When my twin brother and slightly older sister were young my dad would drive home from Canada or from Maine in a day, for 16 hours or so, so that he didn't have to spend two days in the car with us. Those rides were long. This ride, at 12 hours, felt 7 times longer. Senegalese public transportation, at least from Dakar to Ourossogui, is a feat.
I've been readapting the last couple days to the heat up here, because I spent almost two and a half weeks in Dakar and the Casamance region. A few volunteers have either left or are leaving soon, so I was going to Dakar for a long weekend to hang out one last time and wish them off. That turned into staying for a week, and then leaving from Dakar for my vacation. Dakar was awesome, because I got to unwind for a week, hanging out with volunteers and other people, drink beers, get different foods. Besides the boat incident mess, it was great. Mainly the food, which included real coffee, sushi, Ethiopian food, good French bread, and a barbecue with chicken wings, steak and sesame slaw, mango salsa, etc.
So anyways, on Friday, May 20th I left on the ferry to Ziguinchor, the capital of the Casamance region. They want you to board early because the Senegalese are really late for everything, so all in all I was on the ship almost 20 hours. Airplane seat on the way there, which is still over $30 for toubabs, and there was a French dude snoring obnoxiously loud. So at least a lot of people got a good laugh at him, but not much sleep. In the morning, we started up the river to Ziguinchor, which was beautiful. Lots of people out fishing in small dugout canoes, dolphins swimming along the ferry, and what not to look at.
Look Mom, lifeboats! The ferry down to Ziguinchor is really nice and safe, due in large part to an awful accident about 10 years ago when I think 600 or so people drowned...
I got off the ship and tried to get a visa to Guinea-Bissau, but the consulate was closed so I went and got a beer at the Hotel Kadiandoumagne, which was very beautiful and on the water. Spent the day attempting to get a visa, but eventually decided that I wasn't going to Guinea Bissau and spent the night in my NGO's office in Zig. Chilled with the guard and his friend talking and drinking tea, and got some rest that night before heading out to Kafountine the next morning.
Kafountine is a cool town in Haute Casamance, not far from the border with the Gambia, with a mix of fishermen, Rastamen, and some European settlers. The sept-place ride there was interesting, because I had to get out of the car a few times and show my passport to the military, who have checkpoints for Casamance separatist rebels. So now I'll go off on a detour to talk about the rebels. Ziguinchor is safe because some rebels have family there, and because it's a big enough place that carrying out sporadic attacks is difficult. Most of the attacks they carry out are between Kolda and Ziguinchor, the opposite direction of where I went, and occur on random passenger vehicles at night. The freedom fighters still fighting today are the real diehards of the group, and they're not respected by the majority of the population. The Casamance has many different ethnicities, but the rebels are primarily Diola, the biggest ethnic group in the region. I didn't really want to run into the rebels, but I have heard stories and met people who have drank tea with the rebels, and never had any problems. And what was always in the back of my mind is that Baltimore, MD is WAY more dangerous than the Casamance, even without freedom fighters.
So yeah, Kafountine was a cool town. I stayed at the Esperanto Lodge, owned by this French guy Eric for the last 14 years. I was the only client because this is the off season, so he knocked the price down for me (to about $22/night), and we actually ended up hanging out and talking for a while a couple nights. He lives there with his immediate family, absolutely loves the Casamance, and runs a nice place. It has a maximum capacity around 25 people. I had one of two rooms in a hut, which had a double bed, closet, shelves, a sitting area out front, and a bathroom with toilet paper (gasp!) and hot showers (HELL YEAH!). I haven't been missing hot showers because, despite the 110+ degree temps here in the Fouta, the water heats up at night so I can just rinse off the sweat before sweating again. If you're on the coast of the Casamance, and especially in November through January, it can actually get a little chilly with the wind so hot showers, blankets, sweatshirts are all nice. Esperanto also had a nice bar/restaurant with really good food, and a nice area to chill in. The garden is great; the two local gardeners have nurseries where they're growing more coconut trees, palm trees, etc. to plant around the lodge. Plus beach access, and when there's more people around, a little bar on the beach with beer and cushions and chairs and what not for the beach. Definitely worth a trip if you're ever in the Casamance, or you should just go there anyways.
My time in the southwestern region of Senegal was pretty quiet. I mainly chilled on the beach, relaxed, read, walked around town. I also rented a bike from one of the gardeners one day, and the day I got there I walked down the beach to see the return of the fishermen. This was featured on Thalassa, a French show about ocean life and anything maritime, and is amazing. The fishermen's village is empty during the day except for men repairing nets and working on new pirogues, motor mechanics, etc. At night the beach is full of traders and townspeople. As the pirogues come back with their catches and get close to shore, boys run out with plastic bins, get fish, and wade back balancing them on their heads up to the fish markets. There's a lot of activity, and it's really cool to watch.
After a few days in Kafountine I had to head back to Ziguinchor, and catch the ferry back to Dakar on Thursday. I kind of didn't want to leave Kafountine, because it really is an amazing place. Fertile, even in the dry season there's a lot of stuff growing, the people are nice, and it's a relaxed environment that would be easy to live in for a long time. But after a 70km 4 hour trip back to Zig, I met another couple toubabs who were passing through at Kadiandoumagne for a beer, got some sleep, and left the next morning.
The boat on the way back was a little better because I had a bed in an 8-person cabin. Actually there were 11 of us, with 3 little ones, who either cried or vomited periodically during the night. So I got a little more rest anyways. Spent a couple more days in Dakar hanging out and barbecuing, then headed back to the Fouta. Here I am, sweating as I write. Today I'm going to Ranérou, possibly for up to 6 days, as we prepare for and participate in a public declaration for the abandonment of FGC and child and forced marriages. Most likely won't have internet, but I'll be sure to take good pictures, and post a lot more when I get back.
Baltimore goes hard
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