Gorée

MORE catch-up blogging!

Another day when Matt was visiting, we decided to go to the Island of Gorée, which is a short 30 minute ferry ride from the port in Dakar.  Gorée, unfortunately, is most famous because of its former history as a holding-pen for slaves before they were shipped off across the Atlantic.  Slaves from across the mainland would be deposited here in a round cell which could be guarded from above.  When enough to fill a boat were assembled, off they went.  Now the cell has been converted into a museum acknowledging this ugly history.  Despite this blemished past, however, the island is now a beautiful, tranquil artist-colony kind of escape from Dakar's hustle-bustle.  We chose to wander around the island, and it was (as it always is here) a beautiful day.  I don't know whether fortunately or unfortunately, but by the time we got around to visiting the museum it was closed.  Oh well. 

So, here are some photos from our visit:



Matt on the ferry before we left the port.

A nativity scene at the local Catholic church.

Bouganvilla, in bloom everywhere.

Art hanging from a baobab tree.

An alley of baobabs, with art for sale along the sidewalk and an artist sketching beneath one of the trees.

A view from the top of the baobab-lined hill.

Matt taking pictures from the top of the hill.

My pictuure of him...

And our picture of our feet!

More from the top of the hill.

Random graffiti.

A monument to something, but I don't remember what exactly...

A sign advertising an art galery across the way.

I don't know what kind of tree this is, but it's beautiful, isn't it?  There were a bunch of them all over the island.

"The end of the world..."

Clothes drying.

The local mosque, which overlooked the cliffs above.

Garbage kitties!

A monument commemorating the end of slavery.

Kora-Cat

Our ferry back whose name was...

...BEER!

I didn't open up the seat to look, since a lady was sitting there, so I don't know if there was actually ice-cold beer in there instead of life vests, or if it was just a case of false advertising.  I asked Modou, by the way, if "Beer" meant something in Wolof and he said no, it was just a random name for the ship.