destination: Joal

So I went for a weekend with my Wells buddies to Joal-Fadiouth, which is where the first president of Senegal [Leopold Sedar Senghor] was born and raised. I could talk more about it, but Colleen created a beautiful, intelligent and succinct post all about what we did last Saturday and Sunday.

You can see it here (the only difference between us is that she gave in to the pressure to buy some African carved elephants-- I did not. everyone in the village hated me as I pulled away on the horse cart).

I would like to point out that one of the most excruciating parts of the trip was the sept-places. Not only were our heads much, much closer to the ceiling than we would have liked, but my knees were pressed up against the seat in front of me, and as we hit Monday-morning traffic, my left knee started in with some extremely intense pain. So, that was fun. Transportation in Senegal is such a unique experience, and I'll definitely have to write some blog entries on that.

I leave you with one of my favorite pictures from the Joal trip.We decided to take a horse cart to the "biggest baobab in Senegal" (I think?) and... it was special. I felt like I was going to die at least seven times. Plus, for several days afterward, I sought the softest chair in the room (although that usually entails looking for the wood that seems to be the most pliable). Still, it was a unique experience, and made for some fantastic photos.