Dakar Baby!

I have always thought that there is nothing more exhilarating than waking up at some silly time in the morning to begin a journey in the dark. I'm not sure whether Emily , Amy and Andrew appreciated my enthusiasm at 5am but going to Dakar for the weekend was just too exciting for words!  As luck would have it, the Peace Corps had a softball tournament in Dakar that same weekend which resulted in a hassle free lift straight into the city for us. I say hassle free... So we walked to the meeting place, Omar's restaurant, in the dark and met a group of very subdued Americans waiting for the coach. The coach was already there so once everyone had arrived we piled on. There was a strange smell when we boarded. We managed to find four seats together and began to tuck into our breakfast; sour milk and cous (only a little nicer than it sounds). After 20 minutes and no sign of the driver, a coach comes round the corner and stops. It didn't take long to realise that the coach was in fact our coach. God knows whose coach we were sat on! It had probably been there for months which went some way to explain the smell! We all filed out and began to walk towards the real coach. It was still dark at this point and my enthusiasm was beginning to be replaced by drowsiness. I couldn't see Amy in the crowd so turned round to get a better look. Without warning the ground beneath my feet completely disappeared. A wave of confusion swept over me as I felt myself falling. Before I could really absorb what was happening I was surrounded by concerned Americans all offering an outstretched arm. It suddenly hit me when I heard someone shout "Oh my God... did you see that girl fall in the ditch?!" I cannot believe I forgot that there is a huge ditch between Omars and the road. Oh well I survived to tell the tale and provided some entertainment to a sleepy crowd. A few harmless grazes later, I was on the real coach heading for the ferry. The ferry crossing was very cold but watching the sunrise over the water made it the most beautiful crossing I have experienced so far. We grabbed another coach on the north bank to take us to the border. The border was quick and the rest of the journey went smoothly. After a drink stop in Kaolack, a lot of junk food and occasional dancing to various i-pod tunes, we finally arrived in Dakar around 5pm. Going from a view of never-ending sand tracks to cafes and skyscrapers was quite an event. The energy in Dakar was addictive. The streets were full of men pushing carts of coffee and various sellers ready to sell you anything from a toothbrush to a game of monopoly. We spent the entire weekend eating croissants, drinking coffee (even I drank the coffee, it was that nice!) and marvelling at the wine selection. We visited the cathedral and I eventually bought a candle from the woman outside after attempting to communicate in French... not my strong point. We took a boat trip to Goree Island which is a peaceful oasis of calm compared to Dakar. There were no tarmac roads, just narrow sandy alleyways sandwiched by buildings with shuttered windows. I felt like I was in France for the day. Went to a cocktail bar for one evening and I managed to sneak into a live Jazz/soul gig for the last couple of songs, great fun! Our last evening was Valentines night and in true Gambian fashion we all hit the town in outfits made from of the same fabric (they call it asobi). Had a lovely meal and then prepared for the 5am start the next day to head back to The Gambia. The next morning was not quite as exciting as the first early start and after 6 hours in a car to the border, 30 mins in a taxi to Barra, an hours wait for a gelli gelli, another brief pause to change vehicles when the gelli gelli broke down and then an hour or so drive into Kerewan,  I was more than happy to see my little house!