We have not been explored much Dakar self, but we got a small glance of the town with Grand Mosque, Medina etc. And of course I was curious at Pink Lake Retba so we did one trip there to look at.
It wasn't as pink as I thought that it will be. Maybe when we were there the light and time was not our friend. Small lake it was also, thought it will be bigger. But a lot of salt in so you could just lie in the water without further. Too bad I didn't have the swimsuit with me, otherwise I would try to do it.
And of course also we were going to island Goree. The trip by boat went fast, just at 15 minutes approximately. The ticket cost 1000 CFA per person, then on the island you had to pay tax of 5000 CFA.
Reminder of what it feels like not to be free and then to be free, locals we met told us that it was important not to forget this shameful period.
Next day we headed towards Kaolack. First I wanted go to St. Louis and even to Touba, but decided to skip because St. Louis was far of our rote and Touba was not much to see now when they renovate mosque, so we wouldn't see the building itself.
The streets in Dakar and even roads towards Mbour reminded me of roads in Colombia where there were so many cars and trucks, incredible. The people were also hanging on the buses, funny to see it ☺.
Until Mbour, along the road were terrible nothing saying houses, only big traffic, as said. But after Mbour it began be a little more adventurous. Maybe because they repaired the road or because there were area of lagunes and no idea to have paved roads which would be destroyed of the water under rain period, anyway we got to drive on the piste so it began be a little exciting but even slowly.
To Koalack we arrived afternoon, found one good Auberge, outside the town there we get simple but comfortable room. But we stayed only over night, it was nothing special to see there. We took one round there in afternoon after our arrival, to see how it looks like, but it was only many people overall, small stands along streets with everything possible from clothes to pots etc.
Our trip continued to Tambacounda, the road was nice paved and straight so it went pretty fast. It was a bit monotonous landscape around, nothing to look at really. On Savanna was some shrubs, few trees, some weed. But those terrible houses between Dakar and Mbour disappeared and instead began be a lot of fun huts typical for Senegal, but maybe inside there wouldn't be so much fun for us to live there.
This picture we had at the room and I liked it, so
I took the opportunity and shot it.
To Tambacounda we arrived quite early, we found hotel directly, with swimming pool and so though I did not go swimming anyway.
We went and look a bit around Tambacounda,
but it was untidy city, lots of people, cars, junk,
stand, like in Kaolack.
In fact the whole of Senegal, for the most part, was untidy and they just threw garbage all over the place, even outside their own homes.
At morning I took a little more information of how to find entrance to Niokolo-Koba Park which was one of my biggest intention to go to Senegal. The entrance to the Park was in Dar Salam, an hour trip from Tambacounda.
The road was good at first, then became a little worse, but it was good anyway. On the way we were stopped by the police, but he was nice and a little curious, did not want to look at a driver's license or car paper but just talk.
When we arrived to Dar Salam, we took first coffee at a dilapidated place that was probably a good stay with bungalows, once upon a time. Man there he was really nice and tried to talk, but could not English and we not French so communication was a little "comsi comsa". There was no mobile connection, neither internet, we were out of the world LOL. Great, as before mobile and internet came to.
Then we went to the entrance of the Park, had to pay per day and person 10000 FCA, per car also 10000 FCA and 10000 FCA per person to guide that was required to have in all parks everywhere. And because we would stay 2 days, so everything multiplice by 2 .... even the car of course LOL.
Later when we arrived to hotel Simenti in middle of the park it was not exactly cheap there either, we got to pay I think about 50000CFA for the bungalow, breakfast and dinner. So it was not such exactly cheap adventures, but it was so important for me to see it so ...
Then we went through the forest, for quite some time, maybe 30 km or so, didn't see any animals, yet once a wild boar, a little monkey and some really nice antelopes.
On big termites mound, often in those holes are hidden animals, but not this time of course.
very nice color of palms, dark green one
here I hoped to find one lion haha but of course, he wasn't there, probably afraid of me who is born in his sign ☺
Later we got talk with one French student who was there in some German project for to study monkeys and she told us that under her half year there she saw a lion only once.
So one have to by lucky if he can see
a lion.
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| mare Simenti |
We wanted to take a boat trip on the Gambia River, but it would cost 20 thousand so we skipped it, quite expensive and also it started be darker a bit and we could not see much.
So we sat on something like a terrace and watching crocodiles as low and lazed on the other side of the river.
Then I heard something like dogs but it turned out that it was the baboons who sounds like dogs, so now
I understand why people say that you are screaming like a baboon. Wanted take a picture of them but unfortunately they were too fast and before I managed to prepare my camera they disappeared, stupid they LOL.
hotel Simenti
There is no power at the hotel so just around noon generator put the running , but after we had finished dinner it closed off, so we had to light candles and sat with light on, showering as well.
But it was nice, for a while to live without mobil, internet and the light.
There somewhere is also one Lion campement, but we not found it, or rather, we did not searched after it and this Simenti place was nice and good in any case.
Those sticks on the beach there are crocodiles. Earlier I saw many crocodiles, but it was on one crocodile farm and so. And now I saw them for the first time in theirs right environment.
By the way, it was actually beautiful there with the River Gambia and semi-tropical forest and I regretted only that it was not possible to stay there longer than two days, one night. But we did not have much time plus it was not so cheap there either.
On our way out from the park we met then some strange animals, something like rhino fixed without corners, instead with 2 horns on each side of the head as they usually are, haha. But it was No more animals we've seen.
Then our trip in the Park was over and we continued to Velingara and Kolda. From Velingara to Kolda the first 30 km approx it was very bad road, I think I have never ever drove on any similar road like this. But it was funny in any case to drive there, to see also what all is possible to do, when you run for something unexpected. However, I have known about it, so there was really nothing unexpected, but still did not thought that the road is in such bad condition as it was.
But after those about 30 km the road became be realy good and nice until Abene where we were on the way for to take a couple of days relaxing on the hotel Atlantic where we were last February and liked it very much. On the way happened nothing special, only once we saw poor death donkey, some probably had run over. He was laying dead there at the edge of the road and ugly vultures sat on him and ate. Poor he, they are so beautiful and here are they extra fine I think.
From Kolda the way I wanted to take was OK even if it was not main road. I wanted not go via Ziguinchor for it would be longer and we saw all there last time we were here, I wanted to see something new. At the hotel in Kolda they said about the road via Ziguinchor that it admittedly was good at first, but then really bad. So we went the way I wanted to take over Bounkiling to Bignona.
Last time the road from Bignona to Abene was quite terrible as I remember but they have repaired it so it was fine.
After a few days relaxing, having only nice lazy days in Abene we continued our trip which changed into Apocalypse for a couple of days.
We left Abene and went via Bignona and Bounkiling to Soma in Gambia, where we would take the ferry across the river Gambie. It was good way to drive, it went good until Gambia then. Then came the Apocalypse, on the border with the Gambia.
In Senegal, it was no problem, they stamped our passports and so we went into the Gambia.
We drove about 3 meters to one police officer who was standing there. He commanded us then to go with him. Then he asked us if we know what we did for fault and that we now had a problem. We said we don't know what we did to get problems.
Then it came up that we did not have a seat belt on, that now we're in the Gambia and that he doesn't care about how it is in Senegal. We looked a bit confused and I said we went only to him where I stopped the car, so we didn't take a seat belt on those 3 meters, of course. But he just banging about all the time the same so we wondered what he means, if it is a crime and if we're going to go to jail for it, or what we can do about it.
He was babbling giant long anything and that we're going to pay a fine for it. We wanted to know how much and that we only have the CFA, and if he not accept EUR how we can do it. We regretted that we didn't have Dalasi and there is no ATM so how can do. In the end, he agreed we can pay in CFA, 10000 he wanted to have. But first I got to apologize many times before he let us go.
So we went to the car and drove a bit to pass control. Where I got to go here and there and everywhere I got to pay some money in CFA was it anyway. I think that in all there was something about 10000 CFA. And I think it took about 1 hour before we were cope with everything. I was soaking wet because it was warm in the Sun when I got running here and there all the time.
Then we drove to Soma where it would be 2-3 hotels. On the way to the one we got another "nice" treatment by the police, but in the end they told us that this hotel we were on the way to is full. He would write the name of the other hotel and borrowed the pen from me repeatedly saying several time "It is nice pen" but I said nothing, just confirmed that it is fine. He waited for sure that I would give it to him, but I did not, of course.
We got to go back to Soma, to another hotel which was also full, but it wasn't nice so it did nothing. There was a guy who told us that he will help us to another hotel so we thanked him to take us there. I looked at the room and it looked miserable out, but we didn't have much choice, did not know where we would spend the night so we had to accept. The bathroom was awful, stop in the drain of basin, toilet difficult to get flushing, the room rather dirty than clean. Bedding was pretty miserable. We had to wait for the owner of the hotel until he finished playing football.
The guy was with us all the time, seems pretty nice and helpful, etc. Then came the owner, arranged the drain, we got clean linens so it became a little better.
We went for dinner and invited the guy but we would not do it. It turned out that he only cheated us out of money really. First he went to buy beer and it was enough with 1000 CFA. Later he would go and buy 2 bottles more and got 10000CFA, but I got nothing back. However I was thinking that I get it then, we trusted him.
When we would pay so sudden wanted guy have 20000CFS for 3 servings, so I said it's a bit too much to pay for it, 300SEK almost plus I didn't get back on 10000CFA he got for to buy beer and that he just fooling us on money.
He started blabbing anything about poor course between CFA and Dalasi etc. In the end, I was upset and refused to talk to him, just wanted to have money back. Got something but could not mess with him more, we were tired as well and I wanted to get rid of him really. He went back with us to the hotel but I sent him home because I don't want to talk more with him. So finally he disappeared.
After breakfast we packed ready and headed out towards the river. It was a nice police officer who stopped us on the way there and asked where we are going and where we were. When I said we slept in some hotel in Soma he laughed and said only "Good done" - probably he knew how it is there.
Then we got to the port where it was a really long queue. We did not know how to do this so we went to the first police stop for to ask how to do. He motioned to continue, so we continued and arrived at the second police stop. However, he said that we would stayed in line and not getting to him. We said that another policeman told us to go forward so we did it, but in any case it was unable to talk with him so we went back and put us in the queue.
It was horrible wait and hot and we didn't know if we will be able take us across the river the same day at all . But eventually it began to move and after about 3-4 hours of waiting, or more than that, we arrived at the boat.
There we got wait again a while but after maybe one half hour it was finally time to go on the boat also and cross the river. It was nice on the ferry, it has blown a little so we could chill us a bit.
So we came to the other side and would to the passport control and customs on the Gambian side and it was the same procedure as on the border Senegal to Gambia, it cost a lot too and took about 1 hour before we were ready with everything. Then we drove into Senegal, I went to the passport control, got the stamp and that's all. Asked what to do now, where I'm going to go, but they laughed and told me I could do what I want because I am a free man. It is Senegal, not Gambia.
And it was end of our apocalypse. LOL
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| back in Senegal |
So it was our journey through Gambia and that's enough. We have learned that Gamiba police are terrible, unpleasant, border control is one of the worst, people indifferent, not so pleasant and try to cheat us out of money. There is disorder and confusion there.
Strange only, last time when we flew to Banjul and went to Abene everything gone without problem, both on entry and exit. The woman in the passport control only wanted lipstick, if I had, or Coca-Cola, but I had nothing so it was OK any way, she was nice and we could go without a problem. But this time ... Is it some changes in theirs policy of how to treat the people?
However, I not regret at all this overpass through the Gambia, it was a real interesting journey which you not get anyhow anytime. One rich experience more. ☺
The rest of our trip went smoothly, we stayed a few days in Popenguine at one hotel by the sea before we then went back to Dakar, leave the car and fly home to the cold Sweden, because at home it was -13, while in Senegal was it is around 30 degrees or more.
It was a nice trip, but in the end it became a bit of a hassle, Gambia was a little hard. So there will we never go again. But Senegal, I like it, especially Casamance and it was really interesting trip after Kaolack and all the way around Gambia to Niokolo-Koba park until Abene and also from Abene to the border with the Gambia.
As said, the experience was great and in any case I do not regret a single thing we did, if we have not done it, I mean go over Gambia, I would regret it instead.
