This morning we were off to a much better start. Kat was feeling better and was able to have some bread at breakfast. We started the day by hitting up a grocery store before driving to Dangane. The drive was smooth – we think Bala was being extra kind after Kat’s pyrotechnics from the day before.
The town of Dangane is on the Saloum delta and hosts beautiful stands of mangroves. After dropping our bags off at the hotel we hopped into a boat to explore the mangroves. The bird life was fantastic! Our guide Alex is an expert Kingfisher spotter but we also saw pelicans, gulls, herons and egrets. We stopped in the village of ___ to get a tour of the life there and meet some of the locals. The village is very off-the-grid (no cars, no power, etc) and has a large population of Christians. Everyone was extremely friendly as usual. After exploring the town we stopped by a local craft market. Kat had been taking many breaks throughout the walk and was happy to sit with the local woman while she showed us her goods. Although we didn’t need anything we gave her some money as a thank you for the shade and the company. She kindly gave us each a bracelet in return.
The boat trip back to Dangane was just as enjoyable and we spent even more time exploring the mangroves and looking for birds. The shade, sea breeze and lull of the boat were just what the doctor ordered. We arrived back at our hotel and Colin read while Kat did some more birding around the hotel grounds. The trees and the few freshwater taps around the hotel were prime bird magnets and she wishes she had a guide to tell her what they all were.
We met up with Alex at 5:30 to explore Dangane together. This part of Senegal is very quiet and peaceful and many French people build villas nearby. We can certainly see why. Next time we come to Senegal we will definitely stay a few nights here. Dangane is typical of a Senegalese town but on tranquilizers. We walked the length of the town and Colin found some local street food to try. Kat found more fabric of course – Alex is an excellent negotiator. After an extremely pleasant cafe Touba and coconut we wandered back to the hotel where we sat in lounge chairs in the shallow pool overlooking the marshy flats. An extremely pleasant day to make up for yesterday.
Wow—love that kingfisher pic! I have no idea what the non-heron/egrets are but they look quite interesting! Glad Kat is feeling better and I hope to see a photo of all the fabric she has found. We are really enjoying reading all about your trip.