Kedougou

Hey everyone,

Hope you all had a fun, safe week. Sean and I had quite the adventure in Eastern Senegal.

Back in Dakar now, allelulia = alhamdulilahi! I have been thoroughly enjoying the creature comforts of home, namely electricity, a soft bed, a ceiling fan and reliable running water. Thank God is "santa yalla" in Wolof and I am so thankful to be back in Dakar after a challenging voyage: "maa ngi santa yalla bu bax!"

We headed out Sunday morning bright and early at 7 am, down to the bus station, in what I thought would be an innocent start to an enjoyable vacation. We were well prepared with snacks, water and a healthy taste for adventure. This was our last Senegal trip as Sean heads back to Europe on the 5th. We found a bus going to Tambacounda (2/3 of the way to Kedougou), bought our tickets, and hopped aboard. We had planned on spending the night in Tamba to avoid travelling overnight. Buses here wait until they are full to leave, so we ended up sitting in the station for 7 hours before finally leaving at around 3 pm. It shows how much Sean and I have grown accustomed to the uncertainty of life in Senegal that we had the patience to sit on a bus for that long. Spirits still high, we headed out.

The bus was fairly well ventilated but we ended up sweating most of the way. Being hot and uncomfortable quickly became the norm for the trip. We had 1 long stop to change a flat tire that took about an hour. We had several stops to get food and let off passengers. We also had a 3 hour stop at a random gas station so that the bus driver could take a nap. In the end, we didn't need to spend the night in Tamba because we showed up at 6 am and immediately found a sept-place to Kedougou. This part of the voyage was a little more pleasant because we were driving through Senegal's largest national park: Niokolo Koba. The scenery was unlike anywhere else in Senegal, we were surrounded by green, rolling hills. We also saw a little bit of wildlife: warhogs, red-footed monkeys and some birds.

We showed up in Kedougou Monday morning at 10 am. It took us 26 hours to get there and we covered about 700 km which is about 435 miles. We found a nice hostel and took a nap. We got some sleep on the bus but we were constantly trying to catch up on sleep. We explored the town and got some ceebujen for lunch. We talked to a local guide about where to go in the area and how to manage it on our own. We also met some really nice Peace Corps volunteers. They invited us over to the Peace Corps house in Kedougou and we chatted about how best to explore the area. We decided to rent bikes to get to Dindefelo where there is a cute little village and a nice waterfall. We went to bed early to prepare for an epic bike trip.

Tuesday morning we were up at 6 to beat the heat. We biked out of Kedougou at 7 am, leaving our backpacks at the hostel and bringing only the basics with us. We had plenty of water (about 6 liters) which we were very thankful for. We brought some food and a change of clothes. We tried to travel light because the roads were unbelievably rough and Dindefelo was 36 km away (22 miles). We had been assured that the bikes were up to the trip, but about 17 miles in, Sean's back tire was totally flat. We walked a mile to a village called Segou and filled it up. We kept biking but it was a temporary fix and two miles later we were walking again. Luckily we were only about 2 miles from Dindefelo at that point. We showed up exhausted at about noon. We found a cute little hostel with huts and settled in. That afternoon we hiked the 2 miles to the waterfall. It was gorgeous, totally worth the effort. We found a calm, quiet canyon with steep cliff faces and a wonderfully relaxing pool at the base of the falls. We swam and felt comfortable temperature-wise for the first time since Sunday morning. We walked around the small village of Dindefelo that afternoon and watched a local soccer match.

Wendesday we found out that there is a Nissan 4 X 4 that drives between Kedougou and Dindefelo everyday that would be able to take us and the bikes back. Thank goodness, because there was no way we were going to be able to bike back. We made it back to Kedougou after a 2 hour long very bumpy ride. We returned the bikes and unsuccessfully bargained for a refund on Sean's bike. We settled into the same hostel and relaxed. We bought street fare for dinner (the same place we had already been to twice) and didn't think twice about it. We bought some local palm wine and watched the Barcelona-Milan semi-final match of the European Champions League with our local guide. Everything was fine until about 1 am when I woke up with a terrible stomach ache. I didn't sleep at all due to nausea, "shuking" (diarrhea plus puking) and a 102 degree fever. I stayed in bed all day until about 3 pm Thursday. Sean was very helpful, he had some medications with him and a thermometer. I am glad that I didn't get sick on the bus or in Dindefelo. We were best equipped to deal with it in Kedougou. At least we had lots of water and our own bathroom in the hostel. I am pretty sure it was the sandwich that did me in.

I rested all day and drank lots of water. Thursday we had already purchased bus tickets on the direct overnight bus back to dakar. We left at 6 pm and got in around 5 am. I felt better, but it was still very up and down. The bus was hot and I completely sweated through my clothes. I got a little bit of sleep but it will take me a few days to really recover.

After this trip, I have whole new standards of comfort. I have suffered through heat, sickness, fatigue and discomfort. I feel like I came out stronger and better prepared for my next trip. This was like a small, trial run and it was quite the learning experience. Now that I have really gotten sick, I know to plan an extra day into my trips. I know now what food poisoning feels like so I can better judge the risk that street food poses. I will be better equipped to pack a first aid kit knowing what helped me in this situation and I fill pay extra attention to what I eat before travelling or when I am in a remote area.

Dakar feels especially luxurious after my trip to Eastern Senegal. If anyone wants to Google Kedougou or Dindefelo, you will see how truly far we went. We were only a couple of miles from the border with Guinea and not far from Mali either. It was a very pretty region, a challenging trip and a great learning experience. I wouldn't change a thing. I hope everyone had a nice, relaxing week. I will try to put up pictures when I get a chance.
Peace!
~Jess~