Part VIII: Dusk Embraces Saint-Louis

 Saint-Louis, Senegal, at dusk

 during the colonial era, the slaves lived in these houses..

sharp contrast to the house in the prior picture.

pirogues on the Senegal River

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Part VII: Downtown Saint-Louis

 a stroll along the Senegal river with its seasoned pirogues in Saint-Louis, Senegal

Place Faidherbe with the Governor's Palace looming in the background
from where France ruled her African colonies

 downtown Saint-Louis

whoever brought bougainvillea to Senegal must be thanked

please note the stick in her mouth: the traditional way the Senegalese clean their teeth

[tradition has it while chewing the stick you can hypnotize the person to whom you're speaking]

Many thanks to the Traveling Greener blog 

for choosing TIA: Cette est l'Afrique as one of the "10 Africa Blogs You'll Love"

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Part VI: Bienvenue à Saint-Louis

 after driving along the beach, we crossed the Pont Faidherbe to Saint-Louis, Senegal, 

the former capital of colonial French West Africa  that occupyies a beautiful, tiny island in the Senegal River
[note the leaning tower of Pisa and the brotherhood artwork carved into the trees]

 where we stayed at the lovely Maison Rose on the water

 La Maison Rose

While filming goats for a friend's son, some boys thought it was hilarious.

Watch and you can hear them start to laugh at me:

Then when I played it back for them and they heard themselves,
they got very serious and then asked me to take a photo of them reciting verses from the Koran:

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Part V: A Drive Along the Grande Côte

 after visiting the Gandiol light house, we drove north along the beach

 following Senegal's gorgeous Grande Côte

passing through the fishing village of Mboro, Senegal

 Mboro

outside of the fishing villages of Kayar and Mboro, there wasn't a soul in sight

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Part IV: Gandiol's Light House

following this voyage, we stopped at the lighthouse at Gandiol

While no longer functional, it stands guard over the Langue de Barbarie

we climbed the stairs to the top

where I finally admitted to myself that I absolutely love love love light houses

[the strip of land is the Langue de Barbie]

we took this view of the northern coast of Senegal on the right and the Langue de Barbie on the left, 

home of Senegal's most famous national park - a haven for bird watchers

the climb down the light house's stairs emphasized its state of disrepair

with its countless remnants left by birds flying overhead

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Part III: Heavens Over the Dunes

 After this evening, an early rise to witness the sun rise over the dunes of Lompoul, Senegal

the colors were amazing as the sun rose

 and then day broke

after which we drove along the coast north

 stopped to say hi to this guy

and saw the landscape change as we neared the bird sanctuary at Langue de Barbarie

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Part II: Lompoul

We followed this road over these dunes to stay here - Lompoul, Senegal

 and showered in the open air

 shared good company and good food

 then gathered around the wonderful smell of a campfire

to listen to an impromptu concert, Senegalese style

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