This is a
last report from my trip to Senegal. (Then, there is time to come back to what
this blog really should be about: Paris.)
We took the
road south-east from Joal (previous post) to the Saloum and the Sine Rivers
delta, known as Sine-Saloum. Road is not quite the right expression; there are
tracks going in all directions and you need a local driver to find your way.
Suddenly
there is a little village…
… and we
also passed by the biggest, sacred, baobab tree to be found in West Africa,
maybe some 850 years old and with circumference of 32 m (more than hundred
feet). It was supposed to be inhabited by the spirits of the dead. Through a
hole you can get inside.
So, the
driver found the way to Ndangane where pirogues were waiting for a tour of the
delta. Again, birds, birds… and another sacred baobab. The mangrove was covered
by shells, oysters… Some foreign sailing boats had managed to find their way
into the delta.
On the
island Mar Lodj there are a few small simple hotels and restaurants. After a
walk over some sand dunes, a little peaceful little village offers a church, on
the central place three intermingling trees - representing the three present
religions, Christianity, Islam and Animism – and an open air local little “palace
of justice”.
After this
and almost three weeks, time to take the road back to Dakar and a flight home.
I really hope to be back to Senegal one day for what you can see and discover,
but especially for the friendly, smiling, people - maybe especially the kids!
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11 comments:
Todos sus articulos sobre este pais africano son hermosos y conmovedores.
Mil gracias!
Maria
Do you think the seeds from that majestic baobab are the ones that flew to Le Petit Prince's planet and started to grow all over the place?
They certainly gave him a hard time!
Love your blog.
Maria
The children are definitely beautiful - always smiling, and so handsome. And I love the look of the baobab tree! :)
Pour illustrer ton article, je propose un baobab Oulipien :
Il y a Othon avec son bâton. Il y a Otto avec son bateau.
Ah quel chaos dans le cabas.
Ces barriques sont théoriques
Vas-donc, bâtard du tarot !
The problem with kids is they eventually become adults!
Peter,
I hope you get back to Senegal because I think it touched your heart. I wish I could visit there as well. There are other parts of Africa that my church supports that I have wanted to try and join. I've loved your images. Thank you for sharing.
V
Quel tour glorieux et une bien belle photo finale qui est un bel exemple de ce que nous pouvons distribuer gratuitement.
Encore un beau et intéressant reportage, Peter.
La baobab est très impressionnant et les deux petites fille de la dernière photo sont très mignonnes.
Magnifiques les baobabs, ils méritent bien leur statut d'abres à palabres :
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbre_%C3%A0_palabres
Il y en avait à Kourou le long d'une route côtière mais beaucoup moins impressionnants. Tu sais que le Petit Prince les craignait beaucoup...
Quant à ceux avec des contreforts, ce sont peut-être des fromagers ou kapokiers
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceiba_pentandra
Faune, flore et population ! Quel beau voyage ce fut !
C'est avec un grand plaisir que je fais cette petite marche arrière ! J'avais manqué cette publication.
La dernière escale avant le retour.
Comme vous le dites si bien, les sourires des enfants sont des atouts précieux qui nous font aimer davantage ce pays.
Merci pour ce très joli reportage et ces merveilleuses étapes.
Gros bisous
There's something really special about the last picture with the children! Their smile is so rich in contrast with their modest living conditions!
God bless you!
Cezar
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