Last post

Woman, hard at work

Vieux pecheur at Joal Fadiout. The island is covered in sea shells, as is the mixed cemetery

This will be my last blog from Senegal. Throughout this leg of the trip, I have met and chatted with many friendly people. It was a very different experience from that of Mali, where, though I was obviously an outsider, I was not travelling as a tourist and I was able to meet people on different terms. Here, I am a tourist which often means people were trying to sell me things. Even the act of taking a picture clandestinely, or so I thought, was noticed and you were expected to give something in return. Despite the constant sales pitch, people are genuinely friendly and welcoming. There is a "don't worry, be happy vibe" which apparently is unique to Senegal. I did not experience quite the same thing in Mali where people were friendly in a more formal way, respecting personal boundaries more, I suppose.

The Senegalese have a "zen" quality as one of our French expat hosts explained. According to him, there are no problems in the country between the many linguistic and ethnic groups which make up Senegal. Nor are there problems between Muslims and Christians, something which was pointed out to me on several occasions and of which the Senegalese can rightly be proud.

This same French expat felt that if there were to be problems in the country its source would hunger. In his estimation, the the standard of living has gone down for many Senegalese with the price of imported rice doubling in the last several years. Senegal is dependant on imported food. So despite the obvious signs of increasing wealth: new construction, decent roads, more cars albeit many of them in appalling condition, rural areas still lack electricity and access to water and school fees for the better schools are beyond the reach of most. Our taximan yesterday, said that he pays abut 50 Euros a month to send his three sons to a Catholic school.

There is little tax collection and few jobs outside of the city. People eke out their living in informal ways: selling crafts or snacks, taximan driving vehicles which should be condemned, "guiding" ....everyone is a guide! And so on. So, even though I sometimes found the constant efforts to sell and provide services annoying, I understand and admire their efforts, day after day to provide for their families in a way which they must also find tedious. They do this with unfailing good humour.

So, this is my final post. Thanks for following my travels. I really enjoyed doing this. I also enjoyed reading the comments and looked forward to your reflections. We are off tonight to Paris and then Montreal.

Patty in Dakar, Senegal