, we met up with two other Peace Corps volunteers, friends of JC's, and went to the Deserts of Lompoul, where we camped in tents on sand dunes and went for a camel ride. While there, I got a wicked fever and spent most of the time tossing and turning, but the camels made it worth it!

Since our trip was coming to an end, we went back to Dakar. My last day we spent again the Dakar market, buying fabric, and went to Ile de Goree, an island off the coast where there had been a slave outpost. The island is now a tourist destination and has a couple of great museums and lots of artists.

So, that was my trip, in a whirl! Check out the photos on Picasa for more details.