Cruise Port 13 – Dakar, Senegal
Bonjour once again!
On May 15th, 2023, we arrive in Dakar. This is a city I’ve been interested in seeing since hearing Ofeibea Quist-Arcton report from here many times on NPR radio!
Joy and I have a tour today to have a panoramic tour of Dakar and visit the nearby Ile de Gorée!
As sunrise paints everything a little yellow, we approach the port of Dakar.
Our dock is another industrial working dock. Once again, no one will be walking into town today!
We board our bus for the panoramic tour, and guess what we see? The windows are filthy with calcium scale. This bus should not have been used for this tour. This photo is of the central market. I’m leaving out most of the beautiful government buildings they show us in Independence Square since you can’t see anything decently.
Joy asks, “Can the windows can be cleaned?” Malik, the tour guide, says he will try.
We get to leave the bus at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Victories. This Catholic church, very clean and contemporary, was established in 1929 as the Cathedral of African Remembrance. It has since had the dedication “A la vierge marie mere de jesus le sauveur” (To the Virgin Mary Mother of Jesus the Savior) placed on the front.
The interior is like the exterior – very simple, clean lines!
The dome has a wonderful painting of people ascending to meet Jesus! The people represented span millenia in garb from simple loin cloths to heavy 1st century robes to 20th century shirts and pants.
As usual, I look for the 7th Station of the Cross. This is a small painting, about 12 inches wide by 14 inches tall, with a poorly placed wooden cross above it (most of the crosses were hanging crooked). It is placed high on the wall, about 10 feet up!
When we come out of the church, Malik is trying hard to clean the windows of the bus! Bless him for trying, but he has no success.
A short drive later we arrive at the Grand Mosque of Dakar. Other tours are going in the mosque, but we are not. We only see the front of the mosque.
The detail work on the tower is exquisite!
I echo the comment for the detail surrounding each entry! Stunning!
We are allowed to enter the educational wing. This is a very peaceful area, and much less ornate than the mosque itself!
As we enter the older part of Dakar we see the colorful streets!
In addition to public buses, Dakar also has a system of private buses. These are mostly this size of vehicle, brightly colored, and in varying states of maintenance!One person drives, and another person crawls around collecting fare.
Dakar won its independence from the French in 1960. This obelisk was built to mark that event. The Roman numerals spell out 1960, and the four panels at the bottom have the big African animals on them! On the current face we see a lion.
We are on our way to see the African Renaissance Monument. We approach it from behind, and the lines are incredibly striking! It seems incongruous to see this work of art over a wall topped with barbed wire!
We circle the park to get to the front of the monument. This is stunning! We are not given enough time to climb the steps, but climbing closer will not allow us to see the statue any better – we’ll just have a nicer view of the surrounding area.
Leaving the monument and heading south along the coast we pass the Mosque of the Divinity on the beach. Lovely setting!
Our next stop is at a sand painting shop! As we enter we see this gentleman applying glue to a board. The glue defines where the sand will stick!
While the artist finishes the glue application another man demonstrates the various sands they use and tells where each type of sand originates. The artist takes finger pinches of some colors and full handfuls of other colors and applies them to the glue board. He piles one color on or next to another. Then he slams the board on the table a couple of times!
He turns the board sideways and dumps off the excess sand. His work of art is revealed! Beautiful!
I doubt this ferris wheel is supposed to be an “Eye” for Dakar, but this amusement park is located along the water and the ferris wheel should provide a nice view!
The bus swings by the Presidential Palace. We aren’t supposed to take pictures of the police, but we are encouraged to take a photo of the regimental guard in the high-visibility red tunic! By now we have opened the bus windows to see out. The weather is nice enough that we don’t need air conditioning. This allows me to grab this photo of the guard!
We finally arrive at the ferry dock – it’s a little after noon. While waiting for the ferry to arrive to take us to Ile de Gorée I found this pair of shoes lying on a pile of stone. It made an interesting shot for me!
The ferry arrives and we are the first to board. Malik tells us to sit up top on the right side so we’ll have the best views! He’s right! As we approach Ile de Gorée I see this side of the island. There is clearly a fort on the left, and what appears to be a collapsed roof on a church at the far right.
We go around the island to the far side. Here’s where the harbor is located. See the red building on the left? Remember it!
We pass another interesting power ship creating additional electrical power. This one runs on liquid natural gas (LNG)!
Soon we are docked and disembarking! Welcome to the Island of Gorée!
This island is a UNESCO World Heritage site! Nelson Mandela declared this a place for peace and it was inaugurated as that in 2021.
This is the most interesting heart I’ve seen on any island!
The streets are picturesque!
We arrive at the Slave House. Enslaved people were brought here for holding until they were sold and shipped out.
There are many small rooms that would be packed with people awaiting sale.
Once slaves were sold and ready for transport they were lined up in this hallway. When it was time for them to leave they would exit this hall and go through…
… the Door of No Return. Slaves only leave the Slave House through this door.
As we leave the Slave House I see several Black Kites flying above, and succeed in snapping this picture! These are beautiful birds but have scruffy tails!
This is the Church St. Charles Borromée.
Gorée even has a kindergarten!
There are several buildings dedicated to many vendors who travel to Gorée every day to sell their goods. This one building has about twenty different shops inside!
The Palace of the Governor is in total shambles and has two foosball tables on site!
On our way to lunch we see this class in session in the shade of a nice tree!
We enter the building that was once the Town Hall. This is where we will be served lunch!
We have live music during lunch. This talented musician plays the kora for us! The music is soft, beautiful, and relaxing!
After lunch we head to the former Estrée’s Fort, now the Historical Museum of Senegal.
In front of the Fort is this statue of Freedom – the Statue of the Liberation from Slavery!
Inside the fort is a large courtyard surrounded by rooms. The rooms now host the displays of the history of the island!
Distinguished visitors to Ile de Gorée are shown in the first room, and include names from our early history lessons including Americo Vespuce (we spelled it Amerigo Vespucci) and Vasco de Gama (we spelled it Vasco da Gama)! More current notable visitors such as Nelson Mandela are recognized in a separate room.
This beautiful mural depicting daily life is interesting because it shows people in full garb with facemasks while many local women are topless!
The Museum has an excellent model of the slave ship Aurore.
On the upper deck of the Fort cannon are on display, still guarding the island from an attack from the sea!
Looking inland the view sees across the harbor to the high ground at the other end of the island. The Freedom statue stands proud!
From this vantage point I get a chance to photograph this Black Kite flying by me!
Our Ile de Gorée visit comes to an end and we catch the next ferry back to the mainland.
As we leave the harbor I take a photo of the buildings on the edge of the island. I realize the door in the red building is the Door of No Return, and this red building is the same one I pointed out in the photo when we were approaching the island.
Returning to the Dakar port I get to show off our beautiful Sojourn against the Dakar skyline!
And I get a good look at the Mercy ship we saw in port when we arrived! I wonder how long this has been here? I know we saw news about Mercy ships helping countries with COVID-19 cases when the pandemic first swept the world in 2020.
Back on board, we await another late shove off, but this one is planned. The Sahara dust creates another eerie sunset!
During dinner we leave port. Au revoir, Dakar and Senegal!
Next port – Praia, Cape Verde!
