Dakar or bust

Tuesday 18 January

Dakar Senegal

A sept place (7 place peugot) to Dakar involves the inevitable breakdown adding an hour onto our 4 hr trip. Then I get to Pompieres, a huge place full of transport going every which way in Senegal from the capital. I manage to buy some credit to ring Jhonta Coly, who tells the taxi driver where to take me to …. AS we drive, I get the feeling I’m heading away from the centre ville (city) and try to place us on the map I have. Then I’m dropped of @ a petrol station where I am collected by Jhonta and the house is not far. We chat, he is unemployed and we’re soon joined by one of his mates… The house is very bare, except for a few mattresses on the floor. He makes a call – the ferry on Friday is full. bugger! And I’m getting the feeling that I don’t want to stay an hour away out of town. So I thank them for their offer but I will head back to the highway to get another taxi back to town, citing Point E. But of course my accent is always going to be difficult and as the taxi driver keeps reciting Ponty back at me, I gather again by the map, that we are heading again in a different direction. I keep asking “Monsieur, tu regard” (you look), “attention”  & waving the address. Only when we end up in the dead centre of Dakar on POMPY, that I again ask “Regard” and he calls another guy over when  I realise that he is probably illiterate. Omg, which is I am sure what he saying when it is explained where I really want to go –Point ugh (all together in your best french accents). Off we go again, another tour of Dakar of which I am now starting to get my bearings and end up @ an overpriced auberge, who take credit cards. OK – we’ll fly with this & get all the mod cons including hot water & satellite tv. This is a bit of a groovy area and I eat at an Ethiopian restaurant for my first night in Dakar. Now there's a bit of variety in my life! lol