Senegal

Photos and Blog

From Morocco we hopped over to spend a little time in Senegal which wrapped up our time in Africa on an extremely high note! Here is a first batch of photos to give you a sense of the amazing people, colors and textures of life in Dakar.

As we quickly learned music, and drumming in particular, are huge aspects of the Senegalese culture. Sabar drumming is a traditional form of communication used to send messages between villages. These days in Dakar, men are still fabricating the drums in the same hand-made fashion. Stay tuned to see how they use these drums!

You know the Sabar drums you saw getting made in the previous post? Here is how they come to life. The sound that permeates from a dozen or so of these drums acts as an invitation for the whole neighborhood to put on their best and brightest dress and head over for a Dakar style drum and dance party. I'm certain you have never seen little girls with more rhythm or pride in their seemingly natural ability to dance to this incredible music.Not to mention the colors they all wear to celebrate. This was really a sensory feast for the eyes and ears.

Fish and rice with a delicious salsa is a staple in Dakar and made for some of the best eating we've had on the trip. Since fishing is such a mainstay of the culture, why not spend a day with a local fisherman. Maybe you've noticed, but Senegal does color very well and the fish market is no exception. Beautiful painted boats line the beach, kids play in the surf and there is always music to be heard. All this takes place between Le Grand Mosque and the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. It is a scene to be seen!

There is a reason all the people you see in our Senegal photos are supremely fit - well two reasons, they are genetically gifted, that is for sure. But the 2nd, is that they train and train hard. The beach is the gym where you'll find the majority of young men late in the afternoon. In addition to running and doing every variety of squats imaginable these guys love wrestling. It is the national sport and whether you are a six your old string bean or a burly man, a day doesn't seem to go by without a friendly wrestling match. And then there are those who take it more seriously. Senegal has several professional wrestling leagues that take place everywhere from a 60,000 capacity arena to make-shift ring on the beach, like below, where the contenders wrestle for bags of rice and of course some local respect. It's all for the love of the sport.