Globicyclette in Senegal |
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Bananas, at long last!
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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!
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6 - 9th October : Saint
Louis
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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...
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11 - 13 October: Globicyclette
in transit.
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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.
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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!
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- 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!
- 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!
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