Sine-Saloum Delta - Senegal's Everglades

end of the road.  time for a boat transport

We finally ended up in a very small town of Dangane… the very last stop on this stretch of highway before we officially crossed into the Sine-Saloum Delta.  We had a habit of getting everywhere just at sunset.  Wasting no time, we hired a boat to take us across a portion of the delta.  The scene reminded me so much of the Everglades with the dense mangroves along muddy waterways.  A few spoonbills fishing for shellfish in the distance.  We booked a quiet, remote, and spartan accommodations about forty minutes down the river.  Again, we were the only tourists to show up.  This is the opposite of a Thai island or Bali.  It’s crazy, how often some people want to be away from the tourist crowds when on holiday.  Experienced backpackers typically want an authentic experience away from the tourist traps.  I’m one of those people who always prefer the unspoiled and untouched places and this is about as close as one can get.  Just the three of us in the Senegalese Everglades of Sine-Saloum Delta.  Another delicious fresh seafood dinner and a few local beers before bed.  Humid and alone in a bungalow with no air condition in the middle of an African delta. I tossed and I turned, until finally I went outside.  It was well after midnight, and no one was up, just the sounds of insects buzzing under the cloak of darkness.  A full moon overhead, I followed her light to the end of the pier and just gazed up into infinity… counting my blessing until dosing off.

full moon on the delta

a major bird santuary

collecting mollusks 

violen crab

MAR LODJ

The next morning, I was up hella early.  Not knowing where the hell I was.  I decided to put on my short shorts and my running shoes and run as far as my lungs and dirt path would take me.  Not long later, I found myself running through a traditional village that I would learn later is called Mar Lodj.  I turned some curious heads of the locals, who was probably wondering how this White/Asian man ended up in their village, looking like he’s running a marathon.  By the time I returned to the lodge about an hour later, Fatou and Megan were up and ready to begin exploring.  Sure enough, our guide took us to the very village I was running through a few hours earlier.  By this time the village was fully awake and busy doing their routine.  As we walked through, we learned the folks here are of the Serer ethnic group and mostly identify as Christian.  That would explain the big ass church in the middle of the village.  But the most interesting experience was meeting a local artist by the name of Felix, who was explaining his art is all from different parts of the Bao Bab tree.  The Bao Bab tree is a sacred tree and the national tree of Senegal.  It is ubiquitous throughout Senegal. The tree is really like the Swiss army knives of trees.  Felix uses various parts of the tree to create beautiful paintings. 

Felix, a local artisan creates art almost entirely from the bao bab tree