I was eating in the cafeteria on Monday when a fellow military officer plopped down at my table and asked my favorite type of question: “Do you want to go to….?”
In this case, the blank was filled in by “The Gambia tomorrow”.
Is this a trick question? Do I want to break out of this peninsula and start to check stuff out on the cheap? Of course I do! (It might surprise you to know that air travel within the African continent is pretty expensive- not much in the way of budget airfares like we have in l’Occident). At heart, I think I will always be an economizing backpacker wandering around the world, so I really want to stretch the travel stipend that the Olmsted Foundation has so graciously provided.
Offer extended and accepted, yesterday morning I found myself climbing into one of the obnoxiously large, yet highly practical Land Cruisers. I was ready for the 7 to 9 hour road trip that would bring us to “The Smiling Coast of Africa”.
This mosque is done in a style very different than what you normally see around here. Check out the trash in the foreground- must be getting close to Kaolack!
Leaving Kaolack. A shining sea of trash.
Incidentally, while discussing the trash problem, my travel companion asked me if I knew anything about the national bird of Senegal. I didn’t so he told me that it’s a plastic bag floating through the air. Maybe it was because I had a really full bladder (and thus couldn’t safely contract my abdominals) but I found this quite hilarious. Between the terrible joke and an abundance of potholes, I almost had to make him pull over and run into a tiny bush to save myself.
We passed LOTS of these. Again, it’s not terrorist attacks, not getting murdered, not rhino attacks- but rather auto accidents that are most likely to kill you in Africa.
Yes, Land Cruisers are actually built for something other than soccer moms! This was fun! (Bathroom stop already completed)
Moving south, the topography changes and it starts to get green. Before the border we stopped at a hotel that offers the best views of Senegal’s second largest national park, the Parc National du Delta du Saloum. Completely alien to the concrete and dust that comprises Dakar, this region provides a lush display of lagoons, mangrove creeks and palm trees that are carved in two by the Saloum river. We didn’t stay long, but I really want to go back and explore this area.
I’ll leave it here, since next we got to the border and it makes for a natural break in subjects. I also want to try and avoid providing too much of a photo slideshow, lest your eyes glaze from overindulgence of my propensity for snapping photos while riding in a moving vehicle.