A Baobab Treehouse Escape!

 Got to stay in this fantastic treehouse built into a Baobab tree!

Palmarin, Senegal

the deck of the treehouse

Such a fun creative idea

 don't trip..

 the view from inside the mosquito nets in the treehouse

 the lounge area at Les Lodges des Collines de Niassam

You can stay in a Baobab treehouse, a hut in the lagoon, or a clay house

More on Les Lodges des Collines de Niassam

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Hello, Rainy Season--it's been so long!

While stopping to shoot this awesome skyline between Joal and Sambadia, Senegal

we barely made it to cover from this sudden sandstorm

that felt straight out of The Grapes of Wrath:

which was followed by the most glorious storm of cool rain

that left one soaked but somehow smiling:

 

In Senegal, someone is considered blessed if the first rains of the season fall upon them!

It had been nine months since 

I had felt the wonderfulness of rain in Senegal

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l'île de Gorée: An Evening Stroll

 Goree Island: A juxtaposition of beauty..and trash -- Goree Island, Senegal

 Hello, Goree Kitten

 the cove on Goree Island

 Hello, Goree Goat!

 A child playing on Goree Island

Art on Goree Island

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Orchestra Baobab!!

Orchestra Baobab at the Institut Français Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar, Senegal

 the most entertaining musician (see second video below for his dancing)

 this section gave the music a very Latin feel

best. fan. ever.  (and yes this is him strolling around on stage)

A sample of Orchestra Baobab:

watch long enough to see his dancing:

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Saloum Delta National Park

 Sunset over the mangroves at the Saloum Delta National Park

Siné-Saloum Delta, Senegal

 The park is known for its lush mangroves and is a bird watcher's destination

 birds finding their resting place for the night

 sunset!

 the sunset took on an amazing purple aura

When the birds were finding their resting place for the night, they made sounds like I'd never heard before:

I couldn't resist...the traffic heading back to Dakar!

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A Mangrove Sunset

The sunset over the Siné-Saloum Delta in Senegal

The mangroves at dusk

The last light on the mangroves in the Siné-Saloum Delta

 The last glimpse of the sun

Dusk on the pirogues

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A Quiet Evening in the Delta

 sunset in Toubacouta over the Siné-Saloum Delta in Senegal

 A pirogue at Keur Saloum in Toubacounta

 this little boy skipped the entire way past me...possibly one of the cutest things I've ever seen

 donkey en route to the Delta

 The cottages at Les Palétuviers in Toubacouta, Senegal

The Delta from Les Palétuviers

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l'île de Sipo

 fabric for sale on the very tiny l'île de Sipo in the Siné-Saloum Delta, Senegal

 Hello, Goats!  Sipo, Senegal

pirogues on the delta at Sipo

chickens playing on the discarded shells on Sipo

 a pirogue at Sipo

Loved this Baobab at Les Palétuviers in Toubacouta, Senegal

What's the Siné-Saloum Delta?

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Easter in the Siné-Saloum Delta

 An Easter family portrait after Mass

at the village Church in Sokone near Toubacounta in the Siné-Saloum Delta of Senegal

 The Chapel outside the Church

 While the outside looked like the villagers had hunted for every available scrap metal 

and somehow pieced it together as a Church, the inside was lovingly cared for and beautifully painted

 leaving Mass

driving company after Church

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