TotalAdventure landed in Dakar Senegal on November 15, after a long flight across the African continent. On Thursday afternoon I flew Skylink from Antananarivo to Johannesburg where there was a 10 hour layover, spent in a lounge ( for pay) before boarding ASKY from Johannesburg to Lomé Togo with a stopover in Kinshasa,Congo. At Lomé I changed planes for the 3 hour flight to Dakar. In the next TotalAdventure Magazine article, I will show the entire air voyage from North America to Asia to Africa and then Europe.

Senegal is an Islamic nation ,with much French influence from colonial times, speaking French and Wolof. While many are pious, the atmosphere is relaxed, with people free to practice their own ways of life. The nation transitions from the edge of the Sahara in the North to humid jungles in the South. Dakar is right in between those zones with a mild oceanside climate. It is the Westernmost point in all of the Eurasian and African landmasses.

With natural resources ,an educated city population and good air and sea ports, business is connected with the rest of the world – France, the USA and China.

Dakar is a fashion capitol. Getting on the map with New York,Paris and Milan !

West African cuisine is tasty and filling. Chicken,fish ,rice and spices are the main ingredients,

Dakar is also a cultural center for music and art.

Traffic is not horrendous like most African cities and colorful old French buses ply the streets.

Inside the Grande Mosquée Dakar. It’s one of the largest in the world. TotalAdventure was granted entry and given a tour by the watchman.

In the Courtyard, by the tens of thousands.

While the standard of living is higher than much of Africa, it is still nowhere near the level of the West.

The CFA Franc is used in the West African nations of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.It is 630 to the US Dollar. Overall prices are much lower than the US and. Western Europe., though some luxury hotels are the same or higher priced than in Europe.

Dakar coastline by night.

Île Gorée – where millions of slaves were assembled for shipment to America – many of them to Charleston and New Orleans.There was even a house for a US Consulate on the island – probably to process bills of lading. Slaves to Brazil went from Angola. Some buildings remind me of Île Diable in French Guyana – the French excelled at building prisons all over the world.

A ship from nearby Mauritania. TotalAdventure is exploring the possibility of a trip from Morocco to South Africa later this year. Details soon. Contact us directly if interested.