Au revoir, Sénégal, au revoir...

It is with sadness that I note my time in Senegal has come to end and this will by last post on the beautiful country. In honor of the wonderful experience I've had living in Senegal, this post is a collection of my favorite photos from my time wandering Dakar and beyond.

Please stay tuned because this does not mark the end of my African adventure or the blog as I am relocating to a new country in southern Africa and will pick up my photographic wanderings right quick!

For my favorite photographs from Zimbabwe: go here!!

For my favorite animal photographs: go here!!

In no particular order, my favorite photographs of Senegal:

The sunset over Lac Rose (Pink Lake) -- An Amazing Sunset

A young Senegalese boy wandering the beach at Lompoul-sur-la-Mer - Lompoul: Unexpected Company

Dusk in beautiful Saint-Louis - Part VIII: Dusk Embraces Saint-Louis

Sunset along Dakar's Corniche after a rain storm - Take My Breath Away

The light house in Gandiol - Part IV: Gandiol's Light House

The sun streaming through the clouds after the first rains of the season in Palmarin - Light Through the Storm

A Senegalese boy with Mali style baskets in Fadiouth - Fadiouth, Senegal

A dune in Lompoul - Lompoul: The Campsite & Dunes

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The Signs of Senegal

Parking exit sign on the Place de l'Independence, Dakar, Senegal.

The decorations are from Christmas and the World Festival of Black Arts AKA le Festival Mondial des Arts Negres

Children crossing sign in Saint-Louis, Senegal.

A sign in Fadiouth, Senegal forbidding non-authorized vehicles. Strange logic: It was a tiny, sea-shelled path with barely enough room to walk. 

To the left is a pedestrian bridge. I was standing on a pedestrian path when I took the photo. What vehicles?

One of my favorite signs. Ever. Possibly in the history of ever. Who knew an Assembly Point sign could be so intense?

A Senegalese driver told my non-Senegalese friend that this sign meant that it's a dry area so you shouldn't light a match. Because that's a match not an exclamation point (aka caution!). Seriously. And you wonder why West African drivers aren't the best...

Corniche, Dakar, Senegal

Les Almadies area of Dakar.  It reminds me of Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

Why?  Because of this famous image from the delightful book.

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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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