Monday 16 May.
The ship was arriving at Dakar, Senegal this morning. When I wakened at 6:00 am I thought we might already have arrived there didn't seem to be any movement. I went up to get our tea but it was still dark and I couldn't see if we were docked or not. I returned to the cabin none the wiser about our position and left it until we made our way up for breakfast. Then it was daylight and the decks were lined with people watching our progress into Dakar. We must have still been sailing earlier as now the ship was just coming into the dockside to tie-up. There wasn't much to see at that point, just a quay with containers and cranes. The tour buses were already lined up waiting to take the passengers on their expensive trips. Also the locals were setting up their souvenir stalls to catch us as we came ashore.
We were to be in Dakar until late in the afternoon and from our last visit knew there wasn't a lot to see, so we had a leisurely breakfast before getting ready to go sightseeing. At breakfast Moira made sandwiches and got muffins and cool drink for lunch. I got a street map of Dakar from reception and we made our way down the gangplank at about 8:30 am. We had a look at the wares of the local traders that were set up along the quay but we didn't buy anything though some of the carvings and painting were quite attractive. When we left the dock gates we were pestered by taxi drivers wanting to take us on tours, they couldn't understand why we would want to walk.
We went in the direction that we remember led to the town centre and markets. When we reached the old Colonial style decorated railway station we met a couple from the ship who were South Africans. They said it was all black faces and seemed frightened to go ant further, we said it was safe enough and they asked if they could tag along with us. We agreed and soon another couple, from Australia, joined. Once I checked the street map I made my way towards the market area. The two couples followed closely at first then began to lag behind. I stopped and waited but they had disappeared, I think they got 'cold feet' and turned back to the ship.At the market area, basically people with their goods spread out on the pavements, we noticed the tall minaret of the mosque. We headed that way instead and toured round the streets in a square outside of the mosque. It was very striking but it didn't appear that we could go in. At the opposite side the tour buses were parked and the people had gone to the other side of the fence for a closer look but that was all. When we got back to the large roundabout where we had started we made our way through the narrow crowded streets lines with the traders. It was all noise and squaller, old dirty rusted wrecks of cars lined the sides, they appeared to have been abandoned years ago. There was a wide range of goods to be had and more or less anything you wanted could be had there. Also there were the fancy colourfully decorated taxis.
Soon we had and enough of the hustle and bustle and made or way in the direction of the coast and beach. The streets became slightly quieter and more affluent. There now 'proper' shops and restaurants. The next attraction marked on my map was the Presidential Palace and I managed with a bit of difficulty to get us there. It doesn't matter where we go with street maps either there are no name plates on the streets or when there are you can't find that name anywhere on the map. There was a guard in ceremonial dress at front gates but only a small part of the palace was visible, the rest was surrounded by trees. As we walked outside we realised that the guard in front of the gates was just for show, the real serious security guards were stationed at intervals around the perimeter with automatic rifles at the ready. I checked the map for the direction to the coast and discovered that we had missed the Cathedral where we turned down to the Palace. We headed round the block again until we spotted the large round dome, the doors were open and we made our way inside.
It had been quite a bit of walking to get here and with our 'ill health' we were feeling tired. It was cool inside and we sat in pew for 15 minutes to rest. It was a fairly new looking church and of a modern design. The huge dome dominated above the altar and there was some beautiful stain-glasses windows. Around the curve behind the altar were small chapels with smaller domed ceilings. It was a delightful sanctuary to relax before continuing our walk.
From the Cathedral it was back down to the Palace again. As I approached the gates I stopped to take a photograph but a guard with his gun indicated it was forbidden to take pictures. Luckily I had taken a couple when we had come past earlier. It makes you wonder if any thought goes I to these rules and regulations; if a terrorist wanted to take a recognisance photograph he would use a powerful zoom lens from the other end of the street well away from the guards, not right in front of them.
From the map there was supposed to be a few roads leading to the coast and beach but we couldn't find them. We were seeing a lot more people from the cruise about here and soon discovered thst we were near the ship. When we reached the road leading to the dock I turned in the opposite direction and this picked up the Corniche, running on the hill side above the ocean. There was a barrier across the road but it was only to stop cars and when we walked along we found out why the restrictions. The road had fallen away in places was quite dangerous for about half a kilometre. Below there was a nice sandy beach and beautiful coves but no way down. We got to the barrier at the other end and here there were a couple of restaurants overlooking the ocean, they must have been popular with number of cars outside. I had a look at the menu displayed on the wall, there weren't any prices shown! We walked a bit further and at last there was a flight of stairs going down to the beach, we went down and sat on the rocks where we had our picnic lunch. On the beach there was a couple of locals doing sprint intervals along the sand, then stopping to do press ups and some stretching. When they finished their training training stint they went into the sea, I thought they were going to to have a swim but they just went in until reached their knees and threw the water over themselves to wash.
It was now getting hot as we sat on the rocks and we began to feel down again. We both had stuffed up noses and sore throats and getting tired. We climbed up the stairs to the Corniche and made our way back to the dock road and the ship. Once in the cabin we stretched out on the bunks with a cup of coffee and relaxed with our iPad to read from. At 4:00 pm we made our way to the stern of the ship to watch the departure from Dakar. I had taken the small cushions from the cabin to make the loungers we were on more comfortable and if worked. All the tours and passengers had to be back by 4:30 pm and it was only another half an hour until they were casting off the lines and sailing out of the harbour. As we pulled out into the open water the bay that the Corniche went round now became visible and off the coast there was an attractive island we saw from the beach and the ship now passed close to. Further on the long coastline became into view but it soon disappeared as the Sinfonia made its way out into the deeper waters of the Atlantic.
We went back to the cabin to get ready for dinner and a drink of wine. We had brought 8 litres on at Cape Town and Moira opened the last 3 litre cask. Hopefully there will be an opportunity to get more when we reach the Canary Islands, our next port of call on Thursday. I managed to make it to dinner tonight and had some tasty roast pork and salad. I was also able to go to the concert in the theatre, it was the classical music group and the theme was 'A Vienna Night', it was quite enjoyable. We were both tired when it finished and mot in the mood to do anything else. It was back to the cabin and into bed. I read for an hour then got to sleep, it had been a busy day with all the walking and sightseeing.
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