N'Gor Island

Today, I was able to sleep in for a little bit more, as my dad had gone off on a walk. I slept for one hour more than usual, which was definitely a nice change of pace. Today at 3:00, we were supposed to meet Babakar, and last night was to be my last here with my dad at the bed and breakfast. Since we had limited time, we decided to go to N'Gor Island. It's a small island in the N'Gor neighborhood, accessible by pirogue. We set out, walking on the beach. Since it is Friday, the holy day for Muslims, the beach was crowded and more active than the previous times we had gone. The beach had everything, kids playing soccer and fishmongers, goats and stray dogs, horse-drawn carts and pirogues, fish heads and chicken legs, sea-shells and garbage. As is usually the case with Dakar, the mix of stimulants was overwhelming, almost dizzying. The amazing smell of frying food would grip you, but three steps later the stench of a stagnant sewer would leave you stunned and disgusted. The beach close to where we live is, as I've said before, relatively clean and orderly. One could almost mistake it for a western beach (almost is a relative term), were it not for the goat herds who patrolled the beaches, angrily yelling at anyone who got too close. However, as we walked closer to N'Gor, we entered a fishing village and the beach was overtaken by the chaotic nature of the streets of Dakar. We walked on, only to be stopped by a line of large rocks. 

A man and his son dragging a goat into the ocean. They will wash the goat in the water

The traditional Senegalese pirogues one finds everywhere

Goats scavenging for food next to a pirogue

Sea shells littered the beach

We went more inland, passing through a poorer area of Yoff. We stopped to ask someone if they knew how to make cellular data work on the phone Isabella had lent us. We were unable to make the phone work, which is a problem since, especially when I'll be alone, I won't be contactable. We took a taxi to N'Gor since it was farther than we thought, and time was limited. We arrived, hopped into a traditional pirogue, and after a very short trip, arrived at N'Gor Island. The island was very nice, a nice break from the chaos of mainland Dakar. A very small island, one is never more than five minutes away from the beach. I went swimming, and the water was clean and warm but refreshing. We walked around the island and finally stopped for lunch.

The Atlantic Ocean

My dad with his (ridiculously overpriced) hat

A dog, sleeping in the shade

After lunch, it was already 2:30, so we rushed onto a pirogue and went back to mainland Dakar. There, we hopped into a taxi and went hope. We arrived home at 3:15. We called Babacar, but he didn't answer. I decided to shower (the water has been out the past few days, so I used buckets). I find myself writing now at 5:00, with Babacar nowhere to be found. I don't know if I'll be sleeping at the home of my host family today.

Update:
Babacar came at 6:30, and we walked with him to the host family. He clearly had not found a host family, and so he arranged everything on the spot, in a rushed and incomprehensible Wolof. The family I will be staying with starting tomorrow morning seems to be very welcoming and nice. They seem to be very religious, but not so as to make my life hard. They have three sons, two of which will be my age. They seem to be quite rich, with a nice house. We only saw the courtyard and the living room, but what we saw seemed promising. Tomorrow, I move in.