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Lac Rose sunset | Lac Rose salt | |||||||||
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 | 6 january. dakar Turning on the TV in the hotel last night to catch up with what’s going on in the world, I end up coming across exactly what I was hoping for - Arsenal v. Man U, full match replay. Shame it was 0-0. To-day is Mali visa day, so it’s an early start (6.30 alarm call) for a change and off to the embassy for 8 am. Shame the embassy doesn’t open until 9, but the nice man on the gate lets us in at 8.30 to fill in the necessary form so we’re ready to roll when the visa office opens. The visa is meant to take 48 hours, which would mean staying in Dakar and in our nice but relatively expensive hotel over the weekend, something we’d rather avoid. We ask if the visa can be issued to-day. It can. Thank you very much. For you, sir. Come back this afternoon. We head into Dakar. With trepidation. Pockets empty of everything. Socks full. No camera, nor camcorder. We needn’t have bothered - at least not in the centre of town around the main Place de l’Independence on a quiet Friday. Sure, we attract our share of beggars, street hustlers and guides, but nothing heavy. I even manage to get a footie shirt seller to drop his price for a proper Senegal green strip (no. 7 - Camara) to 2,500 CFA (re £2.50); the cheapest so far and below the 4,000 CFA we’d been told was the correct price by Malick , our friend from St. Louis. (The first price I’d be given in St. Louis was 30,000 CFA for both the green and white strip, not for sale individually) As we are going to be in Mali for the African Nations Cup and probably in Ghana (?) for the World Cup, I pass. I’d prefer to get the strips of the countries I’m in during the tournaments - even if it means getting a “Black Cats” Ghanian strip with Michael Essien on the back! We wander down to the docks and catch the ferry over to the Ile de Goree, from where a fair number of the 12-15 million Africans were shipped as slaves to the Americas during the 400 years of the slave trade. It is estimated another 6 million died before reaching America, either as part of the fighting to enslave people in the first instance, due to illness, maltreatment or during the long journey to the coast and across the Atlantic. We often talk about why Africa is in the state it is; and there are many reasons. To-day, visiting the Maison des Esclaves on the island, with it’s damp, dark cells where people were squashed together (30 or 40 to a room 3 metres by 4 metres) prior to being put on the boats, made us reflect a bit more. As you might well expect. While Europe spent the period from the mid 15th to mid 19th century sorting itself into a defined set of nation states - with established borders, stable populations, systems of government and official religions, establishing cultures and histories, moving from agricultural to industrial societies, progressing - it also spent that time stripping Africa. From Senegal in the north all the way down to Angola in the south, European nations searched for labour to work in their American colonies. By force or by trade, as some African leaders actively colluded with them, they went as far as Mozambique in the South East to find slaves. Stripping Africa over some 400 years of some of it’s most able people. There were 4 main rules concerning slaves arriving in one of the slaves houses in Goree: It was nigh on impossible to escape from the island via the sea. If you weren’t shot by one of the guards (mostly free blacks), then the sharks would certainly get you (attracted to the waters off the island by the bodies of the ill thrown to them). Leaving the museum, leaving the past behind us, we wander back to the small harbour and catch the ferry back to Dakar. After lunch, and with time to spare before returning to the Mali embassy, we wandered down to the Kermel Market, an ornate round indoor food market which was packing up as we arrived. Outside, tourist nicknacks. We stop to look at tam tams. Half an hour later, we catch a taxi back to the Mali embassy the proud owners of our own “talking drum”. Roll on, Mali and the music festival. We can join in! Bang Bang Bang. While haggling for the drum, a man professing to be a well known musician (“I’ve played with Youssou N’Dour”) offers to teach us how to play it properly. We arrange for him to come to our hotel in the evening. The evening is bizarre, in that “I’monlyheretotrytoripoffthetoubab!” sort of way. We’re getting quite good at recognising guys on the make (95% of them unfortunately) and this one was a lot of fun to sit back and watch, his performance often making us want to burst out laughing. It’s all good natured enough, but leaves us regretting once again how hard it is to meet and spend time with Africans without money or presents entering into the proceedings at some stage. Dommage. 7 january, dakar to lac rose We spend the morning perusing a nice big bookshop and buying onward maps and the Guide des Routards for Africa, followed by an internet cafe update. We toddle off slowly, traffic being as bad as it is around Dakar, towards the Lac Rebta, or Pink Lake as it’s more commonly known, which is about 50 miles NE of Dakar. Unfortunately, due to too much rain apparently, the lake is not pink. It is lake coloured. Bluey/brown. It is a peaceful spot though and we decide to spend a couple of days. Overlooking the lake, we follow a typical evening’s routine. A quick wash or shower if we’re lucky as the afternoon progresses and change into long trousers, long sleeves and socks. We look stupid wearing just this, so we put on the rest of our clothes as well. A dab of anti-mossie lotion behind the ears (and all over Mark’s head) and we’re ready for the evening onslaught. In reality, our precautions make little difference. We both know that whatever happens the mossies are going to ignore MJ and head straight for Mark. Not a day has passed since we’ve entered the malaria zone that I haven’t been bitten at least once. There will be trouble ahead! 5 pm and it’s time to listen to the World Service’s 5 pm “Focus on Africa”. Is anything bad happening anywhere near where we are? No. Good. If we’re camping, we normally prepare dinner ourselves (well, MJ does) . First things first though, a beer or whisky and coke. Foodwise, a staple diet of something including one or several of pasta, potato, bread, tomato, cucumber, tuna, egg is normal, After some lovely curried potato for lunch to-day (picked straight from the field), it’s spaghetti bolognaise this evening. Washing up is always a joy, especially when done on the floor with a bit of boiled hot water and a touch of dettol. Overlander info: Having read about the lake’s reputation for touts and hustlers especially around Niaga village to the south, we drove to the lake from Bambilor and had no problems at all. We camped at Bonaba Cafe (on the left hand side of the lake. Follow the piste up the right hand side and round the top). The English couple that owned it left in 2002 and the place is pretty run down now unfortunately - no water while we were there. It is in a great position though beside the lake and peaceful. Expensive at 4,000 CFA per person for camping. Start of piste in Bambilor leading to lakeside: GPS : N 14°48.156 W017°11.086. Bonaba Cafe: GPS : N 14°50.577 W017°14.173. Factory shop (Ferme de Wayenbam) selling fresh milk, creme fraiche and great fruit juice!: GPS : N 14°49.268 W017°12.108. 8 january. lac rose, near dakar It’s my brother’s birthday to-day. Happy Birthday, Paul. After listening to the 5 pm African News round-up on the World Service (and hearing the last 5 minutes of Man U’s impressive 0-0 result with Burton Albion!), we ring Paul to sing Happy Birthday to him over the satellite phone. “So, how are you finding it living in a confined space?” he asks after a few minutes. Marie-Jo and I are sitting outside, overlooking the lake with no-one around and with no noise apart from the noise of the waves breaking on the beach over the dunes behind us and the songs of the various birds surrounding us - lapwings, thick knees, hawks, sparrows, terns, egrets, herons. We love living like this! Sure, all our things might be packed into a 12 foot by 5 foot vehicle, but our horizons are so much wider than if we lived in a house. The sun is setting to our right, baby sparrows are crying to be fed from their nest in the roof of the bungalow behind us, that heron seems still to be standing out in the middle of the lake having been there all day, the Lac Rose itself is determinedly NOT turning pink in the sunset and the boats that flocked on the lake in the morning collecting salt water have all returned to the far shore; mounds of salt lining the water’s edge like mounds of snow beside the roadside in Montreal during the winter. Except of course it’s still 20 C here in the evening light. Nature is so beautiful it’s wonderful to be able to look at it each and every day. We decide to eat in the campsite “restaurant”. With no electricity, the chef is knocking something up in the dark with a torch. Chicken Yassa, a Senegalese favourite, and it looks suspiciously liked warmed-up leftovers from lunchtime. The chicken might be from their own chicken run, but it was clearly the runt of the run! Tough, with little meat. Heavy on the onion and luckily there’s a lot of rice. We eat in the light of a candle. Recipe for Chicken Yassa. For 4 people: 1 chicken, 4 lemons, 3 big onions, salt, pepper, a chilli, vinegar, peanut oil, water. The evening before, cut the chicken into 4 pieces, place them on a board and give them a good battering to soften up the flesh. In a casserole, add the salt, pepper and the chilli (chopped into little bits). Add the juice of the lemons and an equal amount of vinegar and peanut oil. Marinade the chicken pieces and the sliced onions overnight. To cook. Brown the chicken pieces over a hot heat, using plenty of oil. In the casserole, put 4 or 5 tablespoons of peanut oil. When hot, add the onion and cook until golden. Add the chicken pieces and the marinade, along the a little water and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with rice.
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MJ at Lac Rose | |||||||||
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Senegalese vibe | |||||||||
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OME Shocks - good suspension | |||||||||
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Machismo reigns | |||||||||
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Confined space | |||||||||
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