SAINT LOUIS
 |
| iconic scene from Saint Louis |
My introduction to Senegal was near the northern border with
Mauritania, in the former French colonial capital of Saint Louis. From my very arrival, I felt the
uniqueness of the bustling old French colonial town located on a chain of
islands that dot the Senegal coast across the Senegal River. The Faidherbe Bridge connects the old
town to the main land. The bridge
must have been quite the marvel in 1897 when it opened. A metallic bridge, constructed as an eight
piece sectional bridge spanning over five-hundred meters.
 |
| The Faidherbe Bridge connects the old town to the main land |
The old town of Saint Louis definitely has a colonial
feel. The buildings are still from
another time. Very little
noticeable modernizing is evident.
Of course, they have electricity and running water, but aesthetically,
is worn down. But that’s what
gives it a charm. Most of the
buildings lack any evidence of being occupied by businesses or residents. However, there are some artisan shops,
small groceries, and even a couple bars, hotels, and restaurants. The old town was less busy and seemed
to cater to the tourist rather than the locals, in spite the fact, we seemed
like the only tourists on site.
Fatou took us around to a few shops, and pointed out some of the points
of interest.
One of those points of interest Fatou pointed out little
further west of the old town island on another island with two fishing villages
known as Guet Ndar and Ndar Toute.
The scene there was like out of another world. The inter coastal was full of hundreds of brightly decorated
long wooded fishing boats tightly packed together like piglets burrowed into
the mud. Of course, trash
everywhere. People out and about,
going and coming to god knows where!
We convinced Fatou, that that was much more interesting for us to
experience than the colonial old town which seemed like it was on life support
compared so what we were witnessing across the water. So, we hailed a taxi and were over the bridge and into the
bustling maze of amazement.
Seriously, I could have spent a whole day there, but we in town for Eid
and spending time with Fatou’s relatives was paramount, but we were able to
spend a short time and get a feel for what seemed like the “real” Saint Louis.
Later in the evening after dinner and tea, the three of us
decided to have a night out on the town.
We returned to the old town, where there are a couple bars/ dance halls
to see what we could find. And
guess what? That is where we found
all the foreigners! I guess it
should be a surprise; after all, Senegal does not have a drinking culture, so
Senegalese that don’t drink don’t really have a reason to go to a bar. In this bar were the only white faces
we really saw during our whole time in Saint Louis. Granted, they were few, less than ten but that’s where they
are. I gathered, none were
traditional tourists on holiday.
The ones I spoke with were in Senegal working with NGOs or aid
organizations like Peace Corps.
The Senegalese that were there have an interesting custom of dancing
with their image in front of a mirror.
I mean, it’s the “thing”, nobody dancing was dancing with or on each
other. Just dancing all up in the
mirror. Hilarious!
 |
| arrived to a crowded intersection |
 |
| block party but only young men |
|
 |
| the only act of aggression in my two weeks in Senegal ended i a karate chop |
POLLUTION
 |
| pollution is a major problem |
The metro area of Saint Louis is less than two-hundred
thousand inhabitants, but the noise and tempo of the city feels like NYC. There was nothing shocking about my
first impression but the first thing you notice is the shear scale of pollution
and the fact is everywhere. I’ve
traveled to many countries where polluting the streets, waters, and nature is
as normal as babies pooping their diapers, but one never gets use to it. There are just no bins in sight, and if
there are bins, they are overflowing.
Even the age of the garbage looks. Covered in dust, weathered by the wind and sun. Your first reaction is disbelief turned
criticism, like… “Hello!? Disposing of garbage seems like a problem completely
manageable. But the problems and solution
in the developing world must not be judged under the same variables as a
country like the United States who has the resources and infrastructure to
dispose of all the waste we produce.
Again, our average GDP per income is close to $50,000 per working
adult. Senegal is $2300. First world problems versus third world
is the difference between having power, drinkable water, air condition, and well
stocked super markets as an expectation, and those who don’t.
FOREIGN FACES – NO PROBLEM
The other obvious difference, I noticed is that there were
no other foreigners. Just
Senegalese and the foreign faces of my friend Megan and I. Surprisingly, nobody seemed to give two
cents of our presence. We didn’t
seem to get any special attention, whether for better or worse, which was a bit
surprising. I had this
preconceived notion that we’d be stared at, gawked at, approached for money or
for buying something. I’ve
experience this treatment as a foreigner in North Africa especially, but in
West Africa, not really.
 |
| interacting like a local |
-->
-->
-->
-->
No comments:
Post a Comment