TOUBAKOUTA HAD THE MOST AMAZING SUNSET-SENEGAL

Travel makes one modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.

-Gustav Flaubert-

Considering how HOT it was last night, with the fan on full ball and myself covered in bug repellant I slept really well and as long as the power stays on I think we just may be able to survive the next 2 days.  It is not as hot as The Gambia (so far) but there is a heat in the air already when we woke this morning at 7am.  Breakfast was supplied by the hotel at 8am, which was a nice spread of fresh bread, happy cow cheese and jam and the Nescafe coffee sachets which keeps everyone happy first thing in the morning.  There was a village walk that could be joined this morning that was to run for 3 hours.  I was feeling lethargic already and had opted out of the walk this morning but I was going to do the river cruise this afternoon.  I was the only one who didn’t leave this morning at 9am and I felt a little guilty, but it was going to be a shocking day, another village tour which I am sure (hoping) it was going to be no different from the 100s I have done and I was content to stay back and get some blogging done and start to get some of my things in order as the trip starts to come to a close.  After the guys left at 9am, the power went off, so I lost the fan to help keep things cool, but for some reason the Wi-Fi still worked and I was just lucky that I was able to keep on the net as I worked.  I sent off a few emails, did some banking and then blogged.  We have worked out that our guest house doesn’t have its own Wi-Fi connection but it piggy backs the hotel across the road, so the signal comes and goes but I think because I was the only one around my connection lasted for nearly 2 hours before my battery went flat.

As there was still no power so I popped my laptop onto Madge to charge, and when I got back off the truck I noticed an army guy standing only 30m away on the corner of our sandy road with a machine gun in his hand and I wondered what the hell.  Was he there to protect us?  Was he there for another reason?  It was a little off putting not knowing why there was an armed guard standing on our street.  With the guys due back any minute for lunch I would ask them as I am sure they would have noticed the guy as well and more likely have an answer.  I went to the room, which miraculously was quite cool and I worked on my diary and read for the hour that it takes my laptop to charge and get some down time before heading out on the evening cruise.  The gang was due back around 12-12.30pm and after the hour was up I went back to Madge to collect my computer at 1.20pm and then sat back and continued to work away.  The group finally arrived at 2pm and they looked hot and sweaty and a little tired.  So much for a 3 hour trip and I was still glad that I hadn’t gone.  There were a few people that had skipped the village walk but had stayed on the boat to fish for a few hours, but they came back empty handed which was a shame after the haul that they caught in Cap Skirring.  Lunch was prepared with stale bread roll, tuna and some tinned chicken meat that Karl donated from his personal supply and then we all had a few hours for some down time.  The internet also went down once they all arrived back and I think because the modem is across the road once you get more than one person on the line it just packs it in.  Never mind, I got my fair share of the few precious hours I had this morning so I can’t really complain.  Some people opted out from the evening cruise as they had found a hotel where you could pay 2500 (5AUD) to use their pool facilities and that sounded awesome to me, but I did want to go on the cruise as well so that I at least got out of the hotel grounds, so I said no to the pool and I packed away my computer as I never get any work done when people are around and I just chillaxed in my room until 4.30pm when we met for the cruise.   

There were 8 of us for the afternoon cruise and it made me feel a little less guilty on missing out on the mornings village walk, being the only one, but people were skipping this activity, so wasn’t just me being antisocial or bored, which I am not for the record, just tired.  We left the guesthouse just after 4.30pm and had to walk the 5 minutes to the boat on the river.  As we were walking past one of the 5 star resorts we saw more guards, more army with guns and then a convoy of cars started to roll into the property.  We were told that that Senegal President was in town and after about 12 cars there were 3 black SUV’s with the flag flying and he must have been on one of them.  We stood like tourists and just waved on the chance that we may get a wave back from the PRESIDENT but we were left unrewarded and after the last car had entered the gate there was an influx of nicely dressed people that were allowed to enter and we carried on our way to the boat.  It is not the first brush of power that we had seen as we saw what we are 97% sure was the Ghana Presidents convoy scream past us while we were in the country, we also just missed the King of Kumasi when we went to the palace for a tour, we saw the car of the mayor of Freetown (he was inside) and then the President of Senegal’s convoy.  It was pretty cool and at least that explained why there were guards all around the streets today and to think I thought that they were maybe tourist police seems a little ridiculous now doesn’t it! 

We were heading again out on the pirogues and I had asked the morning group if it was a big boat and they had said yes, so imagine my relief when I did see a large wooden boat waiting for us when we got to the Saloum River.  The Saloum Delta or Sine-Saloum Delta is a river delta in Senegal at the mouth of the Saloum River where it flows into the North Atlantic Ocean. The delta covers 180,000 hectares and it extends 72.5 kilometers along the coastline and 35 kilometers inland.  In 2011, a 145,811-hectare portion of the delta was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. The site contains "brackish channels encompassing over 200 islands and islets, mangrove forest, an Atlantic marine environment, and dry forest."  The Saloum Delta National Park covers 76,000 hectares of the delta.  The bird species that breed or winter in the area include Royal Tern, Greater Flamingo, Eurasian Spoonbill, Curlew Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, and Little Stint. Aside from being a valued breeding ground for birds, the delta contains 218 shellfish mounds and artefacts unearthed at some 28 of the burial grounds have provided an important insight into the history of human occupation in the area.  Much of the region consists of mangrove swamps.  The salinity of the water increased during the 1970s instance of the Sahel drought and mismanagement of the rivers upstream has been described as a factor.  Mangroves are disappearing, and freshwater fish are disappearing with them. The villagers have difficulty obtaining freshwater. Sometimes water pumps are donated by international organizations, but spare parts are difficult to find when the pumps fail. The change in water salinity is affecting the ecosystem as much as it is changing the lifestyle of the inhabitants of the region.

We were taken into one of the mangrove estuaries to give us an idea on what they looked like.  Zoe was with us to help translate what our guide was telling us and after a few photos we were whisked back the way we had come to take us to our first and only stop to an island that has been made out of shells.  Well the whole island isn’t shells, but when we pulled up there were thousands of shells that had naturally formed a mini cove as such and it was just beautiful.  We hopped off the boat and walked through some bush to be shown to massive baobab trees which were 100 and 200 years old respectively.  I have to say I am amazed at the size of the trees that I have seen the whole trip and I think they have survived for so long, and are so old and not have been chopped down because they have so many uses as a live tree rather than killing it and it only having one use, firewood or building.  The Baobab Tree is known as the tree of life, with good reason. It can provide shelter, clothing, food, and water for the animal and human inhabitants of the African savannah regions. The cork-like bark and huge stem are fire resistant and are used for making cloth and rope. The leaves are used as condiments and medicines. The fruit, called "monkey bread", is edible, and full of Vitamin C.  As of 2010 experts estimate the potential international market at a billion dollars ($US) a year.  The fruit has a velvety shell and is about the size of a coconut, weighing about 1.44 kilograms. It has a somewhat acidic flavor, described as 'somewhere between grapefruit, pear, and vanilla'.  The tree can store hundreds of liters of water, which is an adaptation to the harsh drought conditions of its environment. The tree may be tapped in dry periods.  Mature trees are usually hollow, providing living space for many animals and humans. Trees are even used as bars, barns, wine and beer shops and more.  Baobab is the common name of a genus of trees (Adansonia). There are eight species, six native to Madagascar, and one each to mainland Africa and Australia. It is the national tree of Madagascar.  Other common names include 'boab', 'boaboa', 'bottle tree', 'the tree of life', 'upside-down tree', and 'monkey bread tree'. The trees reach heights of 5 to 30 meters and trunk diameters of 7 to 11 meters. Its trunk can hold up to 120,000 liters of water. For most of the year, the tree is leafless, and looks very much like it has its roots sticking up in the air.  The trees are long-lived, but just how long is disputed. The owners of Sunland Farm in Limpopo, South Africa have built a pub called "The Big Baobab Pub" inside the hollow trunk of the 22 meters high tree. The tree is 47 m in circumference, and is said to have been carbon dated at over 6,000 years old.  What a tree huh!!!!

Walking on the bush paths there were still 100’s of shells under our feet and we were taken to a lookout that gave us a great view over the Sine-Saloum Delta, the river, some of the water ways and a bird’s eye view of the mangroves.  We could also see a cluster of baobab trees, there would have been over 30 of them, all standing tall with their crooked limbs for centuries.  I am hooked on them I have to say.  We then made our way back to shell cove to have a sit and watch the light fade from the day and the heat drain from the air.  Yellows and oranges danced on the shells and we were all prepared to watch the sunset dip behind a small rise when Youssou called us all back to the boat to watch the sunset from the water and watch it go down between some baobab trees.  The timing was PERFECT and it is hard to put into words the sunset that we got to witness.  The boat engine holding steady, the birds starting to make their way home for the night and the sun setting between the 2 old baobabs of the delta.  I have seen many sunsets in this massive world of ours and I would have to rank this one in my top 5, it was stunning, breath taking, spectacular and this is what Africa is known for AND I was lucky enough to capture some incredible photos.  The whole trip this afternoon would have been worth it to just witness that sunset.  With it only taking a few minutes the red fiery ball dipped behind the landscape and we had one more place to visit and it was a mangrove island that had tens of birds all flocking there for the night.  Youssou asked us why they were all flocking to this particular part of the Delta and after a few wrong answers we were told it was their safe haven from predators like the mongoose, as it was 100% surrounded by water.  The birds didn’t care about us at all and they just flew in squawking and having their evening chat with the feather buddies.  There were herons, egrets and pied kingfishers to name the ones we saw a lot of.  We were losing light, so after observing the birds coming home for around 15 minutes it was time to motor back to shore.  The sun had completely gone and it was getting dark, but there was a red streak of light across the sky and with the moon at 3/4, the stars starting to twinkle it was a magic part of the afternoon as we travelled the 30 minutes back to shore.    

It was pitch black when we got back and luckily Ellie and I had both bough torches to guide us back past the hotel where the president had been, but looking at the lack of security, it seemed he had already left and the 10 minutes back to our guesthouse for dinner which was being provided by them tonight, so last night was our last truck dinner and what a great way to finish with Ready Steady Cock at the helm.  We were back at 7.30pm and the swimmers were back and there was a great atmosphere as we all sat around talking and having a few drinks (mine were non-alcoholic) waiting for dinner.  The internet was well and truly down and not one person could get a connection, so I think I must have been incredibly lucky this morning when I had a few hours of connectivity!  Dinner was a little later than expected and it finally hit the tables at 9.05pm.  Talk about having a late meal!!!  It was delicious, if not a little on the lean side with a small portion of yummy fish, sautéed potatoes and a small serve of vegetables.  It seemed that people were still hungry after the meal and I reminded people that there were last night’s leftovers in the fridge if anyone was interested and you should have seen everyone’s eyes light up!  The meal for me last night was good (of course as I had cooked it) but I am not a massive curry fan and the falafel mix had that curry taste to it, so to smell that again after a day was a little gaggy for me and I was glad that I wasn’t totally ravenous after my meal and I let the other demolish what was left over.  I would never admit that to my cook team as it did hit the spot past night, but not tonight-not for me, but it was good to see that people did enjoy it that much that they were happy to have it again the following night and I am sure it has nothing to do with hunger, but how tasty it was.  We were pleasantly surprised with a fresh fruit salad served for dessert and not long after that I said my goodnights and I was off to bed.  It was well past my bed time at 10.30pm.