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13.04.04

Overland Trip To Senagal 2004, Day 14: Our last day in Africa

Thomas Morgan
2006-04-26 13:39:23

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The raid into Dakar was a complete success – flight to Lyon leaves tonight at 11pm, and we are back here under a hut on the island of Ngor, having drunk 2 bottles of Flag beer, a Fanta, and having had lunch here “Chez Seck” – an omelette for Ross and a delicious poulet sauce yassa for me. We can see the airport from here, the control tower sticks out above the houses across the 200 metres or so that separate us from the mainland.

Our last day in Africa, and sat on this little island with the ocean around us we’re already thinking of the next crazy trip. Maybe to see Fede in Buenos Aires and drive around South America. Maybe Central Asia. The Trans-Siberian railway sounds good. For now, we’re here, basking, in my case burning, in the afternoon sun, with beer and Fanta, waiting, yet again waiting, for our hour of departure to arrive. There are kids running around on the beach, adults stretched out with no energy for them. The boat bringing people to and from the mainland comes and goes. The sun slips across the sky.

Tempting fate though it is at this premature moment, the trip has been a success, a bizarre, hilarious success, unscathed by disaster as many predicted. And still, it holds a few final twists; we’re walking to the airport, having pizza at a Brazilian pizzeria restaurant beforehand, and then flying to Lyon via Paris. More people to chat with, more problems to deal with, but for the rest of our lives we’ll be able to look upon uncomfortable journeys and poor travel with a smile, because there are few places that could be as surreal as this, few itineraries as unexpected as this. My arms are burning but I’ll allow it, the sleeves of my black t-shirt rolled up to my shoulders, my whiteness becoming red, my picture of the world more complete, my bank balance weaker but for the best.

Stronger is my French and Arabic, though I didn’t practise the latter as much as I would have liked. Maybe some other time.

Why ? Again, I ask, why not ? Why not take a chance and come somewhere unusual ? I wanted a challenge, an adventure and most of all, I wanted to be somewhere that would make me appreciate my life in England. I got all three and more. We’ve seen the poverty that you think only exists in charity appeals and war. It exists for millions every day and they begged us, kids and adults, for a share, no matter how small, of what is immense wealth by their standards. We’ve seen people work with pride, dignity and sweat for next to nothing. And we were only here for two weeks. Next time we’ll save up more, plan in more detail and go further, deeper into what is, we realise now, a world we barely know. Watch this space in another notebook, soon to be filled.