Tourist for a day

This weekend I have been a real tourist for once. Gordon's colleague from Risø will spend the week with us here at ENDA doing research, and he had Sunday for sightseeing in Dakar, which was the perfect opportunity for me to do the same. The top-tourist attraction is a small island 5 km from the coast of Dakar, called Gorée. A small ferry shuttles back and forth picking up and droping off visitors. Just like at the beach last Sunday, the port was packed. Not only is Sunday generally the day for liesure among the Senegalese. Yesterday was also the day of a big swimming contest where children and teenagers cross the sea from the main-land all the way to the Gorée Island. Cécile's two sons also participated. It took us almost two hours to get on the ferry and to the island. But it was worth it! It was such a cute and charming landscape with green vegetation, small colourful houses and beautiful views. It makes it hard to believe that the island was originally used for shipping off masses slaves by the British, Portugese and of course the French. Today Gorée functions as a symbol of the injustice that took place for many descendants of slaves. However, many visitors just come to relax and enjoy the nice beaches, and the 1000 inhabitants live purely from tourism. For me it was very refreshing to get a break from dusty, chaotic Dakar for a while. It was lovely to be able to slender around the small streets and sit in the shade of a green tree with a cold beer. I found it reassuring to experience that Senegal is more than a noisy capital, and it actually made me appriciate Dakar more for what it has to offer. I will definately have make more of these trips to explore the different sites of this huge country.

Apart from this, I don't have much to report. Last week was predominantly spent in bed, since I managed to catch a mean flu. In 38 degrees heat with high fever it feels like you are dying, but somehow I survived and I am back in business! I hope I have seen the last of flus for now.