I had heard from a few different people that Dakar was one place I had to get to while in Western Africa, and given that I would be in The Gambia (which is a sliver of a country literally cutting through the middle of Senegal. Oh colonialism), it seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. Well, all those people were completely right. Dakar is an incredibly cool city, one that unfortunately makes Accra look worse in comparison. It just has a certain atmosphere and charm and beauty that Accra, for all its great qualities, completely lacks. I spent two weekends there, before and after the conference, with my truly great hosts, fellow PiAf Fellows Izzy, Janeen, and former fellow Joe (also their house is awesome and did no favors to my opinion of my own place in Accra).
The first thing that was immediately evident to me was the huge influence that French colonialism had over the city. In Ghana you don’t really get the sense that this was a British colony, but the French presence is all over Dakar:
1. Tree-lined streets!
2. Public parks!
3. Bakaries and boulangeries! (seriously the pastries and bread are sooo good here)
4. The street signs!
French colonialism is also on clear display on Ile de Goree, an island a 20-minute ferry ride away from Dakar that was a center of the colonial government. It’s a very small, walkable island full of really colorful houses and old colonial forts. About a 1,000 people live there now (all Senegalese) and it’s a big tourist destination as well as a day trip spot for Senegalese families (who mostly go for the beach there). Unfortunately, a rain storm came right as the ferry was departing Dakar and only let up when our ferry left Goree a few hours later (seriously the timing was impeccable), which put somewhat of a damper on the whole trip. It was still a very pretty and picturesque place though, and I can only imagine how beautiful it would be with a blue sky as a backdrop
The biggest “attraction” on Goree is probably the Maison des Esclaves, which was reportedly used as a slave prison. It has a famous curved staircase, and the “Door of No Return” out of which slaves were boarded onto boats bound for the US. Now, apparently Goree’s place in slave history is way over-blown for tourists and actually only about 300 slaves at most were ever kept at Maison des Esclaves, but it was still an interesting experience.
Leaving Goree: Aunt Terri – doesn’t it kind of look like an African version of St. Tropez??
Besides the French influence, my other major impression of Dakar was how much life there revolves around the ocean. While Accra is on the water, this is an easily, easily forgettable fact. In Dakar, it's the opposite (ok this is probably in large part because Dakar is a peninsula). The main road from the suburbs where I was staying to downtown runs right along the coast (and is BEAUTIFUL – kind of reminded me of Cape Town actually). Beaches full of Senegalese families dot the edge of the city. Seafood is HUGE (we ate dinner one night at this seafood restaurant right on the ocean at Point des Almadies, the most Western point in Africa. The fish was incredibly fresh AND they had nutella crepes, so it was basically amazing. Also, I can now say I’ve been to the most Southern and the most Western points in Africa. Too bad the most Eastern is in Somalia and the most Northern is in Tunisia – neither places I see myself visiting anytime soon). .
Izzy, Janeen, and Joe live literally right next to the Mamelle lighthouse, a still operational lighthouse on top of a hill. We walked to the top for a picnic dinner and watched the sunset over the ocean one night with great views of the city. I have a weird obsession with views (another thing Accra is lacking – ok I’m done now. Accra has lots of awesome things Dakar doesn’t, like power. I’m getting to that), so I loved this. It also provided a great view of one of Dakar’s weirder landmarks. About two years ago, a HUGE statue was erected along the coast. It symbolizes “the African Renaissance.” All good so far, right? Except that was given as a gift by the Chinese and built by the North Koreans. So not very African.
Ok, so now the not so great part about Dakar. They have serious, serious electricity problems there. As in there is simply not enough. So everyone in the city only has power about half the time. This is no fun. And people are starting to get upset about it. A group of young men who identify with the “Fed Up” movement have started protesting the electricity cuts. Good for them, right – holding their government responsible for not providing a necessary service. Well, sure, except when I’m trying to get to the airport at midnight to catch my flight back to Accra and the protesters are burning tires and throwing rocks at cars trying to pass right at the street leading to the airport. My cab driver tried to negotiate with them to let us pass, while I attempted in my limited French to convey that seriously, its ok to turn around and go another way, because I did not want to end my time in Senegal with a rock in my face. So that was an adventure.
A few more pictures:
The fish market
Senegalese signature dish: Cebbu Jen (this has like a million different spellings for the record. An alternative is Thieboudienne. It's rice and fish.)
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