Dakar

This farm girl loves seeing new places and experiencing new things. I love to see big cities, but I am most at home in nature. I often find big cities overwhelming, and Dakar was no different.

The city enlivened all of my senses, sometimes so many at one time that it was almost hard to comprehend what I was experiencing. 

Rich, vibrant colors were easy to spot whether in clothing or fruits or flowers sold in nurseries. The air felt warm, but with the breeze from the Atlantic, the air felt immensely pleasant. Sounds varied from goats crying to cars honking to the reverent call to prayer. Smell was not always the most pleasant of the senses. Some were delightful like peanuts roasting or incense burning, but sewer, fish and large crowds in warm weather did not always please the olfactory. I’ll save the tastes for a separate blog.

The city is wide and expansive, jetting out on a point creating the most western point of the continent. The city is densely populated with no trains or subways of any kind, so the roads are hectic. We counted on a half-hour or more drive wherever we went. But you know, what? Despite the crowds and the many vehicles, we saw very few wrecks. We heard lots of honking, but most of those were even done in a kind way. Drivers honked just to alert pedestrians not to cross or honked at the goat to get out of the way or honked so the bus driver knew he could merge in front of you. Crossing the street was relatively easy as drivers kindly gave the right of way or at least stayed the coarse so you knew when you were able to cross. Don’t get me wrong, I have no desire to drive amongst the throngs of pedestrians and cyclists speeding pass, but the driving was just one more way that highlighted the kindness of the people of Sénégal. People were often seen stopping to pick up others, knowing so well the value of sharing that they even shared their cars.

I love farm animals, particularly goats, but seeing goats, sheep, horses and cows in a big city was beyond my anticipation. Where were they? The better question may be where weren’t they. They were on the sidewalk, in the remnants of dilapidated buildings, in makeshift cages and even wandering around school yards.  There were lots of cats around, to my extreme delight, and plenty of playful kittens, but very few dogs.

One evening, Ousmane, one of our amazing in-country hosts took us to the market to purchase fabric. I didn’t get fabric here as a tailored dress had already been promised to me in Saint Louis, but I went along for the ride and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It included gallivanting through busy city streets, taking in all the sites of a market for everything locals may need from shoes, underwear, phone accessories, fruits and vibrant cloth. Then we took taxis to the tailor and sat around as in a beauty salon while everyone was measured for their unique creations. 

We also visited the Museum of Black Civilizations that included early artifacts of some of the first humans, modern African art and lots in between. One wall titled “The Lines of Continuity” had photos of famous Africans from across the world.  Only one state was represented with two photographs.  This Alabama gal sure loved seeing two African American women, Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin representing our state with pride.

The city of Dakar, like so much of my time in Senegal, enriched my life by touching on all of my senses.