Thursday May 22nd, 2014 Dakar, Senegal

Thursday May 22nd, 2014 Dakar, Senegal

Derek and Pappy on the Ferry to Isle De Goree

Street on Isle De Goree

Note the Calabash... ha! we've see the trees!!

Church on Island.. visited by Pope Jean-Paul

After the three sea days we were just about ready for a port day. We had decided that the Princess tour packages are way overpriced and therefore determined to do Dakar "on our own". We walked to  the nearby ferry and were joined by another couple, shortly after, "Pappy" a local and licensed tour guide latched on to us and we all got the ferry to Isle de Goree. This is a small island, 20 minutes ride from the harbour and was the staging post / prison for the slaves before boarding the ships for America. Originally developed by the Portugese, the island was a throw back in time. Apparently 1,500 people live on the island today and it has the preeminent boarding school for Senegal high school girls. In many respects although relatively civilized it is still very primitive, with outstanding architecture. and the horrific House of Slaves where we stood in the doorway that led to the boarding ramps to the boats...the point of no return.

Inside island church

Unusual Shell font

Poignant statue

Slave room.. holds 20 male slaves

Door through which slaves loaded

Door from water *on righthand side"

Back in harbour, the other couple bowed out, but we got Pappy to take us to Lac Rose. A saline lake from which they harvest salt which is exported to Mali. There we got a camel ride and rode from the lake over to the Atlantic Ocean, now they said it wouldn't be bumpy...they lied, but it did create a memorable experience. Getting on and off were quite spectacular events. Then we went over to a restaurant for lunch, sitting by a pool with a Gazelle beer. Had the best chips in years and a wonderful filet of a fish called thiof. (discovered later that it is an endangered species - sorry!) We then raced back in the taxi arriving at 4.30 and walked right into the folkloric drum and dancing show at the ships theatre. It was an  incredible act, our ears were still throbbing an hour later. What an outstanding day of such different experiences and emotion. A great "do it on our own" day and it cost less than the cost of just a morning Princess tour.

Cruel artifacts of slavery

Sand artist

Natural sand used in art

 

This will become a beautiful piece of art

Stand it up and shake! and VOILA

On Ferry back

Isle De Goree Beach

Enroute to Pink Lake

En route .. cattle

On Beach at Pink Lake

Salt harvesters

Remains of salt in boat

Camel rider... FUN!!

HOP ON THEN!!!!

Follow to leader

The Atlantic Ocean

Yes .... we did it!!

Getting off.... Yikes that's difficult!!!

Thiof (choff!) and chips!!

Unusual pool chairs

Meanwhile back on the ship!!

Leaving Dakar, Senegal

May 19-21 3 Sea days

 May 19-21 3 Sea days
Three sea days to just veg and relax. Got in some walking and gym, lots of reading, some laundry, watched the movie Captain Philips and actually did get lots of relaxation. Had Chris, Tracey and Lucy from Tasmania join us at the dinner table as we had met up and had a lot of laughs. They built a shed and live in their RV inside it. Long story. Entertainment one evening was a fantastic pianist from Manchester. Seas were relatively calm and air temperatures around 30, all very nice.
A few beautiful sunset shots, all taken from our balcony:

Champagne party - Lucie loving it!!

And we are loving it too... much!!!

Sunday May 18th 2014 - Accra, Ghana

Sunday May 18th 2014 - Accra, Ghana

Statue at Mausoleum of Nkrumah

African stringed instrument maker

Early start for a full day tour to Accra. We docked at Tema, another container port. Started the tour and began the trip through Tema which was built more recently as the main port. still full of the roadside stalls and typical of the west African environment. We arrived through the financial centre of Accra passing the stock exchange, the presidential offices and some government offices. This caused us to wonder if this would have been the area where Derek would have been working and we would have lived, except for that coup-d'etat that changed our lives back in 1972.

Artisan stall

Large disparity of wealth here

First stop was the memorial and mausoleum of Dr Kwame Nkrumah. Revered leader of the first sub-saharan  nation to achieve independence. A fitting memorial with much historic and informative material. We were then dropped off at the Novotel, this was the Accra on your own tour to allow us free time to explore. But....it was Sunday so only a fraction of the local market was open, and that was a 2km walk in 32 degree, humid weather!!! Novatel was in a nondescript area with nothing interesting close by to explore. Not good planning by Princess cruises and many passengers were fuming. One poor guy spent 3 1/2 hours in the lobby of the hotel leaning on his cane. We did have some fun negotiating in the market and bought a couple of bits, before tromping back to Novotel to try a couple of local beer. they tasted like nectar after our foray into the humidity. 

Yes folks... a coffin

The coach returned and picked us up, drove passed a couple of sites..soccer stadium etc then off to a highly touted coffin maker specializing in distinctive coffin designs...submarines, movie camera, boat-shapes  etc. We expected deep quality not banged together driftwood!! not a desirable stop. Mitigating all this was the tour guide Yaw who was very knowledgeable and informative and a really nice guy. All in all not a great tour.  We did reflect much about what life would have been for us 42 years ago living here. We would probably have returned to UK after the contract and never made it to Canada. Methinks it all worked out for the best! Go Canada!!! Much of the bus was disgruntled on the trip home. We decided that we would cancel future bus tours except going to Rabat in Morocco and we will venture out on our own at all future ports... bound to have adventures!!! We met up with a couple and their daughter in the bar after dinner and had a great conversation and many laughs. This is one of the great things about cruising... meeting such great folks along the way.

Coffin

Movie camera coffin

Weird upright coffin

The dreaded tour bus

 

Leaving Tema, Ghana

Sunset as we leave