Saturday

Goree Island town square baobab tree

Saturday was a leisure and packing-prep day. In order to prep for packing, some serious shopping was in order--some lovely silver earrings in an out-of-Africa non-tourist market: down a side street, down some stairs to an alley to a small shop with limited selection, but where Karen Ujereh buys her "good stuff". She demanded the shopkeeper give the "best price" for "her sisters" and they negotiated good-naturedly. Everyone came away with treasures at an excellent price for artisan jewelry.

Shopping here is quite an experience.  Americans are not used to bargaining,  except for high stakes like cars and homes. Both buyer and seller should come away satisfied, and you don't want to negotiate so hard you deprive the merchant of the wherewithal to feed her family. Plus, once you purchase something you are an even more attractive lure for merchants.

Goree Island - the
"Door of No Return"

We were really put to the test on Goree Island, a UNESCO Heritage tourist site (trap) which has a dubiously authentic slave trading building (it seems likely there was, but the scholarly argument is to what extent.) We had a knowledgeable guide whose English was good but heavily accented. He told us his name was "What". I'm not sure if he was serious. In any case, it was a lovely afternoon until we "missed the boat". No, we didn't miss it, but it was full after they let all the shopkeepers on while making us wait. So we stood in line for 20 minutes hoping to get on, then for another 90 minutes while the ferry returned to Dakar to unload, reload and return. We were exhausted, and not happy campers by the time we got back to the hotel--and had to pack! But we had a quiet dinner on the patio overlooking the ocean before going to bed and sleeping soundly, looking forward (though somewhat reluctantly) to our last day in Dakar.

CAM