Posted by Emily
So yesterday was official "I hate being a tourist day". The morning started out wonderfully when, by trying to be helpful, I mailed 8 of Ncki's postcards without stamps on them, some of them left over from Senegal. So if you were supposed to get a postcard from Senegal from Nicki and you don't, I take full responsibility! Needless to say, I felt REALLY bad. It made me feel bad enough to overcome any chame I might have had in asking the poor man behind the desk selling stamps if he could please open the mailbox door because I jusr mailed some postcards without stamps on them. To my amazement, he did it. However, even though the cards had just been mailed, we couldn't find them and he had to go back to work at the desk. Boo. But we tried!
In the afternoon we went back to the souks to do some shopping. That is always quite tiring because of all the people trying to get you to come into their shops and buy things. Then there is the bargaining. When we first entered the market, I tried unsuccessfully to bargain for a scarf and some earrings and the prices I was offering were flat out refused. I didn't really understand this at first because usually they are so eager for you to buy something from them that they won't let you walk away if they know you are interested. Then later I realized the prices I was trying to get were WAY too low. I was in Senegal for too long and was trying to drive too hard of a bargain I guess! Oops. Things went a little more smoothly after I figured that out!
On the way out of the market and across the square back to our hotel, we were harassed by some henna artist ladies (they always do this when you walk by) and since I was interested in getting it done anyway, we stopped. Before I knew it we were sitting down and the lady was drawing with henna on my hand. That's not such a big deal since I wanted it done anyway. But unfortunately she started working before we could discuss a price. Then when I asked her how much it would cost she said "Good price... 500 dirhams". That's like 50 dollars and NOT a good price. The lowest I ever got her to go was 300 dirhams, which I obviously wasn't going to pay. Eventually I decided just to give her some money (less than 300 dirhams obviously!) and bolt. It worked and I don't feel bad because I know I gave her even more than I should have paid in the first place. Stupid tourist traps! And I'm not even a stupid tourist! You should see the people who walk around with their huge cameras around their necks and the women who walk around in shorts and tank tops (very culturally inappropriate). They are the stupid ones!!
Friday, March 31, 2006
Arabian Nights
Posted by Nicki
We have safely made it back from our adventure into the desert. It was an amazing experience; and although the tour itself was a little odd; mostly in that it wasnt really a tour and the majority of the time we had no idea what was going on and we didnt really ever have a guide; seeing the desert and the landscapes along the way was incredible.
We started out driving through the mountains on Monday, extremely curvy roads which didnt make for a happy stomach, I was very happy for emilys dramamene. But the scenary was fantastic, I think a geology major would have been in heaven. For me, at the very least, it made for excellent picture taking. As we drove on and the landscape turned more desert like; many of the rock formations looked as if they were still moving magma. It was pretty breathtaking. My only complaint was that we nevr knew what we were looking at and just seemed to keep driving and driving. Once I figured out this was going to be the routine; at least for day one; I settled in ok. We passed through Valley of the Kasbahs, one after the other of berber settlements, whole villages built into the cliffsides that look like sandcastles. There were palaces made out of this brown mud like stone. Apparently the biggest one of these kasbahs we saw has been in over 20 films, most recently in Gladiator.
The second day was much more rewarding, lots less driving. We walked through an enormous gorge, talk about feeling miniscule in the face of nature, it was pretty amazing. Then we made it to the desert; yay! Apparently where we ended up was about 20 km from the algerian border, I had no idea at the onset we would be travelling that far. It was spectacular. They mounted us on camels and we trekked through the dunes to our camp where we would be spending the night. If you have ever ridden a camel you might know what Im talking about, but it was an experience. Kinda scary getting up and down, and they make the most awful sound I have ever heard. Something like a very angry chewbacca mixed with a dinosaur being sick to his stomach, or something like that. The dunes themselves were incredible; it felt surreal; almost as if I was in some sort of painting or a movie. Apparently the dunes at merzuga (where we were), according to my guudebook, are the largest in the world. Enormous mountains of the softest red sand you have ever felt. It was just beautiful. I got some wonderful photographs at sunset and sunrise, and Im really excited to see how they look enlarged. It was super peaceful; and at night we just laid back and enjoyed the stars. Although I didnt sleep super well; it was fun being able to stay a night.
The third day was a drive all the way back to marrekech, one much too long for me to do again. For now we will be in marrakech a few more days, just enjoying all the city has to offer. We are going to see some gardens and venture back into the market again. We are also going to try a little experiment of going out to the square at night dressed in headscarves and see if that leads to a little less harressment…the men here are really terrible, and I dont think I can deal with them anymore, but we still want to see the square at night. Ive already almost decked one; lucky for him he got out of the way and just got a swift elbow to the shoulder.
In any case, I hope you all are well, have a wonderful thursday!
We have safely made it back from our adventure into the desert. It was an amazing experience; and although the tour itself was a little odd; mostly in that it wasnt really a tour and the majority of the time we had no idea what was going on and we didnt really ever have a guide; seeing the desert and the landscapes along the way was incredible.
We started out driving through the mountains on Monday, extremely curvy roads which didnt make for a happy stomach, I was very happy for emilys dramamene. But the scenary was fantastic, I think a geology major would have been in heaven. For me, at the very least, it made for excellent picture taking. As we drove on and the landscape turned more desert like; many of the rock formations looked as if they were still moving magma. It was pretty breathtaking. My only complaint was that we nevr knew what we were looking at and just seemed to keep driving and driving. Once I figured out this was going to be the routine; at least for day one; I settled in ok. We passed through Valley of the Kasbahs, one after the other of berber settlements, whole villages built into the cliffsides that look like sandcastles. There were palaces made out of this brown mud like stone. Apparently the biggest one of these kasbahs we saw has been in over 20 films, most recently in Gladiator.
The second day was much more rewarding, lots less driving. We walked through an enormous gorge, talk about feeling miniscule in the face of nature, it was pretty amazing. Then we made it to the desert; yay! Apparently where we ended up was about 20 km from the algerian border, I had no idea at the onset we would be travelling that far. It was spectacular. They mounted us on camels and we trekked through the dunes to our camp where we would be spending the night. If you have ever ridden a camel you might know what Im talking about, but it was an experience. Kinda scary getting up and down, and they make the most awful sound I have ever heard. Something like a very angry chewbacca mixed with a dinosaur being sick to his stomach, or something like that. The dunes themselves were incredible; it felt surreal; almost as if I was in some sort of painting or a movie. Apparently the dunes at merzuga (where we were), according to my guudebook, are the largest in the world. Enormous mountains of the softest red sand you have ever felt. It was just beautiful. I got some wonderful photographs at sunset and sunrise, and Im really excited to see how they look enlarged. It was super peaceful; and at night we just laid back and enjoyed the stars. Although I didnt sleep super well; it was fun being able to stay a night.
The third day was a drive all the way back to marrekech, one much too long for me to do again. For now we will be in marrakech a few more days, just enjoying all the city has to offer. We are going to see some gardens and venture back into the market again. We are also going to try a little experiment of going out to the square at night dressed in headscarves and see if that leads to a little less harressment…the men here are really terrible, and I dont think I can deal with them anymore, but we still want to see the square at night. Ive already almost decked one; lucky for him he got out of the way and just got a swift elbow to the shoulder.
In any case, I hope you all are well, have a wonderful thursday!
The Incredible Circus of Marrakech
Posted by Nicki
I am now in Marrakech, Morocco; and I can say without a doubt it is one of more fantastic and exotic places I have ever been. And I love it.
But first things first. Casablance ended up very well yesterday. Emily found out that our hotel there would store her absolute mountain of luggage for free, which was very nice of them. Hopefully she will be able to ship it moroccan post when we get back to casa for a reasonable price. Second, we actually found the mosque. It was not even close to where the map said it was, but once we found a nice taxi we got there in no time. The Grand Mosque in Casablanca is the third largest mosque in the world and its absolutely incredible. I was blown away by how massive it was and the craftmanship that obviously went into it. Its set right on the ocean as well which makes for quite a backdrop. The lines of the archways are stunning and I couldnt help but take a bajillion pictures, hopefully some of which might actually be pretty good. We didnt get there in time to take a tour; but of what I saw I was very impressed.
This morning we caught a train to Marrakech and it was so nice to travel by train again, I love watching the countryside go by. Morocco has such a beautiful landscape, lots of green pastures full of wildflowers closer to Casablanca, changing into more of a desert nearer to Marrakech. Around where we are now its particularly wonderful with swaying palm trees looking out upon the snowcapped mountains.
So far the city of Marrakech is fantastic, a complete sensory experience. It completely takes you in. There are amazingly colored scarves and pottery and fabrics draped high overhead, small moutains of vibrant spices and jars and jars of brillant powders stacked up to the ceiling, the strong scent of the herbs and dried spices and leaves and men carving fresh cedar drift in and out of the souqs as you stroll past. As you walk through the medina there are snake charmers flutes and drums and music in every direction. There are tons of stands selling fresh squeezed orange juice for 30 cents a glass. I am hoping tonight we will be able to see the acrobats and whatever other crazy things this place might hold.
There are some sketchy characters for sure here; but so far we have managed to keep them at bay. Today we feasted on coucous and tajine (a moroccan dish cooked up in a pottery dish of sorts) wandered the Medina, and most definitely got lost, but it was great just to find our way and look at all the things for sale. I am excited to head out shopping in a day or two and see what I can come up with. Weve also signed up to do a tour of the atlas highlands and a small desert camel trek. We will be gone for three days, so I let you know how it is when I get back. Another strange random tidbit; people here (and in senegal) often ask where we are from. They keep guessing tons of places from belgium to germany, england to italy or maybe canada, but it seems they never guess the US. I thought that a random fun fact of the day. Maybe we americans need to travel more!
I hope you all are doing well, I bought a bunch of postcards today, so they will be on the way soon!
I am now in Marrakech, Morocco; and I can say without a doubt it is one of more fantastic and exotic places I have ever been. And I love it.
But first things first. Casablance ended up very well yesterday. Emily found out that our hotel there would store her absolute mountain of luggage for free, which was very nice of them. Hopefully she will be able to ship it moroccan post when we get back to casa for a reasonable price. Second, we actually found the mosque. It was not even close to where the map said it was, but once we found a nice taxi we got there in no time. The Grand Mosque in Casablanca is the third largest mosque in the world and its absolutely incredible. I was blown away by how massive it was and the craftmanship that obviously went into it. Its set right on the ocean as well which makes for quite a backdrop. The lines of the archways are stunning and I couldnt help but take a bajillion pictures, hopefully some of which might actually be pretty good. We didnt get there in time to take a tour; but of what I saw I was very impressed.
This morning we caught a train to Marrakech and it was so nice to travel by train again, I love watching the countryside go by. Morocco has such a beautiful landscape, lots of green pastures full of wildflowers closer to Casablanca, changing into more of a desert nearer to Marrakech. Around where we are now its particularly wonderful with swaying palm trees looking out upon the snowcapped mountains.
So far the city of Marrakech is fantastic, a complete sensory experience. It completely takes you in. There are amazingly colored scarves and pottery and fabrics draped high overhead, small moutains of vibrant spices and jars and jars of brillant powders stacked up to the ceiling, the strong scent of the herbs and dried spices and leaves and men carving fresh cedar drift in and out of the souqs as you stroll past. As you walk through the medina there are snake charmers flutes and drums and music in every direction. There are tons of stands selling fresh squeezed orange juice for 30 cents a glass. I am hoping tonight we will be able to see the acrobats and whatever other crazy things this place might hold.
There are some sketchy characters for sure here; but so far we have managed to keep them at bay. Today we feasted on coucous and tajine (a moroccan dish cooked up in a pottery dish of sorts) wandered the Medina, and most definitely got lost, but it was great just to find our way and look at all the things for sale. I am excited to head out shopping in a day or two and see what I can come up with. Weve also signed up to do a tour of the atlas highlands and a small desert camel trek. We will be gone for three days, so I let you know how it is when I get back. Another strange random tidbit; people here (and in senegal) often ask where we are from. They keep guessing tons of places from belgium to germany, england to italy or maybe canada, but it seems they never guess the US. I thought that a random fun fact of the day. Maybe we americans need to travel more!
I hope you all are doing well, I bought a bunch of postcards today, so they will be on the way soon!
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Live from Marrakech
Posted by Emily
While Casablanca was nothing like I had imagined Morocco to be, Marrakech is everything that I could have imagined. Seems that the stereotypes and sonewhat true after all! We took the train here from Marrakesh this morning (about 3.5 hours) and arrived around 1 pm and made our way to our hotel, whiwh involved wandering around for a while with our packs on, a sure fire way to attract lots of unwanted attention! The hotel that we wanted to stay at was by the medina and off of a very lively square called Djemaa El Fna, a place where you can find food stands (dried fruit and the orange juices stands are the ones we have frequented so far...a glass of fresh squeezed juice is about 3 cents, which might even be cheaper than bottles water), snake charmers, henna artists, men with monkeys you can pet (I refused, thank you very much!) and all sorts of other arrays of street performers and the like. There are several terrace cafés that line the square so we are definitely going to watch all the activity from there one night.
After arriving, we found a place to eat real Morrocan food, something that we somehow didn't manage to accomplish in Casablanca. I had a tanjine, meat and vegetables cooked in a clay bowl with a conical cover over coals (I think?) and Nicki had chicken couscous. I'm definitely going to like the food here! After lunch we wandered to a travel agency of sorts that organizes tours into the Atlas Mountains for a very decent price (about 100 dollars for 3 days, 2 nights everything included). Turns out the trip we wanted to go on is leaving tomorrow so I guess we are off to the mountians tomorrow. I am SO excited! They also organize trips to the nearby waterfalls and day long treks into the mountains that we are also interested in taking.
The rest of the afternoon was spent wanting through the various souks (markets) that line (or rather, make a confusing, tangles maze around) the main square. The market was so full of sights, smells and sounds that I think we could probably spend a whole day getting lost there. There are spices, cosmetics, leather goods, scarves, metel light fixtures, wooden goods and on and on, all lending their scent and color to the picture. I was very happy to find the market cleaner and better smelling than the ones in Dakar!
Okay, almost out of time. More about the amazing sights of Morocco later!
While Casablanca was nothing like I had imagined Morocco to be, Marrakech is everything that I could have imagined. Seems that the stereotypes and sonewhat true after all! We took the train here from Marrakesh this morning (about 3.5 hours) and arrived around 1 pm and made our way to our hotel, whiwh involved wandering around for a while with our packs on, a sure fire way to attract lots of unwanted attention! The hotel that we wanted to stay at was by the medina and off of a very lively square called Djemaa El Fna, a place where you can find food stands (dried fruit and the orange juices stands are the ones we have frequented so far...a glass of fresh squeezed juice is about 3 cents, which might even be cheaper than bottles water), snake charmers, henna artists, men with monkeys you can pet (I refused, thank you very much!) and all sorts of other arrays of street performers and the like. There are several terrace cafés that line the square so we are definitely going to watch all the activity from there one night.
After arriving, we found a place to eat real Morrocan food, something that we somehow didn't manage to accomplish in Casablanca. I had a tanjine, meat and vegetables cooked in a clay bowl with a conical cover over coals (I think?) and Nicki had chicken couscous. I'm definitely going to like the food here! After lunch we wandered to a travel agency of sorts that organizes tours into the Atlas Mountains for a very decent price (about 100 dollars for 3 days, 2 nights everything included). Turns out the trip we wanted to go on is leaving tomorrow so I guess we are off to the mountians tomorrow. I am SO excited! They also organize trips to the nearby waterfalls and day long treks into the mountains that we are also interested in taking.
The rest of the afternoon was spent wanting through the various souks (markets) that line (or rather, make a confusing, tangles maze around) the main square. The market was so full of sights, smells and sounds that I think we could probably spend a whole day getting lost there. There are spices, cosmetics, leather goods, scarves, metel light fixtures, wooden goods and on and on, all lending their scent and color to the picture. I was very happy to find the market cleaner and better smelling than the ones in Dakar!
Okay, almost out of time. More about the amazing sights of Morocco later!
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Goodbye Dakar, Hello Casablanca
Posted by Emily
It's hard to believe that my 3 months in Senegal are already and I am sitting in a cyber café in Casablanca. As we all know too well, time goes too fast.
As you know from the previous posts, Nicki has now joined me and spent the last 2 weeks with me in Dakar. I haven't been updating much myself because a) I have been obsessively reading about grad schools (mostly Berkeley) and b) I thought it would be more interesting to get the information from someone who was experiencing it for the first time. Overall, I had a very good time showing Nicki around and she says she had fun too!
Yesterday and today have not been the best days for a few reasons. First, I was having troubles packing (I seem to haveacquiredd more things than I realized). So far this has resulted in Nicki being dragged along with me to DHL in Dakar and now FedEx in Casablanca, each time finding out that it would cost me about 800 dollars to send home all the stuff that I wanted. I don't think so. Second, I had to say goodbye to all my friends in Dakar, which will put anyone in a bad mood. Also today I somehow managed to lose my wallet and I suspect it either fell out of my backpack on the plane or was taken by the man sitting next to me when I went to the bathroom. Either that or I will find it tomorrow and have a few useless credit cards.
So yes, I am sad and frustrated but I really like Morocco. So far all the bad stuff has been set off by people being really really nice. What a nice relief otherwise I might have started crying for no good reason in front of some random people. I have been very surprised by the lack of hussle here (although that could be because it's Saturday). I was expecting to be hassled much more, probably because of what I'm used to in downtown Dakar! Flying in was an amazing sight. Near Marrakesh there weremountains outt one side of the plane and ocean out the other. Closer to Casablanca everything is so GREEN. It's actually spring here and there are yellow and orange flowers blossoming in fields all over the place. It seems very much like Europe to me in comparison to Senegal.
Also, the guy at the hotel said that I can keep my massive amounts of luggage there for free while we travel and until I can find a cheaper way to send it. Hurray§
Ciao.
It's hard to believe that my 3 months in Senegal are already and I am sitting in a cyber café in Casablanca. As we all know too well, time goes too fast.
As you know from the previous posts, Nicki has now joined me and spent the last 2 weeks with me in Dakar. I haven't been updating much myself because a) I have been obsessively reading about grad schools (mostly Berkeley) and b) I thought it would be more interesting to get the information from someone who was experiencing it for the first time. Overall, I had a very good time showing Nicki around and she says she had fun too!
Yesterday and today have not been the best days for a few reasons. First, I was having troubles packing (I seem to haveacquiredd more things than I realized). So far this has resulted in Nicki being dragged along with me to DHL in Dakar and now FedEx in Casablanca, each time finding out that it would cost me about 800 dollars to send home all the stuff that I wanted. I don't think so. Second, I had to say goodbye to all my friends in Dakar, which will put anyone in a bad mood. Also today I somehow managed to lose my wallet and I suspect it either fell out of my backpack on the plane or was taken by the man sitting next to me when I went to the bathroom. Either that or I will find it tomorrow and have a few useless credit cards.
So yes, I am sad and frustrated but I really like Morocco. So far all the bad stuff has been set off by people being really really nice. What a nice relief otherwise I might have started crying for no good reason in front of some random people. I have been very surprised by the lack of hussle here (although that could be because it's Saturday). I was expecting to be hassled much more, probably because of what I'm used to in downtown Dakar! Flying in was an amazing sight. Near Marrakesh there weremountains outt one side of the plane and ocean out the other. Closer to Casablanca everything is so GREEN. It's actually spring here and there are yellow and orange flowers blossoming in fields all over the place. It seems very much like Europe to me in comparison to Senegal.
Also, the guy at the hotel said that I can keep my massive amounts of luggage there for free while we travel and until I can find a cheaper way to send it. Hurray§
Ciao.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Senegal From Nicki
Posted By Nicki
So, since I have been in Senegal, I havent been posting to this blog very much, shame on me. Emily has requested that I cut and paste my entries from my other blog here so you guys can read those too. If you read my other blogs, feel free to skip the next few pages. In addition, I will try and be better about posting different things on each site.
My time in Senegal is flying by, hard to believe I will be headed to Morocco in 3 short days. Things are still going well, aside from a little upset stomach, and I have been very pleased with my trip thus far. The Senegalese continue to be an incredibly welcoming people and it has been wonderful to experience all their great hospitality.
In the past few days Emily and I took a quick boat ride to Isle de NDor spent time with her host family as well as Lamines family, and also took a trip up north to a city called Saint Louis (pronounced San Lew EE). NDor was beautiful. Its just a tiny island off the coast of Dakar and we spent the day just laying on the beach and enjoying the sunshine. We also had the most amazing shrimp of my life at this cute little restaurant on the water.
Our trip to Saint Louis was for sure a cultural one for me, as we stayed with a friend of a friend Emily knows. I had been told we might have to chance to stay in this big huge house, but instead where we ended up was more of a concrete block with a sand filled courtyard of sorts and no running water. With the exception of one particularly annoying man; the family was very sweet though and insisted on cooking us meals and sharing their home with us. They had two very cute little babies as well which kept em and I entertained. The pace of life in the village where they lived was definitely very slow, and as much as I tried, I still found myself getting a little ancy.
When we managed to get away from the house where we were staying we went into town in Saint Louis and enjoyed the sights and shops it had to offer. We took a little horse carriage ride around town and it was very interesting to see the different sides of the city. One half is paved roads with french colonial buildings, lots of little shops and not too many people on the street. If you cross one short little bridge accross the river and head into the fishermans village; the difference is night and day. Here everything is dirt and sand, people crowd the streets. The little children jumped up and down as they saw as chanting Toobab, Toobab! (White person, white person) The houses are concrete slabs not much more then a room or two, and telephone lines tangled above the roofs in disordered fashion. The people seemed to smile, but the poverty was extremely evident. We walked out to the beach and there were stacks and stacks of dried fish and fish remains, a very weird sight. Apparently some of this gets shipped all over senegal and some even to Europe.
In addition to touring the town we also went to a bird park a bit more north still of Saint Louis. Although I thought it was a bit over priced, it was fun to see. We took a boat out into this huge lake area and saw lots of pelicans, an eagle of African sorts, other assorted birds, a warthog on the shore, and quite a few crocodiles. We also a huge python curled up on the shore when we were getting out of our boat.
The trip to and from Saint Louis was in a sept place, or 7 person station wagon, an african cultural experience to be had. The way there went fine, but coming homle involved lots of traffic and a very sore back for me. But we made it; and I was glad to get some travel outside Dakar.
My time is running low, but I will try to get one more post in before we leave for Morocco. I hope you all are well; I love getting your emails from home.
Lots of love from Senegal!
****One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish*****
The past two days have been great! The night before last we attended a concert of Senegalese music and had a great time. The band had two vocalists, two acoustic guitars, one electric, bongos and a regular drumset. Although I enjoyed the music. the people who got up and danced where almost more entertaining for me…they included one guy, who emily aptly described as dancing like a rubberband, some other senegalese aomen, and perhaps most entertaining of all…the 60 or so year old french woman, man could she get her groove on!
Yesterday was probably one of my most favorite days so far and what brought about the title of todays post. First we took a ferry to an island off the coast of dakar, an old slave post known as goree island. It was incredibly peaceful and beautiful. The water was a perfect blue and was even more set off by the colorful buildings. There are no cars or motorbikes on the island so everything is a bit more relaxed then dakar. We wandered through the streets, sat and enjoyed the sunshine and the birds flying overhead, took lots of pictures…hopefully I can get them on here soon!; had lunch; and I successfully bargained for a really nice ebony mask.
After goree, we returned to emilys for a quick nap, then we took a taxi to this neighborhood called medina to meet emilys friend laye. Medina is a sight to see in itself, a very poor area of dakar. The smell in the air is not exactly roses, and the garbage overflows in parts. Children are playing everywhere and soccerballs are kicked up and down. Along the central street there are market stalls that seem to go on forever. The market is strangly juxtaposed however with a bright and shining rainbow foods like grocery about halfway down that we bought dinner in one night. It is the oddest sight.
In any case, last night after we finally found laye, he gathered up a bunch of supplies while we waited in his familys home. Then he took us down to where the locals buy their fish. Emily has talked about this market on the other blog and it truly is wonderful. Its right on the beach and happens as the fishermen bring in their catch in the early evening. First we walked through where all the boats are piled up. Huge dugout canoes; all painted in bright wonderful colors; just like the mini busses that drive around town. Then you pass into the fish part, and man are their fish. Tables and tables and bowls and plates and aisles of fish. All fresh caught and all sorts of sizes and colors. We worked our way down to the bottom and the fish are layed out on steel plates in the sand with the waves rolling in behind them. It was almost as if they had washed up from the sea just for us to eat. Laye picked us out a bunch and then we headed up to get small baggies of sauce and some onion and cucumber. After walking a little further down the beach, we found ourselves a spot and laye proceded to start a fire and set the fish upon our little grill. We cut up the vegetetables and he mixed them with the sauces. And then as soon as the fish were cooked we had ourselves a picnic listening to the waves crash and the pebbles roll back with the tide. It was delicious.
I am enjoying Senegal more and more each day. Things are going very well, and I am so lucky to have such an excellent tour guide! Thanks to Em!
***The Market***
Today was my first real experience with the market in downtown Dakar. It was for sure an interesting site. Lots of people selling everything from oranges and tomatoes to irons and fake pumas (em got a really cute pink pair). I love seeing everything all laid out to buy, especially the foods. A guy even pulled up while emily was looking at shoes and unloaded an entire truck of particularly slimy looking huge fish, grouper I think they said. (Hopefully it wasn’t the same fish I ate yesterday at lunch!)
I absolutely love watching the crowds, the people and their way of life. The patterns of clothes are bright and colorful and everyone we met has been extremely friendly. We started off this afternoon going fabric shopping. Emily has found herself a few guys who act sort of as guides to bring us through the various stalls. Apparently this leads to less hasseling.
We found a shop…well a room of sorts, selling the type of fabric we were looking for, something called indigo. Its just what it sounds like, fabric patterned in a deep blue almost purple. Emily had bought some in burkina faso, and I thought it would make a great skirt. So, after some hard bargaining on emily’s part we got what we wanted and headed to the tailor shop. I was also fascinated with the tailors as it was another room filled with about 10 men, not women, all working old school sewing machines. There was crazy fabric all over. He took our measurements and I am excited to see how things turn out. We will get our clothes (emily had a bunch of stuff made as well) when we return next week from saint louis.
Otherwise, life has been good here so far. The food is good, lots of rice and sauces. Today was a couscous with a yummy onion sauce. We drove along the coast today as well, the surf was impressive, wonderfully picturesque crashing into the rocks. Tonight we are attending a concert of senegalese music, hopefully it will be fun. Tomorrow I believe we will be off to one of the islands. I hope you are all doing well!
So, since I have been in Senegal, I havent been posting to this blog very much, shame on me. Emily has requested that I cut and paste my entries from my other blog here so you guys can read those too. If you read my other blogs, feel free to skip the next few pages. In addition, I will try and be better about posting different things on each site.
My time in Senegal is flying by, hard to believe I will be headed to Morocco in 3 short days. Things are still going well, aside from a little upset stomach, and I have been very pleased with my trip thus far. The Senegalese continue to be an incredibly welcoming people and it has been wonderful to experience all their great hospitality.
In the past few days Emily and I took a quick boat ride to Isle de NDor spent time with her host family as well as Lamines family, and also took a trip up north to a city called Saint Louis (pronounced San Lew EE). NDor was beautiful. Its just a tiny island off the coast of Dakar and we spent the day just laying on the beach and enjoying the sunshine. We also had the most amazing shrimp of my life at this cute little restaurant on the water.
Our trip to Saint Louis was for sure a cultural one for me, as we stayed with a friend of a friend Emily knows. I had been told we might have to chance to stay in this big huge house, but instead where we ended up was more of a concrete block with a sand filled courtyard of sorts and no running water. With the exception of one particularly annoying man; the family was very sweet though and insisted on cooking us meals and sharing their home with us. They had two very cute little babies as well which kept em and I entertained. The pace of life in the village where they lived was definitely very slow, and as much as I tried, I still found myself getting a little ancy.
When we managed to get away from the house where we were staying we went into town in Saint Louis and enjoyed the sights and shops it had to offer. We took a little horse carriage ride around town and it was very interesting to see the different sides of the city. One half is paved roads with french colonial buildings, lots of little shops and not too many people on the street. If you cross one short little bridge accross the river and head into the fishermans village; the difference is night and day. Here everything is dirt and sand, people crowd the streets. The little children jumped up and down as they saw as chanting Toobab, Toobab! (White person, white person) The houses are concrete slabs not much more then a room or two, and telephone lines tangled above the roofs in disordered fashion. The people seemed to smile, but the poverty was extremely evident. We walked out to the beach and there were stacks and stacks of dried fish and fish remains, a very weird sight. Apparently some of this gets shipped all over senegal and some even to Europe.
In addition to touring the town we also went to a bird park a bit more north still of Saint Louis. Although I thought it was a bit over priced, it was fun to see. We took a boat out into this huge lake area and saw lots of pelicans, an eagle of African sorts, other assorted birds, a warthog on the shore, and quite a few crocodiles. We also a huge python curled up on the shore when we were getting out of our boat.
The trip to and from Saint Louis was in a sept place, or 7 person station wagon, an african cultural experience to be had. The way there went fine, but coming homle involved lots of traffic and a very sore back for me. But we made it; and I was glad to get some travel outside Dakar.
My time is running low, but I will try to get one more post in before we leave for Morocco. I hope you all are well; I love getting your emails from home.
Lots of love from Senegal!
****One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish*****
The past two days have been great! The night before last we attended a concert of Senegalese music and had a great time. The band had two vocalists, two acoustic guitars, one electric, bongos and a regular drumset. Although I enjoyed the music. the people who got up and danced where almost more entertaining for me…they included one guy, who emily aptly described as dancing like a rubberband, some other senegalese aomen, and perhaps most entertaining of all…the 60 or so year old french woman, man could she get her groove on!
Yesterday was probably one of my most favorite days so far and what brought about the title of todays post. First we took a ferry to an island off the coast of dakar, an old slave post known as goree island. It was incredibly peaceful and beautiful. The water was a perfect blue and was even more set off by the colorful buildings. There are no cars or motorbikes on the island so everything is a bit more relaxed then dakar. We wandered through the streets, sat and enjoyed the sunshine and the birds flying overhead, took lots of pictures…hopefully I can get them on here soon!; had lunch; and I successfully bargained for a really nice ebony mask.
After goree, we returned to emilys for a quick nap, then we took a taxi to this neighborhood called medina to meet emilys friend laye. Medina is a sight to see in itself, a very poor area of dakar. The smell in the air is not exactly roses, and the garbage overflows in parts. Children are playing everywhere and soccerballs are kicked up and down. Along the central street there are market stalls that seem to go on forever. The market is strangly juxtaposed however with a bright and shining rainbow foods like grocery about halfway down that we bought dinner in one night. It is the oddest sight.
In any case, last night after we finally found laye, he gathered up a bunch of supplies while we waited in his familys home. Then he took us down to where the locals buy their fish. Emily has talked about this market on the other blog and it truly is wonderful. Its right on the beach and happens as the fishermen bring in their catch in the early evening. First we walked through where all the boats are piled up. Huge dugout canoes; all painted in bright wonderful colors; just like the mini busses that drive around town. Then you pass into the fish part, and man are their fish. Tables and tables and bowls and plates and aisles of fish. All fresh caught and all sorts of sizes and colors. We worked our way down to the bottom and the fish are layed out on steel plates in the sand with the waves rolling in behind them. It was almost as if they had washed up from the sea just for us to eat. Laye picked us out a bunch and then we headed up to get small baggies of sauce and some onion and cucumber. After walking a little further down the beach, we found ourselves a spot and laye proceded to start a fire and set the fish upon our little grill. We cut up the vegetetables and he mixed them with the sauces. And then as soon as the fish were cooked we had ourselves a picnic listening to the waves crash and the pebbles roll back with the tide. It was delicious.
I am enjoying Senegal more and more each day. Things are going very well, and I am so lucky to have such an excellent tour guide! Thanks to Em!
***The Market***
Today was my first real experience with the market in downtown Dakar. It was for sure an interesting site. Lots of people selling everything from oranges and tomatoes to irons and fake pumas (em got a really cute pink pair). I love seeing everything all laid out to buy, especially the foods. A guy even pulled up while emily was looking at shoes and unloaded an entire truck of particularly slimy looking huge fish, grouper I think they said. (Hopefully it wasn’t the same fish I ate yesterday at lunch!)
I absolutely love watching the crowds, the people and their way of life. The patterns of clothes are bright and colorful and everyone we met has been extremely friendly. We started off this afternoon going fabric shopping. Emily has found herself a few guys who act sort of as guides to bring us through the various stalls. Apparently this leads to less hasseling.
We found a shop…well a room of sorts, selling the type of fabric we were looking for, something called indigo. Its just what it sounds like, fabric patterned in a deep blue almost purple. Emily had bought some in burkina faso, and I thought it would make a great skirt. So, after some hard bargaining on emily’s part we got what we wanted and headed to the tailor shop. I was also fascinated with the tailors as it was another room filled with about 10 men, not women, all working old school sewing machines. There was crazy fabric all over. He took our measurements and I am excited to see how things turn out. We will get our clothes (emily had a bunch of stuff made as well) when we return next week from saint louis.
Otherwise, life has been good here so far. The food is good, lots of rice and sauces. Today was a couscous with a yummy onion sauce. We drove along the coast today as well, the surf was impressive, wonderfully picturesque crashing into the rocks. Tonight we are attending a concert of senegalese music, hopefully it will be fun. Tomorrow I believe we will be off to one of the islands. I hope you are all doing well!
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Back In Dakar
Posted by Emily
First, yes I did get into grad school at Minnesota for those of you who were confused. I also just got an email saying that I have been accepted to the University of Washington.
After two weeks of trucking around all over the place, I am finally back in Dakar and very happy to be here! I've always heard Senegalese people brag about their country and I thought they were just doing that because that's what people do but now I actually think they are right. Dakar is a really great city with a lot going on and I appreciate that more now.
From Cape Coast in Ghana, Anne and I took a day trip to Kakum National Park where we did a canopy walk. Before seeing what we would be walking on, I was a little apprehensive but there were very sturdy boards with rope fencing up to the armpits. You'd have to really try to fall! Plus, it was made by Canadians so of course it had to be good! :) We spent the morning walking around in the treetops and it was very lovely. In the afternoon, we hopped into a lorry (the mass transit bus type things in Ghana) and took it to the little beach town of Kokrobite, which seems to have changed a lot since the time that our guide book was written. It sounded like it would be a sleepy little town but it was full of white people! Kind of annoying but it turned out to be okay. We stayed at this crazy place that had the feel of a hippie commune and a tourist resort combined. Very strange and it took a little getting used to because there was kind of a weird vibe about the place. However, it was right on a beautiful beach so we spent a few days playing in the waves. I'm not usually much for swimming in the ocean, and actually it usually scares me, but the water was the perfect temperature and the waves/undertow weren't too strong.
From Kokrobite we took a taxi to Accra, Ghana and immediately went to the bus station to buy our tickets back to Ouaga. Neither of us were too keen on going back but I had a plane that I needed to catch. Since the bus that we had taken down to Kumasi was not air-conditioned, we were very encouraged by the sign that said the bus to Ouaga was "luxury". We spent most of the day walking around different areas and markets. Anne was quite overwhelmed by the size and bustle of the city! We didn't have a lot of time to spend in the city so I couldn't really get a good feel for it. I still think Dakar wins, especially for a port city :)
The bus we took back to Ouaga WAS luxury, at least by our current standards. There was air-conditioning, curtains on the windows (to block out the blazing sun) and even strange Nigerian movies to watch, the first of which was titled "100% Husband". That should give you an idea of the quality of the movie. The border crossing back into Burkina was DEPRESSING. The air was full of dust, so much so that it looked like a fog was covering the countryside. Nope, just too many dust particles in the air. I have never seen anything like it and can imagine that it causes many respiratory problems in the people there! Basically it was just a picture of desolation and scrubby brushland. Not a very inviting image.
After about 25 hours, we finally made it back to Ouaga, found a hotel and went to sleep on the BED. We spent the last night eating good food and listing to live music with a South African woman we had met on the bus to Ouaga. She had been traveling for about 3 months through Mali, Burkina, Niger and Ghana and is now, strangely enough, in Dakar to do an internship at the place where Anna (one of the girls that I live with) is doing a little side translating work. Sometimes the people you meet are just so random! She's looking for a place to stay and maybe ever take over my room when I leave.
Since coming back, I've pretty much been visiting people, my host family and Vieux's family mainly. And of course, Nicki arrived last night so we have been exploring Dakar a little. We had lunch at Vieux's wife's mom's restaurant (got that??) where Nicki tried ceeb bu jen, the Senegalese national dish. She claims to have liked it.
That's about all for now. More to follow!
First, yes I did get into grad school at Minnesota for those of you who were confused. I also just got an email saying that I have been accepted to the University of Washington.
After two weeks of trucking around all over the place, I am finally back in Dakar and very happy to be here! I've always heard Senegalese people brag about their country and I thought they were just doing that because that's what people do but now I actually think they are right. Dakar is a really great city with a lot going on and I appreciate that more now.
From Cape Coast in Ghana, Anne and I took a day trip to Kakum National Park where we did a canopy walk. Before seeing what we would be walking on, I was a little apprehensive but there were very sturdy boards with rope fencing up to the armpits. You'd have to really try to fall! Plus, it was made by Canadians so of course it had to be good! :) We spent the morning walking around in the treetops and it was very lovely. In the afternoon, we hopped into a lorry (the mass transit bus type things in Ghana) and took it to the little beach town of Kokrobite, which seems to have changed a lot since the time that our guide book was written. It sounded like it would be a sleepy little town but it was full of white people! Kind of annoying but it turned out to be okay. We stayed at this crazy place that had the feel of a hippie commune and a tourist resort combined. Very strange and it took a little getting used to because there was kind of a weird vibe about the place. However, it was right on a beautiful beach so we spent a few days playing in the waves. I'm not usually much for swimming in the ocean, and actually it usually scares me, but the water was the perfect temperature and the waves/undertow weren't too strong.
From Kokrobite we took a taxi to Accra, Ghana and immediately went to the bus station to buy our tickets back to Ouaga. Neither of us were too keen on going back but I had a plane that I needed to catch. Since the bus that we had taken down to Kumasi was not air-conditioned, we were very encouraged by the sign that said the bus to Ouaga was "luxury". We spent most of the day walking around different areas and markets. Anne was quite overwhelmed by the size and bustle of the city! We didn't have a lot of time to spend in the city so I couldn't really get a good feel for it. I still think Dakar wins, especially for a port city :)
The bus we took back to Ouaga WAS luxury, at least by our current standards. There was air-conditioning, curtains on the windows (to block out the blazing sun) and even strange Nigerian movies to watch, the first of which was titled "100% Husband". That should give you an idea of the quality of the movie. The border crossing back into Burkina was DEPRESSING. The air was full of dust, so much so that it looked like a fog was covering the countryside. Nope, just too many dust particles in the air. I have never seen anything like it and can imagine that it causes many respiratory problems in the people there! Basically it was just a picture of desolation and scrubby brushland. Not a very inviting image.
After about 25 hours, we finally made it back to Ouaga, found a hotel and went to sleep on the BED. We spent the last night eating good food and listing to live music with a South African woman we had met on the bus to Ouaga. She had been traveling for about 3 months through Mali, Burkina, Niger and Ghana and is now, strangely enough, in Dakar to do an internship at the place where Anna (one of the girls that I live with) is doing a little side translating work. Sometimes the people you meet are just so random! She's looking for a place to stay and maybe ever take over my room when I leave.
Since coming back, I've pretty much been visiting people, my host family and Vieux's family mainly. And of course, Nicki arrived last night so we have been exploring Dakar a little. We had lunch at Vieux's wife's mom's restaurant (got that??) where Nicki tried ceeb bu jen, the Senegalese national dish. She claims to have liked it.
That's about all for now. More to follow!
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Ready or Not Here I Come!!
T-Minus 3 Days and counting! I will soon be in Senegal to join Ms Emily on our journey, so I figured I best start keeping up my end of this blog! I could not be more excited!! I am starting to think about packing...I made a list. But so far most stuff is just sitting in a pile on my floor waiting to be stuffed in my backpack. I've discovered that putting 4 months of supplies in 65 cubic liters is harder then I thought. Shoot. Oh well. In any case, hopefully it will all work out and I will be ready for my billion hour airport adventure (though not as long as it will be to get home...) and make it into Senegal on the evening of March 13th. I am so pumped, let's get this party started.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
We've Got More Bounce In California
Hello!
No time for a long post but I just wanted to let you all know that I was accepted to Berkeley. It was my top choice school so I am very excited!
Also, Anne and I are in Accra, Ghana at the moment. It's the capital of Ghana and it's biggest city. So far I'm not too impressed. I has more big stores, etc. than Dakar but it just has the feel of a big city to me. No real character that I have picked up on yet. Oh well, we will be leaving tomorrow morning anyway. We opted to spend an extra day on the beach instead of coming to Accra earlier. It was definitely a good decision!
At 10 am tomorrow we are getting on a bus back to Ouaga. We hear that the ride takes 24 hours and may involve sleeping at the border (they close at night) but I'm choosing not to think about that right now! It will be sad to leave Ghana and this little trip but I will also be happy to be back in Dakar where I can see my friends and understand what's going on around me!
Nicki will be joining me in Dakar in less than a week!
No time for a long post but I just wanted to let you all know that I was accepted to Berkeley. It was my top choice school so I am very excited!
Also, Anne and I are in Accra, Ghana at the moment. It's the capital of Ghana and it's biggest city. So far I'm not too impressed. I has more big stores, etc. than Dakar but it just has the feel of a big city to me. No real character that I have picked up on yet. Oh well, we will be leaving tomorrow morning anyway. We opted to spend an extra day on the beach instead of coming to Accra earlier. It was definitely a good decision!
At 10 am tomorrow we are getting on a bus back to Ouaga. We hear that the ride takes 24 hours and may involve sleeping at the border (they close at night) but I'm choosing not to think about that right now! It will be sad to leave Ghana and this little trip but I will also be happy to be back in Dakar where I can see my friends and understand what's going on around me!
Nicki will be joining me in Dakar in less than a week!
Friday, March 03, 2006
Location: Cape Coast, Ghana
Hello from Ghana!
Anne and I have finally made it down to the coast of Ghana, the city of Cape Coast to be exact. We left Ouaga early Wednesday morning (I was not sad) on a bus headed for Kumasi, Ghana. The ride ended up taking about 16 hours, and although the bus was supposed to be air-conditioned, it wasn't. It was a rather hot and sticky ride. We finally made it into Kumasi at around 1 am, found a hotel and went to sleep.
Ghana is AMAZING. It's green and beautiful and way more developed than Senegal. Compared with Anne's experiences in Niger, I was thinking that Senegal was cushy West Africa. Nope, that's definitely Ghana! We spent most of the day walking around the city and the market (where no one even tried to hassle us!) and visiting the National Cultural Center. Kumasi in the capitol of Ashanti culture so there was some very interesting exhibits. We met a German guy there and spent the rest of the day exploring the city with him. At a loss for things to do, we decided to visit the Hat Museum, a collection of many many hats (Michael, the German guy, asked people at the hotel if they had a room with a lot of hats in it It was actually very funny at the time....). Sadly, we walked all the way to the museum, which is on the top floor of a hotel, and discovered that the hat museum is closed for renovation...actually, to quote more accurately, the museum is closed so that it can be made better. Hmmmm.
Having exhausted that option and being very tired from walking in the heat, we decided to go to the saloon next to the hotel. Well, upon approaching the building we discovered that it was not in fact a saloon but a salon. Not a very good place to get a beer. We went back into the hotel and Michael asked if they had a room full of beer.
This morning we went to the bank to get some money and then wandered around looking for a place to eat breakfast. We eventually found a place that looked really nice but it turns out they aren't very speedy because it took them an hour to get us oatmeal and tea. Meanwhile, a HORRIBLE movie about a deaf woman who gets locked in a school and witnesses a murder was on. It was unbelievably bad bit it actually served to make the situation quite hilarious.
FINALLY after eating we went to the gare routiere and found ourselves a little mini-bus thing heading down from Kumasi to Cape Coast for only $3. It was a pretty sweet deal and was much nicer than taking the bus again. The scenery was breathtaking. There are lots of rolling hills in Ghana (which don't exist in either Senegal or Niger so Anne and I were both impressed) and everywhere you look is GREEN. It reminds of pictures I have seen of jungles. However, a long with comes lots of humidity but I'll take it!
Tomorrow we are going to explore the city and the Cape Coast castle (used to be used in the slave trade). Sunday we are hoping to go the nearby rainforest to do a canopy walk. From Cape Coast we are hoping to head to a smaller beach town for a night and then move on to Accra, the capitol. It is all going to be over too quickly!
FUNNY THINGS
-The largest cedi bill (Ghanaian money) is worth about $2. This makes going to the bank a hilarious experience because you literally get a huge wad of money. I have to keep most of mine in a plastic bag because it won't fit anywhere else!
-Ghana is very Christian so many of the shops had Christian "slogans" associated with them. I think my two favorites so far are "God Only Knows Electricals" and "The Lord Is My Shepard Fashion Center". Also, just to my left there is a poster hanging on the wall that says "Oh God, let your name be glorified." on the bottom. Above it is the slogan "A Paradise On Earth" under which is a picture of a huge house and fancy car. WHAT?
Anne and I have finally made it down to the coast of Ghana, the city of Cape Coast to be exact. We left Ouaga early Wednesday morning (I was not sad) on a bus headed for Kumasi, Ghana. The ride ended up taking about 16 hours, and although the bus was supposed to be air-conditioned, it wasn't. It was a rather hot and sticky ride. We finally made it into Kumasi at around 1 am, found a hotel and went to sleep.
Ghana is AMAZING. It's green and beautiful and way more developed than Senegal. Compared with Anne's experiences in Niger, I was thinking that Senegal was cushy West Africa. Nope, that's definitely Ghana! We spent most of the day walking around the city and the market (where no one even tried to hassle us!) and visiting the National Cultural Center. Kumasi in the capitol of Ashanti culture so there was some very interesting exhibits. We met a German guy there and spent the rest of the day exploring the city with him. At a loss for things to do, we decided to visit the Hat Museum, a collection of many many hats (Michael, the German guy, asked people at the hotel if they had a room with a lot of hats in it It was actually very funny at the time....). Sadly, we walked all the way to the museum, which is on the top floor of a hotel, and discovered that the hat museum is closed for renovation...actually, to quote more accurately, the museum is closed so that it can be made better. Hmmmm.
Having exhausted that option and being very tired from walking in the heat, we decided to go to the saloon next to the hotel. Well, upon approaching the building we discovered that it was not in fact a saloon but a salon. Not a very good place to get a beer. We went back into the hotel and Michael asked if they had a room full of beer.
This morning we went to the bank to get some money and then wandered around looking for a place to eat breakfast. We eventually found a place that looked really nice but it turns out they aren't very speedy because it took them an hour to get us oatmeal and tea. Meanwhile, a HORRIBLE movie about a deaf woman who gets locked in a school and witnesses a murder was on. It was unbelievably bad bit it actually served to make the situation quite hilarious.
FINALLY after eating we went to the gare routiere and found ourselves a little mini-bus thing heading down from Kumasi to Cape Coast for only $3. It was a pretty sweet deal and was much nicer than taking the bus again. The scenery was breathtaking. There are lots of rolling hills in Ghana (which don't exist in either Senegal or Niger so Anne and I were both impressed) and everywhere you look is GREEN. It reminds of pictures I have seen of jungles. However, a long with comes lots of humidity but I'll take it!
Tomorrow we are going to explore the city and the Cape Coast castle (used to be used in the slave trade). Sunday we are hoping to go the nearby rainforest to do a canopy walk. From Cape Coast we are hoping to head to a smaller beach town for a night and then move on to Accra, the capitol. It is all going to be over too quickly!
FUNNY THINGS
-The largest cedi bill (Ghanaian money) is worth about $2. This makes going to the bank a hilarious experience because you literally get a huge wad of money. I have to keep most of mine in a plastic bag because it won't fit anywhere else!
-Ghana is very Christian so many of the shops had Christian "slogans" associated with them. I think my two favorites so far are "God Only Knows Electricals" and "The Lord Is My Shepard Fashion Center". Also, just to my left there is a poster hanging on the wall that says "Oh God, let your name be glorified." on the bottom. Above it is the slogan "A Paradise On Earth" under which is a picture of a huge house and fancy car. WHAT?
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