The Vuvuzela Diaries

‘Its a problem’, the police officer was referring to Mikaela leaving her indicator flashing after she had pulled over and stopped, at his request, for a routine passport check. ‘Its no problem’, her succinct reply. ‘Its a problem’ (policeman repeats); ‘No, its no problem’ (Mik).. ‘Okay, its no problem, bon voyage.’ If only all traffic infringements could be dealt with this way!

Like everything else in Senegal this chap was essentially friendly and positive but let himself down (with this poor attempt at securing a bribe).

We spent our first two nights in St Louis at a fantastic campsite on a thin peninsula in between the Senegal River mouth and the Atlantic. The long white sandy beach was ideal for the kicking off some Knysna half marathon training, although it was sad that if we’d run barefoot our feet would have been shredded by all the litter and broken glass. Similarly we enjoyed walking along the lagoon, watching locals fish and work in cultivated vegetable patches, but the shoreline was strewn with plastic, glass and a dead goat! Even a school of fish in the lagoon beached themselves (and rebeached themselves when we threw them back), opting for mass suicide ahead of living on amidst the mess.

St Louis is one of Senegals premier tourist towns and the peninsula we stayed on is the towns main tourist attraction. The peninsula is only about 5km long and 500m wide.  If there is a 2.5km² area anywhere in the country that warrants the cost of a litter cleaning crew, this is it. But that need is overlooked in favour of ensuring that the driver of any car without a severely cracked windscreen is carrying the correct documentation, a triangle and fire extinguisher!

Despite the annoyance of seeing the wasted potential we enjoyed our stay in St Louis. We visited the nearby nature reserves and eco-resorts, liked the locals and their dirty kids who seemed happier than most despite the fact that their playground was the dusty streets of a fish market and had a delicious steak at La Residence.

From St Louis we drove south to Dakar. The countryside looks increasingly like the South African lowveld. My attempt to donate a football to a group of lads in a youth club alongside a dusty football pitch in a small town ended ambiguously when one of the chaps grabbed the ball from his mates and sprinted off. I like to think they later hunted him down, gave him a sound beating and then enjoyed a game of footie.

Dakar is a city that grows on you.

The only camping option seemed to be the Oceana centre which was not a campsite but a dive centre that ‘Tale of Two Travellers’ had used and been allowed to stay at. It looked like any other slightly rundown clubhouse, but its location in a wealthy central area below the presidents house, on the sea was fantastic. It was populated by a variety of characters, the local fishermen being the only group with any clear sense of purpose.

Our 3 days in Dakar were spent doing some admin, some paddling in the bay, a tourist outing to a nearby former-slaving island and world war 2 military base, but mostly enjoying the local beer, ‘Flag’, and coastal restaurants.

That was all about a week ago. We are now (8 March) back in Senegal after a 4 day excursion to The Gambia. I am writing this from a boma overlooking the magnificent, pristine Gambia River. Unfortunately productivity amongst us scribes is now a lot closer to that of the hippo that is 500m away from me than it is to all you hardworking city folk so you may have to wait a few days for details.

Now, where’s that beer?

‘

Couched between the arid desert lands in Northern Senegal and lush tropical forests in the south, this country boasts a stunning array of sights, sounds and flavours. The capital Dakar alone hands you the country in a capsule. Perched on the tip of a beach-lined peninsula, this dizzying city is composed elegance and street hustle all rolled into one. The busy streets, vibrant markets and glittering nightlife will easily draw you into their relentless rhythm, but the escape route is always open – be it to the meditative calm of the historical Île de Gorée or the golden sands of Yoff and N’Gor. And if Dakar’s sensory overload really gets too much, architecturally beautiful Saint-Louis, the first French settlement in West Africa, boasts a vibrant urban culture without the inner-city bustle.

Most visitors head to Senegal for its beaches, and for good reason. North and south of Dakar, wide strips of white sand invite swimming and sunbathing, whether in the built-up resort zones, where a lazy day at the beach can be followed by a cocktail trail at night, or in one of the coast’s charming fishing villages, the beaches of which are dotted with hundreds of colourful wooden pirogues. At the deltas of the Casamance and Saloum Rivers, the coastline is broken up into a maze of thick mangroves, tiny creeks, wide lagoons and shimmering plains. A pirogue trip through these striking zones reveals hundreds of bird species, from the gleaming wings of tiny kingfishers to the proud poise of pink flamingos. Whether you want to mingle with the trendsetters of urban Africa, or be alone with your thoughts and the sounds of nature – Senegal is the place to be.

With thanks to The Lonely Planet

Friends,

With some hard driving we made it through Mauritania in 5 days (1.5 days getting through the Moroccan border!). Its a spectacular desert country so it was a real shame to rush it. The security situation seems stable (plenty of heavily armed military patrolling the highway) but most other tourists were doing the same as us and driving straight through, all in convoys and some with armed protection.

The police and army throughout Morocco and Mauritania were excellent. All very friendly and mostly very professional. We had far fewer attempts to extort ‘cadeaux’ from us than we were lead to expect by other blogs. This seems to have changed for the worse in Senegal, starting with a €20 ‘tax’ to cross a bridge in no mans land, but we have only been here a day so perhaps we’ve judged them too soon.

We are now enjoying some down time in St Louis. Our campsite straddles the Senegal River and a great beach.

For those of you who are still trying to figure out exactly who we are check out the new diary characters page.

Cheers

We’re hoping to drive from London to South Africa in time to catch a few football matches.

En route we are planning to distribute soccer balls on behalf of the 2010 Campaign.

Good times!