After visiting Joal Fadiout, our little group of gals separated and Marie-Claude, Anne-Marie and I headed
off to another coastal town called Popenguine. (Image right: Anne-Marie, Claudine, Marie-Hélène, Marie-Claude, me)
(Image left: View from our room with balcony in Popenguine + another dog called Crevette that resembles Cadeau)
When the tour was over, MC, Anne-Marie (who had already done the tour and therefore waited) and Mathieu met up at nearby AccroBaobab. It is an aerial park in baobab trees. I had been to one this summer for the first time in Gatineau. This one was a bit smaller but the fact that it was in baobab trees was awesome. The level of difficulty was exponentially higher for me since I wasn`t wearing appropriate footwear: thong sandles. We w
ere lucky to be the only visitors and so we had undisturbed, spectacular views.
After a lunch at the CNAO cafeteria, we headed off to see Rama, the twelve year old girl with whom I shared my room with in Zig. It was cute seeing her again and she seemed happy to be back home. Meeting her family was interesting since I got to put a face to the important people in her life.
We stayed in this charming little place on top of a privately owned home. The view was marvellous and we treated ourselves to homemade sangria = mix cheapest wine with orange nectar juice + an expensiv
e (5000CFA = 12.50 CAD) meal at an Italian restaurant. The next morning, we bought our own bread and fruit and ate it on the beach. Sunday was most likely the biggest day of my trip: two tourist attractions!
e (5000CFA = 12.50 CAD) meal at an Italian restaurant. The next morning, we bought our own bread and fruit and ate it on the beach. Sunday was most likely the biggest day of my trip: two tourist attractions! (Image right: MC and I eating breakfast on the beach, in our little spot of shade!)
After breakfast, we went to the Réserve Bandia which is a national park in which you can pseudo safari in. After paying the hefty price (about 30$), you get a guided tour in a 4X4 for about two hours. I really enjoyed seeing animals in their natural habitat (minus the dirt roads and us) but
would have liked longer stalls to observe the animals.
After breakfast, we went to the Réserve Bandia which is a national park in which you can pseudo safari in. After paying the hefty price (about 30$), you get a guided tour in a 4X4 for about two hours. I really enjoyed seeing animals in their natural habitat (minus the dirt roads and us) but
would have liked longer stalls to observe the animals. (Image left: rhinos in Bandia)
Our guide only gave us enough time to get off the jeep and take a couple pictures. Animals I saw included: ostrich, rhinocerausi, antelopes, monkeys, giraffes and big turtles (who happened to be mating). The giraffes impressed me the most… they are really quite beautiful! Marie-Claude and I shared the 4X4 with a group of Italian tourists who were, along with the animals, entertainin
g to watch and listen to.
g to watch and listen to.(Image right: turtles humping...neither seemed very satisfied when it was over)
When the tour was over, MC, Anne-Marie (who had already done the tour and therefore waited) and Mathieu met up at nearby AccroBaobab. It is an aerial park in baobab trees. I had been to one this summer for the first time in Gatineau. This one was a bit smaller but the fact that it was in baobab trees was awesome. The level of difficulty was exponentially higher for me since I wasn`t wearing appropriate footwear: thong sandles. We w
ere lucky to be the only visitors and so we had undisturbed, spectacular views. (Image left: in between baobabs)
Security wise, it was adequate but not as anal as the place in Gatineau. I had a great time and realized just how out of shape I am. My arms and shoulders hurt for the next couple of days.
Our return back to Dakar on Sunday night was horrid. The park was in the middle of nowwhere so we had to walk back to civilization which took us over an hour. MC and I shared the joy of lugging a huge backpack we brought for the weekend, filled with useless items. Ouch! Said the shoulders. We were very happy to board a crowded bus and rest our little legs only to get stuck in traffic upon our entrance in Dakar. Apparently this is very normal. 3 hours later, the bus left us god-knows-wher
e in the city with highway-ish roads all around us. So we walked some more along the highway and finally got a taxi to take us home. I slept very well that night :)
Our return back to Dakar on Sunday night was horrid. The park was in the middle of nowwhere so we had to walk back to civilization which took us over an hour. MC and I shared the joy of lugging a huge backpack we brought for the weekend, filled with useless items. Ouch! Said the shoulders. We were very happy to board a crowded bus and rest our little legs only to get stuck in traffic upon our entrance in Dakar. Apparently this is very normal. 3 hours later, the bus left us god-knows-wher
e in the city with highway-ish roads all around us. So we walked some more along the highway and finally got a taxi to take us home. I slept very well that night :) (Image right: sunset in the baobab park)
My first activity in Dakar was meeting a fellow Occupational Therapist, Mrs. Plourde, with Anne-Marie (the OT in the same project as me but posted in Dakar) who works privately. To the best of her knowledge, Mrs. Plourde is the only one. She works in mental health and caters mostly to a non-native population – ie: those who can afford her services. She informed us that the first OT faculty is to open up in September of next year in Dakar. So exciting! Her home was beautiful and especially beautifully decorated with art and furniture from all around the world. She is married to a French teacher who teaches in an international network of french high schools. This OT is from Montreal and had previous experience working privately in Montreal. Her practice here is technically illegal since she doesn`t have a work visa. She explained that many occidental professionals work illegally in Senegal which I find alarming. All in all, it was encouraging to see a fellow OT thriving in Africa but her type of practice did inspire anything in me. I don`t really like the idea of white people coming to Africa only to work with more white people and not help those in dire need around them…
After the visit with the OT, Anne-Marie, MC, Claudine and I went out for a shopping spree in Dakar, Marché Sandaga. This market is rather big, busy, noisy and has pretty much everything. We bought occidental clothing for Claudine`s brother Abu, who is making our Tabaski boubous. He doesn`t want us to pay him so we are giving him a nice Thank You gift. I took the opportunity to buy some souvenirs. Write to me and you might actually get some ;) As previously mentionned, evenings were spent cooking up a storm.
On Tuesday, us Zig girls visited Marie-Helene (rehab technician) and Mathieu (technician in orthotics &
prosthetics)`s places of work. Unlike us Zig girls, the Dakar team is spread out in different rehab centres. MH works as the Chu de Fann and Mathieu at the CNAO: Centre National d’Appareillage Orthopeadic. Both institutions were extremely impressive in comparison to our hospital in Zig. Bigger, more equipment, more advanced.
My first activity in Dakar was meeting a fellow Occupational Therapist, Mrs. Plourde, with Anne-Marie (the OT in the same project as me but posted in Dakar) who works privately. To the best of her knowledge, Mrs. Plourde is the only one. She works in mental health and caters mostly to a non-native population – ie: those who can afford her services. She informed us that the first OT faculty is to open up in September of next year in Dakar. So exciting! Her home was beautiful and especially beautifully decorated with art and furniture from all around the world. She is married to a French teacher who teaches in an international network of french high schools. This OT is from Montreal and had previous experience working privately in Montreal. Her practice here is technically illegal since she doesn`t have a work visa. She explained that many occidental professionals work illegally in Senegal which I find alarming. All in all, it was encouraging to see a fellow OT thriving in Africa but her type of practice did inspire anything in me. I don`t really like the idea of white people coming to Africa only to work with more white people and not help those in dire need around them…
After the visit with the OT, Anne-Marie, MC, Claudine and I went out for a shopping spree in Dakar, Marché Sandaga. This market is rather big, busy, noisy and has pretty much everything. We bought occidental clothing for Claudine`s brother Abu, who is making our Tabaski boubous. He doesn`t want us to pay him so we are giving him a nice Thank You gift. I took the opportunity to buy some souvenirs. Write to me and you might actually get some ;) As previously mentionned, evenings were spent cooking up a storm.
On Tuesday, us Zig girls visited Marie-Helene (rehab technician) and Mathieu (technician in orthotics &
prosthetics)`s places of work. Unlike us Zig girls, the Dakar team is spread out in different rehab centres. MH works as the Chu de Fann and Mathieu at the CNAO: Centre National d’Appareillage Orthopeadic. Both institutions were extremely impressive in comparison to our hospital in Zig. Bigger, more equipment, more advanced.(Image left: MC, Claudine, Rama, me, Rama's mother and Rama's doll)
After a lunch at the CNAO cafeteria, we headed off to see Rama, the twelve year old girl with whom I shared my room with in Zig. It was cute seeing her again and she seemed happy to be back home. Meeting her family was interesting since I got to put a face to the important people in her life.
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