My Senegal Journey in Review: N'Gor Island

Tab*ski: November 17, 2010
While the Senegalese celebrated a religious holiday, my friends and I enjoyed a day at the beach. It is a brief boat ride across to the island. We toured around the island before finding a spot by the water.



The island is inhabited but does not have roads or any motorized vehicles. It boasts beautiful architecture, ocean views, and plant life.



My friend and neighbour, Cori. She's a fellow Canadian.





"It is certain that difficulty goes with us, but we will overcome it from one day to the next in goodwill for salvation and general well-being."







Kari attempts a barbed wire obstacle course.





Danielle, Kari and Cori.








The view from our spot on the beach.



My view from my beach mat.



A quaint little Italian restaurant where we enjoyed lunch.









After our day at the beach we came home to the Sandcastle. Danielle taught me how to make pie crust and we made a key lime pie and an apple pie. We spent the evening watching Pushing Daisies which happens to feature a pie maker and his shop. A delicious end to a lovely day.

My Senegal Journey in Review: Sightseeing in Dakar

This post is long overdue. These views are from a newcomers sightseeing tour back in September when I was still feeling brand new to Dakar.

This is the African Renaissance statue commissioned by the Senegalese president. It is very controversial for many reasons. The exorbitant cost should be invested into the well-being of the country and its people. The statue itself was built by North Koreans and is said to be larger than the Statue of Liberty.




The view from the base of the statue.



A message from the president. It reads: Young people of Africa and of the dispersion, if one day your steps bring you to the foot of this monument, think of those who sacrificed their freedom or their lives for the renaissance (rebirth) of Africa.



Kari and I at the base of the monument with the lighthouse and the ocean in the background.


The lighthouse and the statue rest on the peaks of twin hills, Les Mamelles which means breasts.



It's a narrow, winding road to the top of the hill. We had a brief tour and saw the old bulbs that were twice the size of a bowling ball. The new bulbs are halogen and about the size of a toonie. The light is reflected with magnifying lenses that have to be covered during the day to avoid catching fire. At night we can clearly see the light from our roof.



One of the views from the lighthouse.



We enjoyed crepes by the ocean at Les Almadies, the western most part of Africa.



A lunch guest.




A breath-taking ocean view.

Christmas in Dakar: A photo journal

My parents honoured our long-standing tradition of new pjs for Christmas Eve. They arrived with friends Dec 23, just in time!



We observed the Black family Christmas Day schedule: Opened stockings, special breakfast, read the Christmas Story, and opened gifts.





Kari included a Ford family Christmas tradition when she stuffed my stocking. She included a 500 cfa coin (usually a quarter at home), and an orange.




We enjoyed a delicious breakfast of French toast with North American-style bread (an expensive treat here) and homemade syrup from scratch. We also savoured the espresso Christmas blend coffee my brother sent as a gift.



We read the Christmas story together before opening gifts.

My parents and Michelle sent/brought a lot of food items from home including 11 boxes of Kraft Dinner (packed in ziplocks for easier packing). I also got a beautiful scarf from Kari that I look forward to wearing on our upcoming trip to Madrid.



Kari also gave me a certificate for a pedicure and a handmade leather bound book from the artisan's market.



Kari got a travel book to research our trip to Madrid. We leave tomorrow night for a week.



The table is set for Christmas dinner.



A delicious Christmas Dinner: Mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry stuffing (from scratch), corn casserole, and seasoned chicken breast.



It's not quite like being at home, but it's the next best thing.



Merry Christmas from Dakar!

Michelle visits Senegal

December 14-December 22

My friend Michelle arrived Tuesday, December 14. She happened to arrive the night before exams started which was great timing for me, but not so enjoyable for her. With her help, I graded all my exams and submitted marks by noon Friday. In the meantime I was able to introduce Michelle to friends here. Tuesday night the Radford family hosted us for a delicious meal. Wednesday night was dinner at our friends Jill and Darl's. Thursday we celebrated Kari's birthday at Le Recif, an ocean side restaurant at the western most point of Africa. The holiday began Friday afternoon when we celebrated Freedom Friday with junk food and movie.

Saturday we slept in and enjoyed a lazy morning at the apartment. We headed over to the Artisan's Market mid-afternoon for some shopping with our friends Kari and Erin. Crepes at ocean-side for a late lunch, and we spent the evening making dough for ginger bread.








Sunday was a lazy day. Kari, Michelle and I headed to the Meridien, a hotel near the ocean. Kari and I will occasionally go to the pool there for a treat. When we arrived Sunday morning we were told that we would have to pay for the Sunday brunch buffet with the price of pool admission. We decided not to pay $50 per person for a swim and lunch, but we walked down the street to another hotel that had been recommended to us. We enjoyed the day beside the rooftop pool. Though the pool itself was small, we had almost the entire roof to ourselves, and an extraordinary view. The hotel district is on the tip of the peninsula so we could see the ocean on three sides. It was a very relaxing day...which was important because Sunday night was 80s LADIES NIGHT compliments of Nichole and Jenn our event planning team. They sent a complete theme night in a bag including accessories, make-up, candy, a sound track, and movies...even leg warmers!










Monday Kari, Michelle and I opted for another sun-filled day poolside, but this time we took it more seriously and went to the luxurious Radisson Bleu, a Christmas present from Michelle. We sunbathed in luxury next to the infinity pool looking out at the ocean. It was the type of atmosphere that made us feel like movie stars. After the effort we went to in order to relax, we didn't want to over exert ourselves, we shopped in the mall for an hour (Kari and I got a couple of things for our upcoming trip to Madrid) and spent the evening decorating our gingerbread house.


The darker blue is the Infinity pool, the lighter blue water is the ocean. Cool n'est-ce pas?





Tuesday was our tourist day at Goree Island. I was very proud of myself for getting us by taxi to the ferry terminal, across to the island, and guiding us around the island, to the Slave House, and to the WWII artifacts around the island. We had a lovely lunch overlooking the beach including entertainment from a vendor selling a maraca-like instrument.









Sadly, Michelle flew out Wednesday afternoon. I was so thankful for her visit and the time we had together. It was exciting to introduce her to my life here. She was an encouragement to me and we had a ton of fun. Thanks to Laura who helped to make it all possible, and to my friends and family who sent treats and Christmas gifts. I love you all, and I'm just sorry that you couldn't all come.