Senegal

AFRICA Morocco ~ Senegal ~ The Gambia December 24, 2005 - January 3, 2006

Gambia

Morocco (top arrow) where we land and spend our first day.
Senegal & the Gambia (bottom arrow) where we spent a week with Anne & Brook.

Here is a close up of Senegal and the Gambia (official name: the Republic of the Gambia)
Anne & Brook actually live in Tambacounda which can be seen on the map,
but we met in Dakar and traveled along the coast.

	CASABLANCA, MOROCCO Sunday, December 25
Wolfgang is ready to go!	Casablanca, Morocco	from our hotel room window in Casablanca
Gotta love that construction job. It's hard to tell, but that's all used lumber and logs from trees. Close up you can see it for the accident waiting to happen that it is.	Mosque type building in Casablanca	Casablanca
along the Atlantic in Casablanca	Some strange marmalade donut type thing from a street vendor.
	DAKAR, SENEGAL Monday, December 26
Now that's not dangerous, is it?????	What better way to buy coffee than from some guy selling it out of a can in Dakar?	the streets of Dakar
now that's trransportation!	approaching the market in Dakar	view of Dakar from our hotel
the streets of Dakar	the streets of Dakar	young girl with mortar & pestle, Dakar
along the road in Dakar	Stuart and Brook catching up over Lebanese at the Hotel Farid in Dakar.	baby on board
	THE GAMBIA Tuesday, December 27 - Thursday, December 29
Coconut Residence in the Gambia	entrance to our suite at the Coconut Residence in the Gambia	fun in the pool at the Coconut Residence in the Gambia
poolside at the Coconut Residence in the Gambia	Coconut Residence in the Gambia	at the Butcher Shop for lunch
beach along the coast of the Gambia	lobby of the Coconut Residence in the Gambia	Miranda making a phone call by CANDLE LIGHT.
Baobab Tree	monkey in tree outside our room at the Coconut	Gambian money...huge stack less than $200. And it SMELLS AWFUL!!!
walking along road in the Gambia	seen along the road in the Gambia
	ZIGUINCHOR, SENEGAL On the way to Cap Skiring
in the town of Ziguinchor	lunch in Ziguinchor	in town of Ziguinchor
in town of Ziguinchor	in town of Ziguinchor	church near Ziguinchor
on the road to Ziguinchor	on the road to Ziguinchor	the stockpiling of sheep in preparation for Tabaski
What better way to carry your firewood?	Our wheels. Cissikho, our driver, is not in the picture.	yet another hi-tech telecenter
	Ah, not only the telecenter, but Cyber Café as well.
	CAP SKIRING, SENEGAL Friday, December 31 - Sunday, January 1
along the road to Cap Skiring	along the road to Cap Skiring	along the road to Cap Skiring
along the road to Cap Skiring	in the village of Cap Skiring	authentic Senegalese lunch in Cap Skiring
the Black & White Love café in Cap Skiring	in the village of Cap Skiring	in the village of Cap Skiring
Something wrong with the wheel. Luckily, Cissikho the driver, is also a mechanic.	view from our room at the Hibiscus in Cap Skiring	view from our room at the Hibiscus in Cap Skiring
Shouldn't every beach have a few cows milling around?	on the beach in Cap Skiring	lounging by the pool at the Hibiscus in Cap Skiring
Lunch at the Hibiscus in Cap Skiring. Anne is helping Stuart cook his seafood on the hibachi that came with the meal.	lunch at the Hibiscus in Cap Skiring	Getting ready for dinner New Year's Eve at the Hibiscus in Cap Skiring
Getting ready for dinner New Year's Eve at the Hibiscus in Cap Skiring	New Year's Eve at the Hibiscus in Cap Skiring	New Year's Eve buffet at the Hibiscus in Cap Skirring
New Year's Eve buffet at the Hibiscus in Cap Skirring	drunk guys dancing New Year's Eve	Anne dancing with drunk French dude on New Year's Eve (see trip report for full story)
New Year's Eve at the Hibiscus in Cap Skiring	Happy New Year!	Please don't make us leave!
	BACK TO DAKAR WITH A VISIT TO THE SLAVE ISLAND OF GOREE Monday, January 2
out for a Lebanese feast in Dakar	ferry to island of Gorée	approaching Gorée on the ferry
beach on Gorée	view of Dakar from Gorée	lunch on Gorée
on Gorée	atop the fort on Gorée	Gorée
edge of fort on Gorée	view of Dakar from Gorée	Stuart bargained for some new shoes at market in Dakar.
		fabric store where we bought the material for Stuart's shirt

Saturday, December 24, 2005

Murphy's Law...leave plenty of time for traffic and lines at the airport and there will be NONE! Got to Logan in record time and we were at the GATE in under 15 minutes. Yes...at the gate. Today's travels will take us from Logan to JFK and the from there to Casablanca, Morocco.

Sunday, December 25, 2005
CASABLANCA, Morocco

Wow, what a flight. There must have been about one screaming child (and we mean BLOOD CURDLING) for each section of the plane. They took turns to be sure that there wasn't a moment when anyone could doze off, let alone enjoy a little peace and quiet. We got almost NO sleep despite ear plugs and neck pillows. And did we mention the fact that our seats were not together (14C, 17C, 18C...luckily all on the aisle). Not the best experience, but we arrived safely. After a bit of fiddling, we managed to get ourselves a free hotel room and meal, courtesy of Royal Air Moroc, since our flight included a nice 12 hour layover. We knew through a friend that we were entitled to this little luxury, but it was not easy to figure out the system. Unlike other foreign countries that we have visited, very few speak English.

The airport at Casablanca was about a half-hour outside of town. We boarded the courtesy bus and enjoyed the ride through the countryside, soaking up the sights. There were people living in shacks along side the road as well as some residing in compounds of strung-together shantys, complete with livestock and hanging laundry. Quite oddly in the same stretch of land, you would then see a veritable mansion cordoned off with a huge, fenced yard. We thought it was odd that people were choosing to build right next to such squalor, but as our friend Anne was thinking, perhaps they are counting on land values increasing and the shacks disappearing as the wealthier move in.

We also noticed that there are tons of construction projects...some which are being finished but most of which appear abandoned. All we can say is that the sea air is not kind to their cast cement and stucco building materials and methods. While there were many new buildings being built, it was disturbing to see other buildings just going to waste after they became weathered and damaged. There was a strange mix between new and dilapidated. But it seemed as though it was a city trying to revive itself.

The Azur hotel was across the street from the water and we had a room with a view. The beach was quite nice although the day was a bit cool and we did not partake. We wandered quite far up and down the beach taking in all the sights. Miranda even got chicken nuggets at a beach side McDonalds where they were also serving the McArabia, McDonald's latest meal choice that is not offensive to the Muslim culture. Pretty funny! While we had originally intended on going to see a large mosque in town, we were just too exhausted to do any more touring other than wandering the nearby streets. But we were satisfied with that because we always enjoy getting a feel for what it's like to live somewhere. There were countless hotels lining the beach although the city was filled with mostly locals because it is the "off-season" there. We could see that all of the hotels were working on numerous projects in preparation for the onslaught of tourists.

By 4pm all of the Royal Air Moroc passengers were eagerly awaiting the bus outside of our hotel, but at 4:30pm...still no bus. We were informed by a frequent traveler that the bus runs on African time and would eventually arrive in plenty of time for our 7:20pm flight. Eventually around 4:45pm, the bus showed up and we were off. Luckily, that extra time allowed Stuart and Miranda to buy a "Sandwich Normal" (as opposed to the "Sandwich Special") next door at a stand. It was less than $3 and had some gyro-like meat in it along with olives and topped with fries.

So upon arriving at the airport and trying to get through security, we were informed by the luggage Gestapo that one of our carry-ons was 1.5kg overweight (yup, a whopping 3 pounds over). So they forced us to go back to the counter and check the piece (bad story to follow). Our flight took off late after much shuffling around of passengers and carryon luggage and with some people arguing with the flight attendants. It was quite the scene and made for interesting watching and conversation for us. We arrived in Dakar a half-hour late.

So now here comes the luggage story. Of course our one piece that they forced us to check did not arrive and along with most of the luggage, it was apparently just left in Morocco because they didn't have room or couldn't be bothered. Royal Air Moroc is like the TACA Airlines of Central America...totally unreliable! Of course, we found that our luggage was missing only after an HOUR of waiting for luggage because the Dakar Airport baggage cart was so small that they had to make tons of trips to the plane and back (a plane, which by the way, was parked way out near the runways and not near the building...we had to take a shuttle to the terminal). So Kim was one of the first few people in line at the luggage claim desk when we found out because she had been getting a bad feeling and was milling around over there already when the bad news hit. And it was a good thing because it took until 1am for Kim to get her turn. Everyone was fighting and pushing and no one can seem to wait in a proper line. Tough to get used to and she kept losing her turn. Well, just when she finally made it up to the desk, all of a sudden there was a dash over to the luggage carousel because apparently some luggage had been found in the cargo hold. Kim took advantage of the luggage claim office clearing out and stayed to put in her claim. Well, it wasted some time, but she didn't want to risk losing her place on the off-chance that the duffel bag had somehow appeared. Finally her turn was over and she went out for one last hopeful glance at the luggage carousel and lo and behold, it was one of the missing bags that they had found! Hallelujah!!!

Meanwhile, Kim had convinced Miranda and Stuart to head through customs with what we had so that Brook knew that we had actually made it. The three of them were beside themselves wondering what had happened to her for the past hour when she miraculously appeared with the missing bag. Got into bed at the Hotel Farid in downtown Dakar (20 min. taxi ride from airport) about 2am after what had to have been one of the longest days in history!

Monday, December 26, 2005
DAKAR, Senegal

We were exhausted from our two day journey and slept until 10am today. Rejuvenated after a nice French style breakfast, we headed out on a walk around the city. We really stuck out being so white (plus there were 5 of us) and were harangued by street peddlers all morning. Apparently saying NO isn't enough. Their sales technique is to ask you to purchase whatever they are selling perhaps ten or twenty times. And if that doesn't work, they continue to follow you down the street until the next salesman makes his move. Anyone who is reading this and has been to a Mexican bazaar or market can get sort of a feel for this...except it's about ten times worse!

I forgot to mention that we learned a new word today...tou bab. It is a word that means "white tourist" and the kids (and the occasional adult) sometimes yell it at you as you pass. Sometimes it is meant maliciously, and then other times it seems as if the locals are just stating a fact or perhaps welcoming you in their strange way. At any rate, Brook and Anne said that it can get down right annoying and in their village the kids will sometimes chant it nonstop as you walk by and have on occasion thrown rocks at them.

After our jaunt, we lolly-gagged about the hotel for a while, changed some money and then Stuart and Brook hung out with a selection of Lebanese appetizers in the hotel restaurant. Miranda was in heaven with the free Internet connection (DSL) and used Instant Messenger with friends back home. Later in the afternoon, Kim, Stuart, Brook & Anne, went on another walk through a local market, stopping off to enjoy drinks at an outdoor café. While sipping our drinnks, we continued to rebuff the advances of street peddlers who stood at a polite distance while holding out their wares and calling at us to buy something (over, and over, and over again).

Around 6pm we headed back to the Dakar airport and flew down to Banjul in the Gambia. Once arriving at the Coconut Residence, we had a late, but wonderful dinner. After a late night chatting, we finally crawled into bed about 2am. We are really aiming for some earlier nights, but it has been so much fun talking with Brook and Anne, whom we haven't seen in years, that we just can't resist.

Tuesday, December 27, 2005
BANJUL, Gambia
Coconut Residence

Our rooms is incredibly divine! It's a large suite with curtains separating the bedroom from the rest of the space. It is probably one of the nicest rooms that we have stayed in out of all of our vacations. The staff is very catering and courteous.

This morning we slept in a little then mulled about at the pool a bit before lunch at the hotel. Anne, Brook and Kim all had a different salad and all three were very tasty. Miranda had penne with a spicy sauce which was excellent and Stuart enjoyed some mixed grill satay sticks.

After lunch we were given a ride about two miles down the road to an almost deserted beach. Stuart and Brook had a good chat under a little grass beach hut while Kim, Miranda and Anne jumped waves for over an hour. The ocean was wonderful...warm and clean with just the right sized waves. The sky even cooperated a bit and we had some cloud cover to protect our pasty white skin. Afterwards we had a long, hot walk back to the hotel along a busy road and in retrospect it probably would have been safer to arrange a ride back, but hindsight is always twenty-twenty. We only heard the tou bab chant once or twice. We had a superb day though which was made even finer by a superb indian meal at a nearby restaurant.

On the way home, Miranda, Anne and Kim stopped at a telecenter (hut with a telephone and a candle) so that Miranda could call a few friends as promised. Quite the exciting time finding a phone at 10pm, and even more exciting dodging the advances of the bumsters (as Anne calls the guys who bug you to find out if you want a taxi, want to buy something, etc.). We have had quite a few encounters with these types and they are not shy about it.

Wednesday, December 28, 2005
BANJUL, Gambia
Coconut Residence

Another gorgeous day and we started out with breakfast at the hotel restaurant. From there Stuart and Kim walked to the beach which is right across the street...less than a ten minute jaunt. Brook was right, that there would be people there hassling us, but we just ignored them and promptly jumped into the waves. There was a red flag out and the waves were pretty rough, but we had a fantastic time in the water. After 45 minutes we were thoroughly exhausted and headed back to the hotel where Miranda was enticed by mom for a dip in the pool.

At lunch time Brook and Anne took us to another favorite place called the Butcher Shop. It used to be just that, but then it expanded into the restaurant business. We had a lazy lunch and then headed back to the Coconut for our treat of the day...massages! Stuart, Kim & Anne each had an hour with Tanika and then Miranda had the treat of a twenty minute mini-massage...her first ever.

We relaxed until our 7:30 dinner at the hotel dining room. They waiters tend to trip over each other, but the food was excellent. We all overindulged with not only appetizers, but dessert at the end! It was all quite decadent and now we're headed to bed with a busy day planned tomorrow for our car ride to Cap Skiring.

Just a side note on the staff at all of the places we visited on the trip...they don't understand customer service. We get the impression that their staff has never had the opportunity to stay in a hotel or eat in a nice restaurant, and therefore they don't understand how things work...i.e. the whole head waiter concept. They make such a huge effort, but because they don't have a system and no one's role is well defined, it is a bit chaotic. Another example would be the maid at our Cap Skiring hotel (we arrive there tomorrow) who kept knocking on our sliding door at 9:15am every morning just to see if we were there and once to ask if we needed towels. We just couldn't figure out why in the world anyone would wake you up over towels or why there was no "do not disturb" sign for the door, but once again...no concept of customer service or what might be in the best interest of the customer.

Anne also told us that there is no such thing as returning a purchase if something you buy breaks or doesn't live up to your expectations. It's basically a "buy at your own risk" deal unless the store gives you a written guarantee. Anne and Brook have been trying to get a brand new refridgerator repaired for over six months now because the door doesn't shut properly and the owners of the store can't understand why Anne won't just tie it up and live with it that way.

Thursday, December 29, 2005
BANJUL, Gambia to CAP SKIRING, Senegal
Hibiscus

It's another gorgeous day of course. It does not rain here at this time of year...EVER! They have a very distinct rainy season which begins around June and with the exception of some spittle type rain that comes around February and then ends (they have a name for this), it does not rain except during the rainy season. Being from New England of course, this entire concept of no rain is quite foreign. There are overcast days, but it apparently will NOT rain. The hotel has couches everywhere outside so I guess they can rely on the weather. Also, back in Dakar we noticed that they sell furniture all over the sides of the road leading into the city and most of it is left out overnight and uncovered. Once again...they know that it is not going to rain.

At 11:30am Cissikho loaded us and all of our things into the car. It was a 5 passenger 4-wheel drive with a small truck bed in the rear. We somehow managed to cram three in the back and three into the front (a challenge with bucket seats) for the LONG drive to Cap Skiring (about 120 miles). We had no idea just how long it would be.

Probably the first thing we noticed was just how awful some of the roads are in Senegal. According to Anne and Brook though, we still have no idea what an awful road is. At any rate, we bumped and swerved along in the truck from 11:30 until just about 3pm with three separate stops to cross the border between Gambia and Senegal. It was very uncomfortable. At 3pm we had reached Ziguinchor and were more than ready for lunch. We ate some Senegalese food at a bar type place and at 4:15pm were back on the road. Much of the next hour and forty-five minutes was spent on dirt roads and it was a long and grueling end to a long and grueling trip. At just about 6pm we reached the Hotel Hibiscus in Cap Skiring. It was worth it!

We are in a hut on the beach a few hundred yards from the Atlantic Ocean. The beach is almost deserted and simply divine. It stretches on forever...as far as the eye can see and is pristine. The waves are just right and the sand is like powder. It didn't take us long to suit up and Miranda, Kim, Stuart and Brook jumped waves for an hour before dinner. We lingered over dinner and dessert until well after 11pm and then had night caps on the patio outside our rooms with the sound of the waves crashing in the dark. It was the perfect end to the day. Thank you Anne & Brook!

Friday, December 30, 2005
CAP SKIRING, Senegal

We slept in today (even after the maid's 9:30 wake up knock), still tired from yesterday and were rewarded with a glorious day. The sky was pure blue and the ocean was beautiful. Cissikho (the 4-wheel driver) didn't show up to take us into Cap Skiring for lunch so we stayed at the hotel and lingered over an amazing lunch in a palm tree grove. Stuart had lobster and fish which he had to cook himself on a hibachi type grill that they brought over to the table. Brook had this amazing whole fish which hung off of the plate. We all had a good laugh about how they can order!

This afternoon, after a wardrobe malfunction, Miranda scored a new bathing suit from the gift shop. The piece of plastic gave way on the back and Kim only had everyone bring one suit to save room in the luggage. Live and learn.

After lunch we swam and relaxed and then walked for a mile or two down the endless beach. We turned around when we finally reached a bay. The sun was preparing to set and all five of us swam for an hour before dinner. The waves weren't nearly as large as the day before, but it was still a good workout.

We enjoyed a leisurely dinner laughing at the tou babs dancing to the band and headed off to bed.

Saturday, December 31, 2005
CAP SKIRING, Senegal
NEW YEAR'S EVE

All day today we looked forward to what New Year's Eve would bring with the dancing, drunk, French tou babs. The resort is predominantly filled with tourists from France. They did not disappoint. We had been watching them trip the light fantastic the past couple of nights (two even ended up in the pool) and tonight was the piéce de resistance.

At lunch time Cissikho picked us up and brought us into the village of Cap Skirring. Here Brook and Anne treated us to a very authentic Senegalese meal. We had chicken yassa which is a chicken with onion dish served over rice. The restaurant was small and very local. There were only a handful of seats and not some place we would normally go into. A little scary for Americans. But the food was great and after we shook the ants off of our glasses, we were off and running.

We arrived pool side for dinner about 7:30pm and were mightily disappointed to find out that dinner (a New Year's Eve buffet) was not ready. We waited and waited until about 8:30 when some local African singers (probably from a church) arrived on the scene and sang for about twenty minutes. Just when we thought dinner would be served, a local African dance troupe came onto the scene. Another 30 minutes. We enjoyed the performances, but they did drag on for much too long and were a bit staged for the tourists. Finally, at 9:30pm they served dinner! We had been waiting TWO hours. The first course was filled with amazing treats from the sea. Stuffed lobster tails, three huge fish cooked and served whole, grapefruit stuffed with shrimp, shrimp cocktail, etc. If it came out of the sea...it was there. After the fish course, we waited at least a half-hour and finally the meat course came out. They had Beef Wellington, duck, and other assorted choices. After this the weirdest thing happened...they had a fashion show. The ladies were quite lovely and...you guessed it...all the fashions could be made to order in the gift shop (they had a tailor right there). Finally about 11:30, dessert was served. It was a very long night.

So meanwhile, a couple of the aforementioned drunk Frenchmen were galloping around the dance floor with various women. No one was safe. There was one man in particular who danced as if he was crippled and when we saw him later and found that he wasn't, we had quite the laugh. We giggled on and off all night watching him dance. Just before midnight, Anne approached him for a quick turn around the dance floor and Kim snapped a couple of photos. It was hilarious and he was much too drunk to realize that we were horsing around.

Another interesting side note is that while waiting for dinner, Miranda decided to call a couple of her friends at home using the public phone by the entrance (everything is outside with no doors). The phone was giving her some trouble and a "nice" young man decided to help her. She tried to fend him off, but he was insistent. After they still couldn't get the call to work, he invited her to the disco and then back to his place to "sleep" (he was willing to pay $20 mind you). Needless to say, we accompanied her on all future trips to the phone.

Another side note...serious crime is almost nonexistent in Senegal (not counting civil war battles). Rape or murder is just unheard of. I'm not saying there haven't been some politically motivated killings, but under normal circumstances, the worst thing that might happen to you while here is that you could get pick pocketed or robbed.

In the end, the New Year arrived and they handed out some free champagne. We headed back to our rooms a little after 12 with the band still playing.

Sunday, January 1, 2006
CAP SKIRING to Ziguinchor to DAKAR, Senegal
NEW YEAR'S DAY

Today we enjoyed a morning of wallowing about and then around noon Cissikho picked us up for our ride to Ziguinchor where we would lunch, go to market and then fly back to Dakar. Everything was going smoothly until the credit card machine wouldn't work. Customer service is nonexistent and the girl just shuffled around the office occasionally poking at the cables at the rear of the machine. Finally we gave up and Anne wrote a check for us.

Along the bumpy, mostly unpaved road to Ziguinchor, we had to stop because something happened to the wheel. Cissikho, who is a mechanic by trade, whipped out his tool kit and had us back on the move in about twenty minutes.

The airport in Ziguinchor was special. They had a brand new x-ray machine, but didn't quite know what to do with it. They kept x-raying the same bag of ours over and over again because it had a can of mousse (which is allowed) inside. Even when we undid the bag and showed him, he still seemed to want to x-ray it over and over again. After an uneventful flight (our luggage actually made it in a timely manner), we were back in Dakar for dinner at an excellent Lebanese diner and then dessert at a little French café.

Monday, January 2, 2006
DAKAR, Senegal

Our last day in Africa. After breakfast we took the ferry over to the island of Gorée. Gorée is off the coast of Senegal and a very quick boat ride. It was one of the places where the slaves were brought for processing before they were shipped to the United States. It was a lovely little oasis and we enjoyed meandering the small streets of this tiny island. We easily saw it all in under two hours. Despite the fact that the museums were closed on Mondays, the trip was well worth it.

During the afternoon back in Dakar, we went to one of the local markets. It was almost comical they way the merchants were chasing us down to try and get us to make a purchase in their shop. Stuart got a cool pair of pointy, handmade moccasins and Kim & Miranda each bargained for a purse. Later while Anne & Miranda chilled out back at the Hotel Farid, Stuart, Kim and Brook went on a cloth hunt. We were back in less than an hour with some material that Anne and Brook will use to have an African shirt made for Stuart. Having a shirt made by a tailor is fairly inexpensive. The shirts that the African men wear are well made and look much like what we consider a Hawaiian shirt...only with an African print to it.

Tonight we indulged in Lebanese food again from the same diner. It was just so good last night that we could not resist. Anne and Brook were nice enough to put up with our request. We had to make it an early evening as tomorrow will be a 24 hour day beginning at 5am.

Tuesday, January 3, 2006
HOME

After almost exactly 24 hours of travel (thanks to a 2 hour delay at JFK), we crashed into bed, thankful to be home safely. It was an amazing trip.