Central Dakar is a place for making money. The city saw an influx of people in the 90’s following serious drought in the country side. The population has ballooned from a couple of hundred thousand to nearly 3 million in the last 20 years. The streets are teaming with people trying to make a living in all sorts of different ways.
Upon arriving in the city centre we were greeted by a market that spilled onto the roads and throughout the district. Every kind of ware you could imagine, from English textbooks, to Kola nuts, to the latest Adidas trainers and any mobile accessory you could dream of are sold here. It’s a wonderful place to get lost and we spent a good couple of hours exploring. Yet it is also apparent that for many, foreigners are an opportunity not to be missed. In a city where every CFA counts, you would be a poor salesman if persistence wasn’t a key factor of your strategy.
Most people will move onto their next customer after a couple of firm “Non merci’s” however for a few nothing but coming to their shop and examining all that is on offer will do. We met Ibrahim, a business man in robes of flowing purple, he was one of these few. Within minutes of conversation we had Senegalese names and a new brother! Whilst his manner was very friendly it became clear he was leading us to see many of his ‘good brothers’.
Our first stop was a textile factory; two stories of cloth paradise with the workers, who were all men, stitching between ceiling high piles of clothes, bags and fabric on their sewing machines. Many wearing Beats by Dr Dre headphones as they worked! It’s a spenders paradise, however being on a tight budget it took us half an hour and a complete tour of the building to get out without buying anything.
Next stop Ibrahim’s ‘good brother’ with a jewelry shop. Feeling like we knew the game we managed to escape this bazaar in record time before being swiftly maneuvered into his ‘good brother’s’ wood carving shop. The heat and the skill of the carvers went to our heads and we eventually relented to the salesman’s insistence that we “open the door” for him. Our purchase: a fat ‘ebony’ hippo. Next stop was to be Ibrahim’s ‘good brother’ the artist, however by this time we had enough and we left with a business card and a promise to come back and buy more.
It was not until later that we realised the ‘ebony’ hippo was in fact just dyed with ink! We named him Ibrahim and have kept him as a reminder that everything is not always as it seems.
After the heat and hassle of the city, the next day we decided to spend some time relaxing on the beach in Ngor. As it turned out the beach was worse than the city. From the moment our feet hit sand we were not left alone. Parasols, jewelry, sunglasses, handy crafts, coffee, nuts and then the same all over again. Probably the least relaxing beach trip ever, with more hawkers than visitors!
Two women, after accepting our 5th refusal for their goods decided our spot was the place to have their afternoon break. After explaining our trip to them we had met our first Senegalese Mama, had our first Senegalese sing-song and had been given our first Senegalese presents, belly beads (Harry broke her first two sets before finally squeezing into the third!)
The women went back to work and Hamza came over (a Senegalese man we met earlier who was interested in broken conversation). After thinking we had had enough we got up to stroll the length of the beach, Hamza thought a walk was a great idea! So proceeded the afternoon tour, much of it accompanied by the rhythmic shaking of a seed pod, Islamic songs, and skirting human feces. He was a nice guy, and our walk took us through both the poorest and richest living conditions of suburban Dakar to the most westerly peninsular of the African continent, Almadies. The juxtaposition was incredible and the peninsular beautiful but when the tour looked to carry on after sunset we decided it was time to go home, by bus of course!
The next day while wandering to get some lunch we bumped into someone we had very briefly met near our hotel a few days earlier. After saying hello Chi immediately invited us into his home to meet all of his family. We were introduced to his four brothers, parents and baby niece, they were all extremely welcoming (except perhaps the baby who was fairly wary of us, the first white people she had seen).
They invited us to stay for lunch which we gladly accepted and feasted on the best food we have had so far. Yassa; rice, spice, fish, onions – delicious. This is served in one huge bowl, which everyone sits around and eats together. Fruits, drinks and sweet tea followed the meal whilst we reclined (Tash on an actual bed!) and watched Arsenal lose to Chelsea 🙁 They all made us feel a part of the family, it was an extremely relaxed Sunday! Chi then took us on a drive around the city, to enjoy his favourite views and some sites he hadn’t yet seen himself. He and his family couldn’t have been more hospitable and by the end of the day we were so happy to have made such an excellent new friend.
The sheer amount of hustle and bustle in Dakar can be exhausting but the spirit of hospitality towards strangers means we have ended our first weekend in the city feeling very welcome and very full!
