Senegal and The Gambia 

In March 2025, Erik and I, together with our friend, Jennifer, traveled to Senegal and The Gambia, known locally as Senegambia because they are comprised of the same people, languages and traditions. One historical  difference is that Senegal is a former French colony (yummy baguettes!) and The Gambia a former English colony (they speak English!). We also observed that corruption seemed significantly more pronounced in The Gambia, eg getting stopped often to pay bribes to traffic police and board ferries on time. 

We loved our trip and the people and experiences along the way. It's fairly easy to get around, the food is amazing (if you liked fresh grilled fish), and there are lots of interesting cultural sites. For those who enjoy a good beach, they offer that too.  Here are a few (too many) of our photos. One final comment is that we learned about some really wonderful US AID projects that are now in limbo due to current budget and staff cuts. 

We landed at 8 am in Dakar and immediately dropped our bags at the hotel and caught the ferry to Goree Island, a major center for the slave trade to the US and other countries. Most of the "slave houses" are now gone but they have preserved one as a museum.  

The beauty of the island today belies its grim history. It was heartbreaking to hear stories of children being wrenched from parents and held in damp, dark rooms with earthen floors and no heat before their harrowing journey. Many did not survive, but it was also good to read of rebellions and the strength both in body and spirit these enslaved people brought with them to the New World. The people we met feel a strong kinship with the black diaspora, which we saw in the Museum of Black Civilizations later. 

The only remaining Slave House on Goree Island and its "Door of no Return," so -called because it's the passage enslaved people walked to board a boat and leave Africa forever. Twelve to 20 million documented slaves travelled to the new world from West Africa but the real number is likely three times that. We were surprised to learn that 45% of the slaves went to Brazil to work on sugar plantations and of course many perished on the grueling trip to the new world.

Goree Island today is a lovely community where George Soros keeps a home (see pink flowers!).  

The following day, we toured Dakar. It was International Women's Day and it was lovely see all the women out strolling, dancing and singing in their finery. We visited the Railway Station (1885), the fabulous Museum of Black Civilizations (2018),  the Cathedral of our Lady of Victories (1936), and the Grand Mosque of Dakar, where Jennifer and my pants were not quite modest enough, so we required to don white gowns with pointy hoods to enter (a bit too similar to other white gowns notorious in the US, but we did as we were told). We had a delicious fresh seafood lunch  at VIP Restaurant (really! that's the name). This was only the beginning of all the wonderful fresh seafood we consumed over our two weeks there.

We ended the day  with a walk out to the western most tip of continental Africa followed by the  African Renaissance Monument. Completed in 2010 using North Korean labor, the 171 high bronze sculpture is controversial for several reasons, not the least of which is the woman is a bit to sexy for local tastes. It is hollow and similar to the Statue of Liberty, we were able to go to the top (but unlike the Statue, there is an elevator). I, at least, was bothered by the swaying in the strong winds that day and returned to solid ground as quickly as I could.

We visited Marche Kermel, the oldest colonial market in Dakar and then made the long drive north to Saint Louis Island. 

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Saint Lous island was founded as a French colonial settlement in the 17th century. It was the capital of Senegal from 1872 to 1957 and the center of the country's culture during that time. Oil and gas were recently discovered off the coast so the town is about to undergo a dramatic change. Already much of the well worn colonial architecture is being updated and refurbished.  We did some wonderful bird watching (where I managed to break a bone in my foot!) but my iphone did not do the excursion justice so only two photos and one is by Jennifer.

A night in the southwest corner of the Sahara, where a highlight was the requisite camel ride and the lowlight a rat sneaking into our tent in the middle of the night to steal my banana!

I need to pause to mention women in this area of the world. We saw many with one baby strapped to their back and another to their chest and then a heavy load balanced on their head while they shopped, worked, and fulfilled other responsibilities - sometimes in a full length abaya. A marvel to watch.

At a goat and horse market, I was the butt of many jokes because I had purchased carrots to feed the animals and apparently Senegalese horses don't eat carrots. I finally found a few takers but caused quite a stir as the snacks were roundly rejected by most of the ponies. The owners carefully explained that their animals  preferred peanut grass, pictured below.

Another long drive south to take the ferry to The Gambia. A former English colony, it was nice to be able to communicate with people in English, which is still the language used in schools and universities, though kids do learn the local language of their tribe at home.   First stop was Kunte Kinteh or James Island, an old English fort that was a transit point for The Gambia for slaves heading to the New World and made famous by Alex Haley's book and 1970s TV series, Roots. We then caught a ferry to Banjul, the country's capital. 

The Gambia felt considerably  poorer than Senegal and their reported GNP reflects this: GDP per capital in the Gambia (2023) was $893 less than half of that of Senegal.  Still, it was a lovely place to visit and we experienced more wonderful bird watching. No photos but we saw egrets, slate and white heron, Fisher Eagles, cormorants, flamingos, spoonbills, osprey and ibis. Here are some photos from Banjul and environs.

A highlight in The Gambia was watching the fishing boats come in and the organized chaos that ensued.  We also were able to observe the complicated smoking process that unfortunately rendered the dried fish too expensive for Gambians. Most was trucked to Nigeria for consumption. 

We visited both a Christian village (just after families had returned from church) in the Gambia and a Muslim village in Senegal. We passed out lollipops in the former. First, the Christian village.

And the Muslim Village. Unfortunately, due to Ramadan, we did not get to enjoy any of the cooking that would usually be occurring at this time of day.

While 95% of Senegalese are Muslim, they love to share how Christians and Muslims live in harmony. We visited Fadiouth Shell Island, an island made of discarded shells to see this in action. Temples coexist with churches and even the lovely cemetary welcomes all faiths.  Our guide finally showed us how to use the ubiquitous sticks we saw for sale and in people's mouths. Turns out they are used as natural (and environmentally friendly) toothbrushes.

The Grand Mosque of Touba (Senegal) was completed in 1963. Its founder, Ahmad Bamba, is interred in the Mosque, and it is still under the control of his family. It has a capacity of 7,000 and is home to a Sufi order called the Mouride Brotherhood. Once again, Jennifer and I were given robes but this time, we were prepared with our own head scarves. A couple of worshipers asked to have their photo taken with me and I was happy to oblige.

Transportation. We spent a lot of time on the road, often most of a day traveling between towns and sights. Roads were good, and sharing them with goats, horses, carriages, chickens, donkeys, overloaded trucks and people made the long hours more enjoyable. My first impression as we drove into Dakar was that the countryside was not very pretty but this changed when we drove south into lusher, greener areas. 

As I mentioned, the food was delicious everywhere we went. The seafood, especially, was exceptional as was their national dish, Joloff rice. 

Last, I have to recognize a photographer I "discovered," and whose work I absolutely fell in love with, Oumar Ly. I found his photos captivating but unfortunately was unable to find any prints to bring home.  I'll keep looking.  More about him here: https://time.com/4244567/oumar-ly-senegal/

Our last two nights were spent in Saly, a beach resort.