Senegal
is one of the most beautiful and diverse countries in Africa and yet remains
relatively little known. A stable democracy, friendly people, bearable climate
and an efficient communication system combine to make this one of the most
accessible of African nations. Michael Hogan summarises the country’s
attractions.
Senegal’s
capital, Dakar, is the largest and most cosmopolitan city in West Africa. It is
where French businessmen and Japanese tuna-canning operatives rub shoulders
with representatives of every African culture of the region. The result is a
vibrant, crowded metropolis best regarded as the gateway to Senegal rather than
Senegal itself.
With modern luxury hotels and items such as
toiletries, travel goods, books and electrical items easily available, Dakar is
an excellent starting point for the first-time visitor.
A 20 minute
ferry ride from the Port of Dakar takes you to Goree Island, once a focal point
for the Atlantic slave trade and the original settlement from which Dakar
developed in the middle of the last century.
With help from UNESCO,
the Senegalese government is working to restore the island’s historical
buildings, making this tiny piece of land a microcosm of colonial history. Here
the slave traders housed their living cargoes before the voyage to the New
World, as well as building stately residences for themselves.
To
stroll through the streets of Goree is to experience the volatile history of
this region first hand. Buildings 200 years old, including the original Slave
House, seem to transport you to another era. There is the Historical Museum,
housed in an old fort, and the Museum of Marine Life, as well as charming cafes
along the beach.
For residents of Dakar, Goree is not just an
historical site but a day out from the city, and their presence breathes life
into the old buildings and atmospheric streets.
An hour’s drive
east of Dakar is the Pink Lake, where minerals suspended in the water turn it
literally pink at certain angles of sunlight. At other times the lake’s
surface remains stubbornly and disappointingly blue-gray, but nevertheless
provides a habitat for a breathtaking number of wading birds such as
flamingoes, egrets and spoonbills.
Whatever the colour of the water
this is a spectaclar reminder that Senegal plays host to one of the richest and
most diverse populations of bird life in Africa.
In the Sine-Saloum
region, a long narrow wooden jetty leads out across the water to where a
pirogue — a local fishing canoe painted blue and yellow — is waiting
to cast off. The piroguier, a barefooted boy of about 14 wearing ancient jeans
and a baggy cotton shirt, flashes the whitest of smiles and starts the outboard
motor. Soon we are chugging sedately through the mangrove-lined creeks that
form the delta of the River Saloum.
Geographically we are about 30
miles above the Gambia border, 100 miles south of Dakar and close enough to the
Atlantic for the waters to be tidal.
But once among the labyrinth of
mangrove inlets such considerations of relative position seem utterly
irrelevant. As the tide descends, hundreds of small crabs scuttle across the
exposed mud banks; clusters of oysters become visible, hanging from the
mangrove roots.
Later we shall eat oysters baked on the half-shell
and washed down with ice-cold bottles of Flag, the Senegalese beer. With any
luck they will be followed by a meal of freshly caught fish — carp and
barracuda are just two of the many species that thrive in these waters.
The sun blazes down from a clear blue sky, brightly coloured birds flash
through the foliage and, where the mangroves recede around a crescent of muddy
beach, two crocodiles slide into the river, reminding even the most expert of
fisherman that he faces some stiff competition from the area’s natural
inhabitants.
The Sine-Saloum region extends beyond its waterways into
bush and forest. French sportsmen come here to hunt wild boar during the first
three months of the year. Kaolack, the region’s capital, is Senegal’s
second largest city (after Dakar) and there are many villages in the area
— although these may be no more than a few tumbledown huts.
Peanuts are the principal local crop, but for many people grinding poverty is a
simple fact of life. Their dignity and friendliness in the face of it is as
remarkable as it is genuine.
With a pair of plump red carp in the
bottom of the boat and the shadows of the mangroves lengthening across the
water, my indefatiguable young piroguier steers our brightly painted vessel
home. Along the way we pull to within a few yards of a sandy patch of shore.
One hundred yards into the bush, along a rough path, I arrive at a small
compound erected beneath an enormously tall palm tree.
After the usual
greetings and pleasantries in a mixture of Wolof and broken French, I purchase,
for the equivalent of a few pennies, a litre of raw palm wine, cloudy white
like pastis with water added. The man who sells it to me insists we drink a
ladle of his brew together before the transaction is made. The wine has a not
unpleasant, almost antiseptic, taste.
Guessing he will have no money
for change I tender a note, at least 10 times more than the amount
asked.“Be beneen yon,” I say. Until the next time we meet....
“Jere jief”.... Thank you.
Suddenly he has a flash of
inspiration and offers me the ladle as a gift. It resembles a Huckleberry
Finn-style corncob pipe. He walks back with me to the river and grins and waves
as we chug away from the shore.
The Casamance region, lying below The
Gambia and stretching as far south as the border with Guinea-Bissau, is a
significantly large part of Senegal. It is named for the Casamance River which,
one way or another, provides sustenance for the bulk of the local
population.
Most visitors, as well as the Senegalese themselves, tend
to agree that this is the most beautiful part of Senegal.
The
Casamance capital, Zinguinchor, is another elegant testament to the years of
French colonial rule. There are wide paved streets of two-storey wooden houses,
rich in the atmosphere of a bygone age, as well as several good quality hotels.
There is also an airport offering daily flights to and from Dakar which, in
themselves, provide a splendid opportunity to view the country below.
Forty-five miles west of Zinguinchor is the Atlantic coast, and it is here that
tourism of the beach and water sport variety is catered for. The stretches of
palm-fringed white sand are the stuff of holiday brochures, but developement
has thus far been maintained at a level that has kept the character of the
coastline intact. There is still room for the local fishing villages, providing
a traditional form of livelihood for those unwilling or unable to find work in
the tourist hotels.
But this is just the tip of the Casamance iceberg,
and no more typical of it than the Costa del Sol is of Southern Spain. The
river is 200 miles long, with tributaries that carry its waters all through the
region. Low-lying and swampy after the summer rains, there are acres of rice
fields, simultaneously reflecting brilliant blue skies and lush green
foliage.
As you travel further east the climate becomes harsher, the
landscape more arid. Further east still, beyond Casamance itself, begin the
plains where big game such as lion and elephant are to be found.
But
that, as they say, is another story. And in a country as diverse as Senegal
there are always a few more stories waiting to be told.
Michael
Hogan is a freelance journalist based in the UK. As a keen fisherman, he visits
Senegal frequently.
SENEGAL FACTFILE Access: Air France, Sabena and Alitalia operate regular
scheduled services from London to Dakar via Paris, Brussels and Rome
respectively. The flight from Paris to Dakar takes about five and a half hours.
An alternative (and significantly cheaper) option is to take a holiday charter
flight direct from London to The Gambia. There are regular flights between
Banjul and Dakar.
Visas: British visitors do not currently require a
visa to enter Senegal.
Vaccinations: Not compulsory, but recommended
for Polio, Tetanus, Typhoid, Hepatitus A & B and Yellow Fever. Malaria is
rife throughout West Africa and visitors should take precautions.
Language: The official language is French, but many native languages are
spoken, reflecting the diversity of the population. The principal of these is
Wolof.
Currency: The Senegalese Franc, of which there are always 100
to the French Franc.
Costs: As in all Third World countries, imported
goods and international hotels are expensive, local goods and modest
accommodation cheap.
Climate: The rainy season runs from June to
September. The temperature varies from the upper twenties to low thirties
(degrees celcius), and never becomes unbearable. Humidity is highest in the
summer months.
More information: Senegalese Embassy, London 0171 938
4048
