Things to be Thankful For

Mom and I were on Ile de Goree on Thursday when we encountered a Thanksgiving surprise: Jen and her parents were there as well! So we enjoyed a fantastic dinner together (seafood, not turkey, but it was delicious anyway!) They're just starting off their trip, where Mom and I are finishing up. I hope they enjoy it! We've had a truly amazing time. I attribute the luck we've had with travel to our gris-gris, specially selected to ease our voyage. Best 1500cfa I've spent in Kaolak for a long time! Don't leave home without one! Anyway, smooth travels and good times all round. Since we left the village, the primary focus of our trip has been food. I have eaten SO MUCH good food this past week! It's gonna be a long way to fall back to cere ak basi. But, I have a lot to do before going on my official month-long vacation to Togo, then Burkina Faso and Mali with my friend Arwen...I'm excited, but trying not to freak out too much prematurely! After waving goodbye to Keur Ali Gueye, Mom and I went to Palmerin, which was perhaps the most beautiful place I have been in Senegal yet. We stayed in a resort hotel which had built our room literally into a huge baobab tree. The trunk fomed one wall of the bathroom, there was a terrace for breakfast encircled by powerful branches, and the room was cradled high atop the thick trunk. Really, it was a stunning place, full of birds who landed on the lagoon, and other rooms tucked away in corners on the property. The food there was entirely haute cuisine. Wonderful creations using local ingrediants that were just delicious. Light lunches with plenty of vegetables, and perfectly prepared meat and fish. We did a kayak randonee in the mangroves, where we saw all sorts of beautiful birds; pelicans, flamingos, cormerants, and so many others that I don't even know the name of. Even if you're not a birdwatcher, Senegal forces you to appreciate the variety and beauty of birds - there are so many, such diverse shapes and colors, you can't help but notice them! My favorites are these birds that look like black starlings, until they turn to catch the light, and you realize that they are in fact shimmering blue, their feathers sparking as they fly off, when you notice that they also have a graceful long tale which only spreads completely when in flight.
We also had four relaxing days at the beach of Toubab Dialaw. Good food, a calm atmosphere, and the ever-present sound of waves rolling onto the Atlantic shore. Our hotel there was adorable, too; they had decorated it all with shells or smooth sea stones, with curving alleys and low thatched roofs. It looked like a Hobbit village! One day we walked all the way from Toubab Dialaw to Popenguine, which was pristine coast all the way to this town called Ndiayne, where all of a sudden we encountered children using the beach as a toilet and people dulping their garbage onto the sand, right next to the fishing pirogues waiting to head out to sea! Really gross. But, we survived the nastiness and made it to Popenguine, which is as gorgeous as ever. Still, if ever I appreciated the importance of lartines, it was on that beach of Ndiayne!
Then, a fabulous overnight on the Ile de Goree, doing the museums all the next day and wandering the island. It really is a lovely place, full of bright colors, cobbled streets, and billowing bougainvillea everywhere. Now we only have a day left before Mom flies home, and I return to eating millet daily. Last night, though, we went to a bar called Just4You and ende dup at a concert of Les Frères Guissé, who were AMAZING!!! They were really excellent. A unique sound, and they kept the crowd animated the whole time. What a treat.