Dakar, Senegal

Well, Dakar was definitely an education. We booked a city tour for late afternoon. Maybe a little background would be good. The unemployment rate in Senegal is nearly 50%, so we knew it would be a poor country. Before our tour we went off the ship and went to a small craft place that had been put up near the ship. The locals were very aggressive trying to sell things. We were warned to not even wear watches or other jewelry as it was dangerous to do so in some parts of Dakar. I left my Mickey watch behind and Judy put hers in her bag. You could immediately tell it was a third world country. There were people all over the place, lots of them selling trinkets and some unique items. One of the places we went was the market and I couldn’t believe the smell, for me it was a bit overbearing and we learned later that it was one of the worst places for pickpockets. Luckily we had everything when we left, but heard of other people who lost camera and money. The people here seemed happy, but of course if it is the only life they are aware of, they are probably better educated and better off than their parents were. All in all for me it was a sad scene, but one that was interesting to us because it gave us a small peek into third world life. Now three days at sea before we reach Brazil.