Distance: None (35km around the city)
Country: Senegal
Song of the Day: Islands on the Coast - Band of Horses
Since the place was so nice, I decided to stick around an extra day. Well worth it. Not that I did a whole lot. I hit the town in the morning. Grabbed some food, and supplies. Then it was back to the beach. I spent a couple of hours wandering the beach and then a quick dip in the ocean. Then it was back to the city to take pictures. (I had forgotten my camera earlier.)
The more I see the city, the more conflicted I am. I like it, but it looks like a city in mock abandonment. The people are still there, but everything is worn through and run down. When the French came they built a beautiful colonial city. It has a relaxed tropical style. Times changed and the capital and the population moved to Dakar. After independence, the buildings began to crumble. It is now the skeleton of a once great city. In places you can see its tarnished glory shining through
. But there is also the dust and trash in the streets. The shoreline choked with refuse and children begging in the streets. It is haunting in that way because you can see everything it was or could be again.Back at camp I started talking to a British guy named Andrew. He was actually traveling north on a Motorcycle after coming through Mali. We also went out for a bit of dinner and talked about all the weird stuff that makes up Africa. At least the parts that we have seen. It is such a different culture. So much of the stuff we take for granted is a foreign concept here. Garbage, basic sanitation, maintenance, and general safety are all things that are though of differently.
After that I went back and got into bed. Back on the bike in the morning.
-Dravis
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