I was very disappointed that I was too
sick to do the final day of training in Dar Es Salaam. We left the
training materials with KEOH, who will do the follow up with the
women's groups. After wrap up sessions with KEOH and the
USAID-Yaajeende office in Kedougou, we said our goodbyes and hit the
road again. My volunteer coordinator and our driver kindly arranged
to break up the long haul back to Dakar with an overnight stay in
Tambacounda so as not to overtax my recovery. It ended up being a
good idea for everyone involved since traffic into the capital added
an extra 2 hours onto the 9 hour journey.
Dakar is big and sprawling with 2.5 million people calling it home. We passed open markets selling
all manner of goods, and should you not want to bother getting out of
the car, quick-footed salesmen dodge traffic to sell cashews, bags of
water, and a yellowy green fruit (very tart, good when juiced and
mixed with sugar, and popular with the monkeys in the bush) at your
window. Our neighborhood was mostly other hotels and government and
NGO buildings. Dinner was at a lovely seaside venue, where I had
yummy shrimp beignets and juice from the fruit of the baobab tree
(creamy, sort of pear-banana-custard apple flavor).
I had an extra day to see a bit before
leaving Senegal. We headed out to Goree Island, a settlement just off
the coast. For many years, it was a major trading stop. The colorful
architecture and balconies are reminiscent of New Orleans. You can
visit the House of Slaves, where many Africans taken during the slave
trade passed through the Door of No Return on their way to the New
World. For less grim thoughts, Goree seems to have become a popular
beach for day trippers. There's also a good view if you climb to the
top of the island and look out the old gun turrets that used to
defend it. Learning a tiny bit more about Senegalese culture and
history made for a nice way to finish up my assignment.
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