March 14, 2005

3 Trips Worth mentioning

I'm trying to get as much mileage out of Senegal as I can. A summary of my debaucheries.

Ngor Island
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This is a small island of the coast of Dakar. One needs to hop on a dilapidated, slightly crowded pirogue to make the small trip across the water. I was never so happy to have a life-jacket, even it it did smell humid, musky and sweaty.

The day consisted of lying on the beach in our bikinis, walking around the island, oohing and aahing over the size of the huge mansions there, and fending off the unbearably persistent vendors (with sarcastic comments, annoyed sighs and I'm-looking-through-you-stares).

Fun fact #1: I'm still albino white--no offense to actual albinos.

Les Sables d'Or
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The Sable d'Or are about 2 hours South of Dakar on the Petite Cote. We stayed in a hotel right on the beach, ate zebu, drank too much, looked at incredibly bright stars, and took plenty of motorcycle rides (it was nice but am definitely going to try to buy one, I want to keep up with the Jones' and besides, it's not half as fun riding on the back of one than actually riding your own).

Fun fact #2: the weather is definitely heating up, but I manage to stay as white as a ghost.

Le Lac Rose
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Lac Retba, surnamed Lac Rose because it has an uncanny pink hue, is a place where salt is raked from the bottom, collected and sold on the local market.

The whole landscape looks like you've landed on an alien planet: it's eerily pink (minerals in the water), white (salt mounds), green (oddly shaped trees manage to grow in this extreme environment ) and beige (there are a lot of sand dunes).

Fun fact #3: Because of my snow white skin, I did finally manage to get a nasty sunburn on my shoulders and nose. And I was wearing a hat, slapping on spf cream, and obsessively staying in the shade (to the point where I would fold my arms against my body and skim walls in an effort to expose the least skin possible--this gave me an odd robotic and anally retentive gait). Today, I went from lobster red to porcelain color in three seconds flat...A very drab looking toilet bowl color, more exactly. D'oh.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, you're sure packing in the sites!
Moving to the Congo and planning to buy a motorcycle. Honestly, if I didn't know better I'd think you have a death wish :)
-Ammo

Anonymous said...
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Beaver said...
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Beaver said...

2 comments :

Ammo : thanks for helping 007 think serenely of her move to Congo - it's not a death wish, it's the love of adventure. Though if the post had indicated "Motorcycly and HELMET" I'd feel better about it too :)

007 : a motorcycle ? who are you and what have you done with the girl I know ? Just promise me not to combine Congo AND the motorcycle... otherwise, I'll have to agree with Ammo !

Hehe that'll teach you to go out without your sunscreen pusher !!! :P

Anonymous said...

Ooooh, deleted comments. Your blog is getting so risque!

I am just glad that I am several thousand miles away when you start tearing around on a motorcycle :)

007 in Africa said...

*groans* I swear to you, there is nothing risque about the "deleted" comments. It turns out some wise ass, I won't name names (Ammo), actually posted his comments twice. As for the other times, it's just that I noticed big spelling mistakes, rewrote my comments and had the erase the old one. Pathetic isn't it? Anoyhow, I was thinking about getting the motorcycle when you come visit me in Congo. You can help me pick the color :)

007 in Africa said...

For example, I just noticed a typing mistake in my last comment, but I refuse to censor myself so there... :)

Anonymous said...

You should get a pink one, with "badass" painted on it
:)

Anonymous said...

I agree with Laura :) You should also wear a tight leather outfit.
Ammo