Africa 2006

I took a short trip to some villages of Northern Senegal with Suleymane, a cousin of Arona’s. He comes from Geoul, a three-hour drive north of Dakar. I stayed there with his extended family on Friday night. We broke the fast in the courtyard under the full moon (well, they did; I haven’t been fasting) and I taught the many children around how to sing English songs. The high birthrate was quite evident, and there were friendly children everywhere, all of whom waved and smiled and followed me when I walked around the town. The whole family was incredibly welcoming and generous, cementing my positive impression of Senegal.
Suleymane introduced me to many of his friends, including Sharif, who Suleymane told me isa descendent of the Prophet Mohammed. Sharif is a shepherd to 3000 camels of which he is very proud. He offered to build me a house in the village if I wanted to move to Senegal. He also wanted me to find him a Canadian wife – anyone interested can drop me an email!
My main trip in the north was to the city of St Louis, also a UNESCO site. It is tantalizingly close to the Mauritanian border (about 100 km), and Sharif, who is of Mauritanian origin, had offered to accompany me there even though I didn’t have a visa. Unfortunately, though, I had to return to Dakar to be able to wake up early for my next journeys.
The route back to Dakar was my first evening car ride, and while Suleymane drove much slower than he had during the day, the various evening threats are clear; my “favourite” was on the capital’s outskirts when we saw a crammed mini-bus driving without any lit headlights - on the wrong side of the divided highway!