Part 6: Senegal

 

Arriving in Senegal, we make our first stop at Saint-Louis. On the short road we were stopped twice by the police to check our papers. We did our first shopping in a supermarket and found that everything was extremely expensive because it was imported. But it was the return of the beer that Paco had been waiting for.

After all that driving and struggling, a shower would be nice, so we looked for a campsite on the peninsula, but to no avail. It's hot and the Senegalese in their cars are stopping all over the place, causing traffic jams. The van is overheating, so we turn the heating on to cool it down. We arrive in red-face on the peninsula, where we find that there are no more campsites. The hotels won't give us a parking space and the room rates are way too high for us. I thought Senegal would be cheaper than Mauritania and Morocco...

We found a spot next to an abandoned hotel, just a few steps from the beach, in the shade of a tree. We put our feet in the sand. The beach, surrounded by palm trees and coconut crabs, could be magnificent, but unfortunately it's full of plastic and rubbish, the sad reality...

 

The next day we visited Saint-Louis. Every time Paco stopped for a photo, dozens of children gathered around the van to make the dog bark and try to open the doors. It's a bad first experience for me and I'm dreading the rest of the country. Paco, for his part, is overjoyed to be in Senegal; he feels at home here. Senegal is a country where there are "no laws, no rules" and shamelessness, which he finds very satisfying.

We visit the city on foot, a beautiful city with water, fishing villages, birds of all kinds and colours. We came across some buildings built during the French occupation.

We continued on our way. We had been warned that the police, customs and gendarmerie here are very corrupt. Tourists are stopped all the time and they look for the slightest excuse to fine them.
During the trip they tried to fine us for "altering the vehicle" because it had been converted to live in. We just had to be patient and wait. In the end they dropped the case because it was unfounded.

So we avoided the main roads because there's too much corruption.

We stopped in Thies to do some shopping and to find a sim card so we could call our families. It took a lot of patience. In total, it took us more than two and a half hours at Orange to get a card. We had to fight our way through all the people walking past us and the counters avoiding us. And when we left the agency, nothing was working.

You have to be patient in Senegal. As they say, we Europeans have a clock, but the Senegalese have time.

We went to a surf spot, but unfortunately the waves weren't there. We spent the night there and decided to go back to Dakar, where it's possible to surf. Initially we wanted to avoid Dakar, everyone told us to skip this city, but for the surf, we decided to go there.

When we arrived in Dakar, miles of traffic jams and hours to cover a few kilometres were the reality of this big city. After a long and tiring drive, we decided to stop at a small community campsite where backpackers and sailors meet to talk about their journeys. It's a quiet place near the beach, under coconut trees. The people are friendly. We met local people who make jewellery, clothes and nougats. These people are always smiling and very interesting.

We stayed there for two nights, enough time to visit the town, drink coconuts and try the local cuisine.

In the morning, we got up early to go and check out the surf spots. There's a lot of surfing potential in Dakar as there are a lot of swell directions.

The surfing scene in Senegal is concentrated in this city, with a good level of surfing, but the biggest problem is water pollution. Despite this, Paco has found some waves in Dakar.

It's time for us to leave this city that I particularly enjoyed. To avoid traffic jams, we decided to leave at 6.30am. We noticed that from 7am it was already difficult to get around.

We decided to go to Somone where there was surfing potential. When we got there we found a wave that was closing. We took the opportunity to visit the area and found that it's a very touristy place. We wander around and come across a small craft and souvenir village. We had a little chat with each of the owners. Another opportunity to buy some souvenirs for our families.

We head towards the Sine Saloum in search of some surf. We found a small longboard wave, which Paco took advantage of. While I'm filming, a group of curious kids come up to us and watch Paco for a while. Paco decides to get out of the water and teach those who want to try surfing.

We decided to sleep in the middle of the mangrove. In the evening the mosquitoes were everywhere and it was impossible to get out of the van until the morning. I was amazed to see what I thought were foxes approaching the van. We later learned that they were African jackals. An even more unique moment.

Back on the road. After a few hours the heat is starting to bite and we need to find some shade. We decide to visit a reclining baobab tree. After several closed tracks we find the one that takes us there. Under the tree we met three women selling souvenirs. We exchanged a few words with them and bought a few souvenirs.

An hour later we heard "Mister, come and eat! Call your wife". These women, Kumba, Fatou and Ndiane, have prepared food for everyone, for the herdsmen, for themselves and for us. We eat thiebou guinar, a traditional dish of rice and chicken. We're delighted to be eating local food. We share a meal, tea and lots of conversation.

It was an afternoon to remember. These women are extremely friendly.

We had planned to go to Casamance. To do this, we need to bypass Gambia because Senegal's re-entry formalities are cumbersome and expensive. There's a 1000km detour inland to get to the south and the surfing conditions are not good. It's flat for a long time, which is rare for a winter in Senegal. The road to get there goes through inland where the temperature is close to 40°C, very hot for us, the dog and the truck. That's the downside of travelling in a van for a long time, you can't always be in the right place at the right time. You have to make choices.

After much deliberation we decided not to go any lower. These 1000km will take us to Mauritania. A wiser choice economically, but above all for the health of the vehicle.

So we decided to make the most of this country. The next day we visited the BANDIA Reserve to see all the animals this country has to offer. With our van and a guide we saw giraffes, zebras, ostriches, crocodiles, varans, buffalos, impalas, antelopes, turtles, hyenas and even rhinoceroses.

We headed back towards Saint-Louis as the swell was supposed to be coming in. When we arrived at our wild camping spot, no sandbanks had formed. There's not much chance of surfing here.

In the evening we meet Samba and Popee who offer to cook for us. Grilled fish and very hot onions. We had a great evening and Popee invited us to eat thiéboudiène, a typical rice and fish dish, with his family the next day. It was an opportunity for us to meet his mother, who works for an association that promotes children's education. She trains young people in certain skills. We ate this traditional dish and shared a convivial moment.

That same evening, there's a football match between Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire. This sport is very popular here. Everyone follows the African Cup of Nations. Paco decided to watch the match with our friends, while I, exhausted from the previous days, decided to have a quiet evening.
Paco was able to watch it on a giant screen with more than a hundred people. The atmosphere was euphoric until Senegal lost.

Time for us to head back to Diama.