Dakar and the Beach, part II

I decided that I needed to be more independent.  Badou had to stay at home while his mother tended to a sick child.  Saliou was not to be found.  I could see the beach from my room.  Whereas one might  think only that (white) tourists would be at risk for theft, the residents here also pay very careful attention to their belongings.  Badou explained to me that he would go barefoot to the beach to play soccer because if he left his shoes on the beach - he learned the hard way that they would disappear.  They don't like when I go off on my own, which was the case when Saliou picked up my message that I had decided to go on my own.  His response was pretty much "Stay where you are - I am coming now!"  Yes, I was approached a couple of times, but for the most part, everyone ignores me.

Saliou  rushed (by Senegalaise standards) to the beach and we watched the beach scene. There were a few white people trying to surf; I had hoped to see some native hotshots  ; )  They were probably all playing soccer or washing sheep! We had some fresh grilled shrimp, which was delicious.

I do want to make a note of what things cost here:
Taxi ride across town (through horrendous traffic):  $4
Dinner for six at my place (grilled fish and chicken, maybe some grilled onions):  $20-25
Custom wrap in the picture below:  $17
T-shirt and pants from the beach vendor: $6  (Noted that I looked for a T-shirt that did not have a logo emblazoned on the back like "Charity run").
Hotel room in Dakar:  $35  (Residence Ba is great!!  It's owned by the famous, rich soccer star, Monsieur Ba)
Hotel room in St. Louis:  $50.


We agreed to get together at 6 p.m. for an early dinner.  I needed to get some good sleep because Iba and I were taking a very early bus to St. Louis.  The "boys", Badou, Iba and Saliou, went to the beach where Saliou and I had eaten earlier to get some grilled fish and shrimp.  Ameth's aunt also wanted to come over. We started eating at 9ish and I finally shooed out the last of "la famille" at 11ish.  We were Iba, Badou, Saliou, Khady, Ousmane and the baby girl.  We called Daniel and all said hello.  ; )
Iba delivered my custom shawl from the sister of Iba's director.  It's very lovely and will go nicely with jeans up to fancy dresses.

We talked alot about Plan International, the organization through which I sponsored Ameth.  Apparently, the quality of their support has dropped significantly.  I'll be interested in finding out more when I go to Mpal.

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