Lac Rose

Today I went to the Lac Rose with Mustafa. The day started off poorly, and my already sour mood was only made worse by the gross delay of Mustafa. We left for the lake more than an hour later than planned. However, this organizational problem ended up being the low point of a great day. My mood did not improve during the long bus ride, and it definitely did not improve when we arrived at the lake. The Lac Rose was extraordinarily not Rose. We had traveled all morning only to arrive at the most plain-looking body of water in the Western hemisphere. The turbid waters taunted me, and I felt a mix of anger, disappointment, and sadness. 

The lake. So pink!

However, although the lack of pinkness was demoralizing, the countless, huge piles of salt were an incredible sight. The lake was dotted with hundreds of small boats, carrying up to one ton of salt each. The men take the boats out into the waters and jump into the water. The water is less than a meter deep, and the boat is used to load the salt. The men use buckets to dig the salt from the ground and pile them onto the boats. Once the boats are full, the men head back to land, where the women unload the boats full of salt and carry buckets filled with the salt to the giant mounds. Mustafa and I took a boat tour of the lake. The lake, although not pink, was very interesting. 

The salt dunes

One of the hundreds of small boats where laborers put their salt

The waters were at best a muddy red.

The guide, and the captain of our boat

The dunes by the lake

By the time we left the lake, I was in a great mood. This was nothing like anything I had ever seen. It was an indescribable sight, and just that was worth the trip to the lake.  After we finished visiting the lake, we headed towards Mustafa's sister's house. We walked for fifteen minutes on a sand road, until we reached some huts. The small village, composed entirely of members of Mustafa's family, was in the middle of a desert, with no roads, no electric lines, and no stores. In the center of the village was a gathering space, where one found various people. The whole village was no more than fifteen houses. All around, one found chicken, goats, cows, pigeons, and camels. The village was very quiet, with a very pleasant breeze. The houses were one or two rooms, with cement walls and straw/reed roofs. All the houses had solar panels. There was no smell, no pollution, no chaos. It was incredibly beautiful. We had lunch at Mustafa's sister's house, after which I wandered around the tiny village on my own.

The road to the village

Mustafa

The village had no roads or paths, only sand

A small hut

On the left, the road to the lake. On the right, Mustafa's sister's house.

It was incredibly peaceful, with none of Dakar's chaos

The way to the beach

A very colorful well

The main "street" of the village

On the left, the village. On the far right, an animal pen

During my wanderings, I found a pen with a variety of animals. I was able to get very close to a calf and to a camel

The calf looking at me

I was able to get very close

A selfie with a camel

A hideous beast, incapable of thought. On the right a camel

Africa 

After I got tired of walking around, I headed back to the house, where I was invited by two of the kids to go to the beach. I happily agreed. We walked through a small forest of sparse trees. No people crossed our path. Only goats. 

The forest

The first view of the ocean

The Atlantic Ocean

When we arrived, I was met with the nicest beach I had seen in Senegal. It was deserted, with the waves being the only things to break the silence. The sand was fine, and it crunched under your feet. There were seashells everywhere. The water was clear and beautiful. It was really an incredible sight. 

We were the only people as far as the eye could see

Sea shells dotted the sand

There was very little garbage on the beach, as opposed to the landfills of Dakar

The water was clean and clear

When we came back, another one of these tropical storms struck, and for an hour we were inside, hiding from the rains. When the waters ended, I went on another walk. I saw parachuters jump out of a plane, a bizarre sight to see in a remote African village. 

A donkey

They came, and they left, with little fanfare

It was most likely an army exercise

We headed back to the home, where Mustafa and I waited for our car. The car broke down, so we called a taxi. The taxi couldn't come. We then called a bus. The bus got lost. We stayed at the house for three hours in suspense, not knowing if we would make it home in time. I was preparing me for the idea of sleeping there when we finally managed to secure a ride. With darkness falling on the dunes, we got into a car and went back to Yoff.

A stunning sunset.

I had a great day. In fact, today was the best day I've had here in Senegal. This is an incredible place, with so much to offer. It's been an amazing experience to come here. I have to wrap this up. Tomorrow is the first day of my last week here in Senegal.