About 8 Saturday morning, Feluine and I left Saint Louis. Daba had come by to start cleaning so I was glad to see her again before leaving. Feluine had booked a car and driver for us for the trip and for the time in Dakar.
The drive went well. The main road out of town is a two lane paved road so easy traveling if you don’t count the regular speed bumps, the slow trucks or even horse carts. We drove through a dry flat landscape dotted with acacia trees and the occasional baobob. On our way, we took a detour to visit a longtime friend of Lake Grove, named Khadim. On the way to see him I got my Africa road experience – sandy, dry, bumpy! Not to be missed! Khadim lives near a town called Baba Garage! Isn’t that a great name?
Khadim’s home is in a tiny village – quite comfortable. His youngest daughter is named for a good friend of mine and his, LuAnn. She is 6 years old and absolutely adorable. I had some fun with her and one of the baby grandsons there. Khadim showed us his beautiful garden – probably 2-3 acres. There are large cisterns dotted around full of water and some small fish. The garden didn’t have a weed in sight and the onions, lemon trees, tomatoes, potatoes all looked healthy and well cared for. Even with all that water available, all the watering is done with sprinkling cans – big daily job.
At the back of the garden is a woven open front hut. It is Khadim’s man cave! It contains a comfortable chair and even a camp bed. A lovely retreat to relax and view the garden. After a nice lunch with him and some pictures, we bumped our way back to the main road, headed to Dakar.
After the relative small town feel of Saint Louis, Dakar is like an African New York City! Very busy, lots of traffic, tall buildings, but still many sidewalk vendors and booths. We stayed at a nice guest house run for visiting missionaries and other workers. We grabbed some supper at a little restaurant just a couple of blocks away and slept the sleep of the righteous. (You may debate that, but I’m sticking with it for now!)

Sunday we got off to a lazy start, going back to the same restaurant but this time on the bakery side. Well – that was wonderful! Many lovely pastry choices, some decent coffee, and orange juice. Great start to the day.
Our driver picked us up from there and we headed to the port to catch the boat to Goree Island. Goree is a lovely little island, with some beautiful beaches. It has changed hands between the Portuguese and the Dutch, the French and the English over the years. Some people live there year round and there are shops and restaurants. It was a glorious day and so nice to be on and by the water.
However, Goree is mainly known for one thing – the slave trade. It was the last jumping off place for slaves bound for the West. They were kept here because it is an island – hard to escape. I had a tour around the island, learning its history and fending off vendors who hawked their wares along the way – colorful fabrics, jewelry, art, carvings.
Lunch was included in the tour so we sat near the water for our food. After lunch, the museum opened. It is the main building where the slaves were kept in small rooms on the ground floor. On the upper floor lived the master of the island. It is hard to imagine him enjoying his comfortable life while just below men, women, and children were packed into those rooms with no sanitation, no room to lie down, often shackled. I’m never quite sure how to cope with this reality – being in a place that held so much human misery. I know God lets me see for a reason.
This is the location of the Door of No Return – the last place the slaves would see as they were loaded onto the ships for the horrific 6-12 week journey.
As it was Sunday, there were quite a few people around, especially in the museum. It rather disturbed the solemnity of the place but many people want to come here. It is a World Heritage site. In one room are pictures of famous visitors – Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul, and the Jackson Five!
After some quick ice cream, we caught the boat back. From there, we went to a place with all kinds of booths selling artisan crafts. Such fun to walk around and fend off vendors! I was wearing an interesting necklace so a vendor would comment on my necklace and then ask me to see his shop – “Just look!” I found a couple of small things and Feluine is the master bargainer so got the prices down to usually half of the original asking price. It really is a game, and it’s good to have a sense of humor about it all! Such fun to watch her in action!
For supper, we traveled to another part of town, on the water. It was lovely, with very good food. And we watched the sun go down and heard the waves hitting the beach. Really quite perfect!
A woman a couple of tables over had a glass of red wine. I had to deal with my covetous nature! I don’t think that I’ve mentioned that Christians here do not drink. So I’ve been dry for a month. A very good discipline!
Back to the guest house for my last sleep in Senegal. Tomorrow Morocco!