A Light House & the World's Largest Crystal

Oh, such joy! My love affair with light houses continues.

This light house in Swakopmund, Namibia, reminded me of here in Senegal.

I may have mentally added "tour New England light houses" to my list of places to travel.

I cannot describe how happy I was to be by the ocean once more.

Then I visited the Kristall Galerie which was really interesting.

And did I mention beautiful?  Stunning amethysts from Namibia!

And check out the size of this crystal. It's the world largest quartz crystal cluster.

I came up to about one fourth of its size.  Insane.

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Another Side of Dakar

Someone told me that my lense only shows a certain slice of Dakar, Senegal.

They are right. I take photos of what captures my interest, what I look at and immediately want to immortalize.

Like this beautiful spot off the coast of Dakar in Les Almadies

But that someone was right. There's an entire other side of Dakar, filled with poverty that is unimaginable, trash that is unavoidable,

and infrastructure that is nonexistent--where you have beautiful mansions in Les Almadies (the "ritzy" part of Dakar) 

right next to lots like this where trash is burned, stray dogs huddle, and children play with refuse.

And you see lots like this and are impressed by how clean it is and then wonder how long before a squatter builds a cardboard house like this one

I find myself standing next to (or often in) trash all the time.   Like this trash at the light house in Dakar. 

I'd rather remember the light house like this and show the world Senegal's beauty then focus on where Senegal might be lagging

I'll stand here but I'd rather take this photo at the Mosque by the Sea than this one of trash

So yes, I may provide a specific slice of life in Dakar, but I think the world hasn't seen enough of the beauty Senegal has to offer. 

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The Lighthouse & Senegalese Hip Hop!

Leaving Dakar, Senegal's lighthouse


The lighthouse


Friends leaving the lighthouse




Stopped by the Institut Français Léopold Sédar Senghor in Dakar to experience some Senegalese hip-hop
This is Bideew Bou Bess--They won Youssou N'Dour's music competition
And started performing in this hoods with their logo on their lower back



The performed in Wolof, Arabic, French, some occasional English, and some languages I didn't recognize


Which caused my friend and me some confusion during this number as the men in animal masks jumped and danced around during a spoken word piece.
We suspect it was a folk tale..but who knows!

Here's one of their songs with some fantastic imagery around Senegal:



Here's another video with a different sound but from a local music channel:




check out Bideew Bou Bess's website!

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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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Mermoz and Ouakam

 spiders at the lighthouse in Mermoz, Dakar, Senegal

sunset at the light house, Mermoz

the view of downtown Dakar from the lighthouse, Mermoz

 flowers at the Mosque by the Sea (La Mosquée de la Divinité), Ouakam, Dakar, Senegal

 downtown from the Mosque by the Sea, Ouakam

flowers at the Mosque by the Sea, Ouakam

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Pirogue Trip Around the Coast of Dakar

the lighthouse off the coast of Dakar -- Senegal

making a home on volcanic rocks -- Ngor Island, Senegal

cliff with a baobab near the Mosque by the Sea -- Dakar, Senegal

ship wreck near the light house -- Dakar, Senegal

the pirogue en route to Ngor Island -- Senegal

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