Cold sores....I wish they were at least cold!

Last weekend before last, we went to Abéné, a small village close to Kafountine. I thoroughly enjoyed it as it was even more peaceful than any coastal village I’ve seen in Africa yet. We first took a bus to Kafountine which was nicer than the stationwagons (taxi 7 places). BUT on the final leg of the journey, the driver kept on packing more and more people in. The bus tightly seats 18 people. At one point, we counted 28 people (roughly 280 toes)!!! It was crammed and hot. We were more than happy to get out. To get to the village, we had to take an expensive taxi ride through dirt roads. It was well worth it though. Our campement was the nicest I’ve seen yet. There were two rooms with private bathrooms to a hut and the huts were spread out in a beautiful garden. There were pillows, 2 sheets (bedspread + sheet) instead of just one and in our private bathroom, there was toilet paper and towels! What also made it unique is that there is no electricity. At night, they give you candles and lanterns. Normally, this would be a turn off, but it fits right in with this isolated and charming place.

(Image left: the chairs and lantern just outside our circular hut)

Claudine brought her brother, Famara (22 years), along. He studies in Dieuloulou which is a town between Ziguinchor and Kafountine. He was a pleasant fellow to

travel with. Claudine’s family is big: 6-7 children from the same parents + the father is polygamous so there are 1-2 children outside that marriage. Back to Famara: it was nice to have him around because the beach rasta men would leave us alone once they saw we were with him. On Sunday, I tried to teach him how to swim in the ocean. It is alarming that for a population who has such easy access to the ocean, nobody knows how to swim! When you ask them why, it`s not because they are scared, its just its not in their school curriculum and no

body has ever taught it to them.

(Image right: you can't see the ocean from the dining area, but this is the little path leading to the beach within the gardens)

On Saturday, I had the delight of waking up late and spening the day in paradise.

(Image right: us in the dining room about to eat a delicious grilled fish)

I guess I talk lot about food because eating structures my day and takes up a huge portion of it. Also, restaurants here are not like at home; you have to tell them in advance that you are coming and what you want. For example, on Friday night, we told the lady at the campement that we would be eating breakfast and lunch. In the morning, it took us at least 1.5 hours to eat and a good 2 hours for our afternoon meal. Both were really really good by the way. All of us hit the beach for

the day. I had a date with my book J I also took a very long walk on the beach (based on landmarks, it must have been close to 8 km). The beach goes on and on, so I never made it to the end. Apparently I was about a 1 hour walk from reaching our neighbour country,the Gambia!

After a much appreciated shower and a beautiful sunset, we got picked up and brought to a local man’s house for supper. Indeed, Claudine had treated a patient who had invited us to his home.

(Image left: gardens at the hotel between my room and the beach)

He was very sweet to us: picked us up + dropped us off with vehicle, bought us pop to drink, played music for us, taught me how to play music, fed us, etc. Come to think of it, he was not at all a talkative guy though! He played an instrument called the Bongo which is a round, half-balloon-like thing with thin wood to tap on and metal prongs to pluck. In other words, it is like a cross between a tam tam and a guitar. It sounded beautiful, like rain falling in the jungle. There were a bunch of his friends there too but nobody talked; we all just listented to him sing and play until supper was ready.

After a delicious meal and some vegging, we were escorted back home but not with the same guy/vehicle as before.

(Image left: the beach in front of the hotel - the Gambia in the distance - not visible)

This time, a bus picked us up! We drove so slowly on the potted roads in the night with music blasting and our heads bobbing because of the rough ride. For some reason, we stopped to pick up/drop off/talk to people as they usually do. This time, they exchanged drivers. Oh well. We continued for five more minutes along the road until we stopped again. This time, the police were behind us and asking for the driver’s papers; hewas unable to produce them. Our host, who was accompanying us, was as surprised as we were (but surely more relaxed). Since I couldn’t understand the spoken language, I don’t know exactly what was happening. The driver got put in the police truck which left and two policemen with huge rifles got out to make sure we wouldn’t go anywhere. Golly, did their guns freak me out! My interpretation is that the driver said his papers were back home so he got in the police truck to go fetch them. Turns out everyone remained calm and the driver returned about 20 minutes later. We were happy to get out of the bus and be back at our motel!

That night, as it was the previous one too, the sky was AMAZING to look at. I saw three shooting stars!!! We gazed seated on wooden african chairs which we normally find too reclined. On Friday night, we had layed down on the beach to stargaze. I had an ab workout when Marie-Claude tipped with her chair while watching a shooting star… The chairs weren’t so stable and I had nearly tipped with mine previously during the day. As she was pointing to the star, her arm extended a little too far and she fell on top of Famara. Ha! And no, we had not had an iota of alcohol to drink.

(Image right: Marie-Claude and I - no the background is not a painting!)

Sunday, I continued my vacation in paradise. Beach, read, swim, shower, eat, relax. The return to Ziguinchor was uneventful. Once in the city, in a taxi driving us home, we got caught in noxious fumes. A big football game had just finished and one of the teams (or supporters?) released gas to piss the other team off. It must have been terrible being at the stadium because I was at least a km away and it made my eyes water and my throat scratch.

Monday at work was long because I didn’t have the energy I normally have and could feel a sore throat coming on. It was a special day at the hospital because Mrs. Wade visited. Mrs. Wade is the first lady and she’s apparently white (French). I didn’t see her talk as I had patients to see. At one point, a handful of imposing uniformed men came into my therapy area and told me (and the other therapists who were more hidden) to not release our patients because they wanted to show our work to Mrs. Wade. They hardly spoke French so I didn’t quite understand them until a co-worker explained after they left. Obviously, when I was done with my patients, I released them! What a stupid request! On top of it, Mrs. Wade never visited our department… It seems the entire hospital wanted to impress her: before her arrival, they cleaned and trimmed everything. After work, we headed downtown for lunch, bank and to buy our boat tickets for Dakar. I can’t wait to take the boat!!! Apparently its very comfortable, offers beautiful views of the coast and you can see dolphins!!!