Trans West Africa: Senegal, Gambia and Mali

Finally, a year later, I've decided to wrap up the final months of my adventure in Africa.

Here are my excuses, please forgive me: While in West Africa the internet was much much more scarce than in East Africa, the days spent traveling from place to place were much longer (10-14 hours drive days 1-3x/week). On top of all that I had tons of homework: write three 5-page papers for my West African Francophone Culture class; read 6 Francophone stories then a final 5 page essay for French 5. Upon returning home I started my last semester of my undergraduate studies and things have been crazy since then. Procrastination is not a friend of mine. But like my Dad says, "Better late than never!"

Senegal

Senegal was one of my favorite places. I will never ever forget my time in Yoff (Dakar).

View of Yoff from a friend, Gora Diagne's rooftop.

A friend of mine, Scarlet, had studied in Dakar a few months before I arrived. She hooked me up with two contacts while I was there. One, Abdul Aziz had his own hotel and picked me up from the airport and I stayed at his place for the remainder of my time. Besides wanting to marry me and not understanding the fact that I had a boyfriend whom I love very much, he was a wonderful friend/guide. If it weren't' for him, I'm not sure how I would have gotten around. My French was terrible, and not many people spoke English.

Lac Rose- Known for and named after its pink color caused by the algae. Lac Rose is a natural phenomena north-east of Dakar. The lake also has a very high salt content which contributes to the  small salt exporting industry in the area.

Salt Fishing!

Île de Gorée- Small island off the coast of Dakar, inhabited but also a major attraction because of it's slave port/slave trade history.

View from the highest point.

Alleys of Gorée

Île de N'gor- A beautiful tiny island paradise, only 10min boat ride and 4$ away! 

Written on the walls- "If money grew on trees, women would be monkeys."

African Renaissance Monument- Completed in 2010 and now the worlds largest statue, it is said to be a positive representation of the African people. A family that is holding together strongly, emerging from a mountain top breaking their chains of slavery and becoming free. That being said, every Senegalese I spoke with did not agree with the statue and were actually very against it. Senegal is 95% Muslim, and Islam does not approve of statues (according to my those I spoke with in Senegal and research). Also, nearly 40% of the population lives on less than $1.25 a day and the statue cost a whopping 27million dollars!! They have a new president now a days...

My friend Aziz also took me to his brothers wedding while I was in town - that was fun! Everyone was so friendly and generous in Senegal.

Djibi was the other friend she gave me contact information on. Djibi is a griot drummer and took me out a couple nights on the town. He spoke fluent Wolof and broken French with a West African accent. I speak fluent English with very broken limited French with a shitty Spanish/American accent - needless to say communication was very difficult.

Ndep

In short, a Ndep is an exorcism. But it is much much more than that...it's a traditional ceremony which is held 2 times a day for 5-7 days. It is usually performed on young women who, I was told are most susceptible to being possessed by a wrab. A wrab is a misguided spirit and Yoff Village (where I stayed) was full of these spirits. Friends told me that the spirits were more active and more dangerous during the day time, and that they often leech onto girl's/women's long hair and seep into their body that way. Read about my full experience HERE.

Sabar

On our way to the Ndep, we stopped at a Sabar. Similar to a small dance party on the sandy alley way, several women were dressed up to celebrate and dance as they shook their bodies to the beat of the Griot Drummers. Those women were vibrant with energy! Sabars are also very hush-hush and frowned upon. The women dance provocatively and that sort of behavior is frowned upon in Islam.

My fondest memories of Senegal will be:

Tea with Issa Ndiaye

Eating meals together - Sadly I didn't snap a photo, but for every meal I ate with a family, we would all use our right hands (not left hand because is considered dirty) to dig into one large bowl full of a variation of grain and some sort of local fish. It was beautiful... even when the 5 year old would cough/sneeze all over her hands and the food and we all just kept eating like nothing happened.

The kind, generous and welcoming Senegalese - Everyone was amazing and so friendly. Especially with trying to speak French and their local language, Wolof. I would always get a 'mini lesson' in the middle of the street.

Les pâtisseries - BEST. PASTRIES. AND. BREAD. EVER. 

Greeting: As-salamu alaykum - Peace be upon you

Response: Alaykum Salamu - Peace to you also (not exact but pretty much)

Before I knew it, it was time for me to meet with my group that I would be traveling with for the next 70 days.

 

The first night I met with my group, Dulcie, Bex and I went to see Youssou N'Dour perform at his very own night club in Dakar!! We showed up around 11:30pm, but he didnt take the stage until nearly 2AM!! We had to be up, packed, and ready to go on the bus at 5:30AM. We stayed for over an hour, but left much before his set was over. It was incredible. Best vibes I have ever felt at a show...the crowd, his people, loved him! I didn't bring a camera, but here are some videos. 

This is the song that made him famous...

 

This is one of my favorites...

Saint Louie- An old colonial French city located at the mouth of the Senegal River. Very relaxed atmosphere, beautiful buildings, and lots of modern art.

 

Spent 2 nights in Palmarin.

Into the Gambia* then back to Senegal.

Niokolo-Koba National Park

The Gambia 

*Because of the location of The Gambia (completely surrounded by a pac-man shaped Senegal) we drove out of Senegal into the Gambia, and then back through Senegal on the way to Mali.

Known as "The Smiling Coast" and also a popular destination for rich sugar mamas to find a sweet young African man.

 

Kiang West National Park on a pirogue in the mangroves.

Stayed in Tandaba and Basse Santu-Su.

Mali

***While camping at a hotel in Bamako, we met a small group of travelers. Two Dutch on moto-bikes, a South African and a German. At the time, not a big deal, not significant at all. They were traveling together towards Timbuktu, a city that was on our itinerary, but changed for security reasons. About 2 weeks later we read the headlines of "Mali Kidnapping" and went on to read about a group of tourist, two Dutch and one South African who were kidnapped and a German man killed for resisting the attack in Timbuktu. We believe that group was the group we met in Bamako was the group that was kidnapped. In fact, after doing some research today trying to see if they were ever released, I found this video update and am sure it was them.***
 

Sunset over the Niger River

We bush camped and then stayed in Bamako, Mali's capital, for two nights. The nightlife was said to be some of the best in West Africa, but I think we went out on a 'dead' night.  

Just being kids...

Mandingue Country Trek- We trekked through villages meeting many local people. This area is the birth place of the Mali Empire. Many hills, waterfalls and very beautiful people. 

5-star bush camp

Our holiday goat.

 
We also celebrated Tabaski- a holiday celebrated ~70 days after Ramadan. Each family buys and sacrafices a goat. 1/3 of the goat stays with the family to eat, 1/3 goes to neighbors and friends, and 1/3 goes to the poor, needy and elderly.

Nomadic man from the Tuareg tribe

African Transport: there is always room for more.

. b e a u t y . j o y .

Segou- On the banks of the Niger River, and home to the amazing Festival of the Niger, Segou is also home to the infamous mud cloth. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to attend a workshop learning all about the process. The process is traditionally called Bògòlanfini. First the Malian cotton fabric is died (yellow, red or blue) using different natural occurring elements (indigo, tree leaves). After the clothe dries, fermented mud is used to paint symbols onto the cloth. They also use a soap bleach to paint white.

The last 6 weeks in a nutshell!

After the breathtaking trek on Mount Kilimanjaro no time was wasted looking for a stunning and relaxing beach. The bus from Moshi, Tanzania to Mombassa, Kenya could have been worse. Public transport is something that you just need to learn to deal with.

Sometimes, when they say be there at 5:15am it could really mean the bus won't get there until 7am, and for some reason…all of the passengers get the memo besides you. Hopefully your seat is not in the last 2 rows – if it is…good luck. There are more pot holes and speed bumps on 1 road than there are in an entire state in the US! You literally “get air” on many of these pot holes or speed bumps and the jittering bus makes reading very difficult. If you’re not in the back of the bus you still have to worry about the people around you. There is always a hard workingman or woman who doesn’t know what personal hygiene is or deodorant. Then you have the woman with 3 live chickens (sometimes just holding them by their feet in her hands) and the guy who plays his ring tones from his mobile phone on repeat as his ‘music’ for the whole ride…or until his phone dies. The seats on the buses recline an astonishing amount nearly breaking your kneecaps if you aren’t ready for the passenger in front of you to recline. Not to mention, the driver and conductor stop whenever and wherever they please – sometimes just for a smoke break/bathroom (side of the road/bush) and other times going form market to marked buying and then selling things making money for themselves.

Mombassa was a great city – not to big and not too small. They have neat little mini taxi cars that looked very environmentally friendly and compact so they didn’t take up space on the road. 

Awesome mini taxi in Kenya - on the ferry going to Diani Beach

 After one nights rest we headed to our first of many destinations on the Kenya Coast – Diani Beach. Not quite ‘falling in love’ with Diani but being completely satisfied and content we decided to scratch out plans of heading north and spend the week on the white sand beaches of Diani Beach. On the shores is where I had my first massage – costing a whopping $7 per hour! 

Our home at Diani Beach

100mts walk from our place in Diani

Paul and a camel

Indian Ocean

Construction, Africa style!

The main event of the week was going to Kisite Marine Park Wasini Island. We took a traditional dhow around 4 islands and went dolphin watching. There were 7 or more dolphins playing near our boat at one time! Then we were able to go snorkeling around the coral reefs. I wasn’t expecting much, but WOW was I surprised – it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life… it was like finding nemo just below the surface. I scratched my knee on the coral and then we stopped on one of the islands for a late lunch of wonderful local seafood!

Kisiti Marine Park Gate

Dolphins playing

 

Underwater Adventures!

I found NEMO!

View from our seafood lunch

We took a short (7hr) bus ride from Mombassa to Nairobi the day before our safari started. Realizing I had written the wrong start date for the safari we had a full day to explore Nairobi and see what attractions they had to offer. David Sheldrick Elephant and Rhino Orphanage was on the top of the list after meeting many travelers that highly recommended it. This sanctuary is a cause worthy of donating to! Daphne Sheldrick founded the sanctuary after her husband David (famous dounder Warden of Kenya's Tsavo NP) died and dedicated it to him. She worked for over 25 years perfecting the milk needed by baby elephants and rhinos in order to survive the first 2 years of life without their mother. But why would these animals be without a mother? POACHING! Poaching is more common than I thought – just this year the President of Kenya set fire to 5 tons of ivory worth over $16million in protest of poaching and also to raise awareness. These baby elephants are very prone to pneumonia which usually isnt caught until it is too late. For the first 2 years of life the babies need to be fed every three hours 24/7. They have a ‘keeper’ who is with them around the clock and even sleeps with them in the stable. They sleep with blankets over them so they don’t catch cold. After 2-3 years at the sanctuary it is time to reintroduce the elephants into the wild. These animals are extremely family oriented (another reason why their keeper is with them all the time) and in order to introduce them back into the animal kingdom they roam the Nairobi National Park (their backyard) everyday freely. They come back every night to their ‘home’ at the sanctuary but then one day… they won’t come home because they have finally been accepted by another family of elephants. It was remarkable hearing the beautiful story of these surviving elephants and rhinos; some of them with scars left by the poachers who killed their mother. 

David Sheldrick's Elephant and Rhino Sanctuary

I got to pet a baby elephant!!

A rhino named Maxwell

SAFARI TIME! We spent 2 ½ days and 2 nights roaming Maasai Mara Game Park. We saw every single animal that I wanted to…besides a rhino!! My third time to Africa and I still haven’t seen a rhino in the wild! We were somewhat disappointed by our guide, within the first 5 min of meeting him he told us we needed to tip the people where we would spend the night and also him. He was not friendly, never talked to us outside of the car/park and on the second day someone asked, “what is the name of this animal?” He replied, “I have told you three times already, don’t you remember?” Needless to say we did not tip and were thrilled to meet our next guide, Benson, who would take us to Hells Gate National Park and Lake Nakuruba for 2 ½ days and 2 night. Hells Gate NP is the only NP that you can be on foot/bike (out of the car) because there are no predators. Paul, Benson (guide) and I rented bikes at the gate and biked about 20 km through the park. It was a spectacular day!! I went rock climbing and then we hiked down into Hells Gate Gorge! A day I will never forget! J Although I was completely exhausted after biking all day, I wanted to try the horseback riding. I was feeling extremely unstable on my horse which was not taking my directions or listening at all. So I cut the ride very short to only 30min. I was feeling really uneasy and not being a professional rider, I didn’t want to take a chance of pissing off the horse and getting hurt. 

Paul&I ready to bike!

Hells Gate National Park - View of Hells Gate Gorge from the top

Hells Gate :)

Climbed this rock!

In the gorge!

More Hells Gate

An accident on a safari road, everyone was ok.

King of the jungle

Bee-eater bird!

After the Serengeti - Masai Mara annual migration, many wildebeest are left dead from
crossing the Mara river. Crocs and other animals will feast for months.

Huge family of hippos behind us in the Mara River

This little guy attacked Paul and his lunch (literally)

spotted hyena

warthogs

baby lion cub

WE SAW THIS KILL! cheetah kills gazelle!

Secretary bird

Leopard!!!

water buffalo

Typical - guy biking with a bunk bed.

RIFT VALLEY!!!

Lake Naivasha - view from a horse!

 Arriving back to Nairobi before dark we had enough time to go shopping for…BOOKS! I got two (Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles; The State of Africa) and Paul got 3 (Into Africa [my dad would love this one]; Blood River; and one about the railroad put in East Africa during colonial times) We then hopped on the overnight bus heading back home to Jinja and arrived at the crack of dawn!

I fell in love with Africa :)

Being mid/beginning September when the holiday was over, it left me with just under 4 weeks before I headed off to Senegal. I spent those next four weeks buckling down on my paper, kayaking on the Nile, and enjoying the company of those around me. I spent a couple of nights in the seclusion of an island in the middle of the Nile River- Hairy Lemon. No cell service, no internet, only harmony. Highly recommended if you ever get to Uganda. 

Hairy Lemon Island

  

I also spent 3/4 days in Rwanda. Kigali is the most surprising African city I have ever been to. They have rules there…and people actually obey them!!! I could not believe my eyes – although I’m sure some of the enormous amounts of aid money (given as an apology for the lack of interference during the genocide in 1994) has went into the bank accounts of politicians, much of it has went into the infrastructure of the nation. Its absolutely remarkable. It took me nearly 4 hours to get through the Genocide Memorial on the outskirts of Kigali, tears filled my eyes every step I took. Its appalling to see how many warning signs the international community turned their back to. That was the most heartbreaking – it could have been prevented. But, in my own liberal conspiracy theorist mind, I believe we didn’t do anything because there was nothing in it for us – no oil, no mineral wealth…just ‘a bunch of savage Africans’ fighting some incomprehensible and irrelevant war in some distant place that 99% of the Western world couldn’t have pointed out on a map. At the end of the exhibition there was a room dedicated to the children of the genocide – the main targets as it was the Hutu’s goal to exterminate the Tutsi ethnic group and what better way to do that by killing its youngest members. This room was the most difficult to get through, I had to stop reading because I couldn’t control my tears anymore. No one was spared during that regrettable and mournful period of history. 

Kigali, Rwanda

Garden at the memorial

 Some last picture of Uganda...

 I didn’t realize how fast the time was going until now… I am on the airplane heading to Dakar!!

My paper is nearly finished; what was supposed to be 20 pages is now 30 and is not yet completed. My paper’s focus is the history and root causes of conflict in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa. I was going to put an emphasis on Uganda’s response to the influx of refugees but I am afraid I don’t have enough time or space to include that information.

Senegal… I don’t know what to expect and I have found that not expecting is best here in Africa. I had a friend who studied there for the summer and she has sent me some contacts which I am very grateful for – it looked like she had a blast with them; saw the real Senegal that is hard for ‘tourist’ to find. I have 12 days here before I begin my overland adventure Oct 22. I have six weeks until I meet Paul and our good friend Rito in Ghana for the second half of the overland. IF they get their visas taken care of. After my Great Lakes paper is completed I need to focus my studies on French and Francophone culture. I am enrolled in independent study classes that require me to 1) read 5 Francophone stories and write a essay showing my comprehension, knowledge of the French language, etc and 2) 5 papers in French about different aspects of Francophone culture (i.e.: the passing of tradition through dance and drum, women's roll in the economy, how the slave trade has effected modern W.Africa) and to do this I have to complete interviews and do a lot of hands on research while I am traveling. I am a little scared that I ‘bit off more than I could chew’ but I know I will prevail and complete the coursework successfully.