Globicyclette in Senegal



 

Bananas, at long last!

 
After an aeroplane, a lorry, a bike, it is on a pirogue that our travellers cross the border into the fourth country on their trip (what will they use for the next border?). Our stay in Senegal will be short; our plane for Peru leaves in 12 days. But in the meantime, we will have plenty to see.

 

 

3-6th October: Travelling along the Senegal River.

 

So here we are, our feet in the mud of the bank of the river, unloading bikes and baggage from the pirogue. In front of us the riverbank is deserted, with just a muddy track leading upwards. Where is the border-post? There isn't one! Nobody to register our entry into the country! We will eventually get an entrance stamp on our passports ... when we leave! Here, things so are simple. The customs officer asks when did we arrive? He changes the date on his stamp, and top! It's done! What is the point if wasting money on a border post lost in the bush?

Effectively we are in the bush! The closest tarmac road ("the tarmac" as they say here) is 35km away. From here to there is just bush! Nevertheless we find a trail that will suffice for our bikes, and we set out in a dry landscape with scattered trees, where we see zebus, goats and sheep grazing.

About every 2 km, we go through a village: round mud huts with straw roofs, and sometimes a small mosque, also in straw and mud cob. Of course, there is neither electricity, nor tap water! We are really deep in the heart of Africa.
The villages seem cleaner than in Mauritania, and the people we see are smiling and easy-going. The women are dressed in brightly coloured cotton clothes with bare arms and shoulders; it makes quite a contrast with the veiled women! They are all beautiful, and here they carry their packages on their head. The children, often half naked, are cute and full of curiosity, we like them!

Our trip through the bush brings its share of problems: we cross five rivers, three in pirogues and two on foot! Fortunately our clothes dry quickly in the heat. We become experts in the use of pirogues. We begin to feel like junior Indiana Jones! The evening bivouacs are marvellous, and we are woken in the morning by the song of birds.

It is almost with regrets that we get back to tarmac roads and "civilisation". But it is necessary to replenish our food supply. What do we find here? Bananas! Very small, green and black, but they are really delicious. We love them, and our diet will be 1 kg of bananas per day during the whole of our stay in Senegal! In the first big village, the children greet us with cries of "Touba! Touba! Tou! ba!" and run to meet us. "Touba" means "toubab", or in English "white men". Here, however, nobody asks us for gifts.

The children cluster around our bikes, laughing, but not daring to touch anything, they look at us as if we were extraterrestrials. So we take lots of photographs, which makes them squeal with delight... or run away shyly. Here, every time we make a halt, we are immediately surrounded by a group of children who observe every gesture we make, apparently fascinated!

The several days spent travelling west, following the Senegal River, are pleasant, despite the eternal headwind that slows us by at least 10km/h. Between the little villages, we coast through a scenery that resembles our childhood vision of paradise: rolling green hills of close cropped grass, scattered with trees providing a cool shade, between which zebus, goats and sheep graze peacefully. It's very pleasant, despite the heat.
We do our shopping in the villages along the road: a festival of colour, noise and gaiety! However the mountains of fresh fruit that Olivier had dreamed of are not to be found, and apart from bananas, there are... more bananas, for which we barter to get a "non-toubab" price!

 

6 - 9th October : Saint Louis

 

In short, we are in love with the Senegal bush, and the few days spent travelling down the river valley seem to short. We are already at Saint Louis, at the mouth of the river!

Here, we find a sudden change of atmosphere. We discover a town, charged with colonial history, and with a strong and coloured tourist activity. We also meet up again with children requesting money, and also with souvenir shops where the vendors are experts in conning tourists.

At first we are taken in by their yarns and stories that make us take pity on them, but we quickly understand their game and firmly refuse any conversation which starts with "Hello my friends, you are French aren't you? We love Frenchmen...". It's a pity, because the town itself is beautiful, and we are about to discover a little haven of comfort and welcome, ... French style!
It is quite by accident that we decide to set up tent in the "Camping de l'Ocean", between the river and the sea. We are immediately welcomed by "Hi there, make yourselves at home, install your tent and come back for drink!" We make friends with Francis and Helen, who run the site. Their hospitality is so kind and generous that it will be difficult to leave.

We spend some happy hours "on holiday" sitting in the cool sea breeze on their veranda, eating a breakfast of toast and coffee, or just watching the waves break on the beach.

In the evening we have dinner together (we make pancakes for them) and have ”long "globe-trotter" discussions with Francis, Helen, and six other travellers who have succumbed to the charms of the site. We would have been happy to stay several days longer in this pleasant place, where we feel "at home"... but Peru is waiting for us. We must leave for Nouakchott in Mauritania, where we have a flight to Casablanca, then on to Madrid and finally to Lima in Peru. Senegal leaves us full of souvenirs of pleasant countryside, colours, gaiety, and huge smiles. But, to be honest, too hot for us! Will we find cooler weather in the Andes Mountains? Will we miss the bananas? Will our stay in Saint Louis have let muscles go too soft to climb the steep slopes of the Andes? Find out in the next episode...

 

11 - 13 October: Globicyclette in transit.

 

Before flying across to a new continent, we make the most out of a two-day stopover in Madrid... where our parents make us a surprise visit! An emotional family get together, a night in a luxurious hotel (with a bath! wow!), replenishment of our stock of "Brioche Pasquier" (we remind you that Oliver lives only for his daily slice of "Brioche Pasquier"), chocolate, and other delicacies, and also new tyres, inner tubes and repair kits! Thanks to our parents, wet set off fully recharged, both our bikes and ourselves.

 

 

 

Eating...

  • The fruit orgy that Olivier expected in this rich valley remained a pure phantasm. Nevertheless, we appreciated the Senegalese delicacies that we found, despite the fact that it is still Ramadan.
  • Bananas: The "Casamance" variety of bananas won't keep more than a day, but they are truly delicious, particularly when dunked in the local variety of "Nutella"!
  • "Thieboudienne" is a typical rice and fish dish from Saint Louis. Here the rice grains are round, but not at all sticky. The dish is served with delicious spices, (provided that there is not too much pimento) and big pieces of strange fish straight from the sea. Mmm. But be careful not to take a bite of the thing that resembles a little red tomato on the edge of your plate, it will kill your taste-buds!
  • "Bouye": the young women that sell iced "bissap" on the roadside, also sell a green juice called "bouye", so we had to try it! It is the juice of the fruit of the baobab (sometimes called "monkey-bread"), quite thick and grainy, a little acid with a flavour of orange flowers.
  • Pelicans. No we are joking of course, we would not dare to touch this protected species, but we saw some in cages in the fisherman's huts, and there is a rumour that they get eaten. A horrible thought!

Our difficulties

  • The "little pricklers" as we decided to call them are a real anti-bike munition. In fact they a hard grains covered in little spines about 5mm long, like a miniature Middle-Age mace, or a robust sea-urchin (take your choice!). They penetrate our tyres, and for the first time if the trip, we were pleased to have our "puncture-proof" "Dutch Perfects"! The ground sheet of the tent didn't resist, despite our careful efforts to sweep the ground clean. And another patch to glue!

  • A headwind all the way down!
  • The "gentle" souvenir vendors in Saint Louis: you think you are talking to a friendly Senegalese, when, pretending he is going to give you a little "welcome present" (that already sounds fishy!), he pulls you into his shop, and from there it is almost impossible to leave unscathed!
  • The beggar-kids in Saint Louis: Absolutely all the children we met in Saint Louis asked us for money. It's an organised industry. It seems that the children are "employed" by "protectors" who, in exchange for "educating" the children, send them begging in the streets!
  • Some stupid forgetfulness: Hmm, our travelling has not changed us that much; we still both have our heads in the clouds. We left a water-bottle in a bush-taxi, and above all, our two marvellous "Thermarest" self-inflating pillows, a present from Nath and Nico. We think we left them at the "Camping de l'Ocean". Let's hope that they are of use to somebody back there!

The best souvenirs

  • Crossing rivers in a pirogue in the bush.
  • Crossing a river on foot, in the setting sun, accompanied by twenty or so hilarious and half-naked kids. Unforgettable.
  • In general our contact with the inhabitants of the villages in the bush... and particularly the fascinated gazes of the children.
  • Waking-up at sunrise in the bush, when he colours appear little by little accompanied by the incredible songs of the birds just above us.
  • Getting back to easy living in the "Camping de l'Ocean".
  • And of course, the bananas!! Long live Senegal!