Driving into Dakar, the end of the desert

Dakar was the first real city of the trip since Morocco – after a week of
desert roads and small towns, suddenly traffic, noise, and things to queue
for. We did what a rally does with a city: toured it in the cars, stopping
at the big sights.

The one that stays with us is the African Renaissance Monument, the bronze
colossus on its hill above the city – you can go up inside it, all the way
to the top. We did, and came down holding two opinions at once: inside,
everything felt like it was crumbling, and it did not feel entirely safe –
and it was still a thoroughly good experience, the view from the top and
the museum included. That mix, impressive and neglected in the same
building, turned out to describe a lot of what we saw that day. The view
from up there is the other reason to climb: the whole peninsula, and the
Mosquée de la Divinité standing white and two-minareted at the edge of the
water far below. We looked at it from the hill and never went down to it.

Then came Gorée. The island is the sight everyone tells you not to miss in
Dakar, and the only way over is the ferry. We joined the queue for the
boat and stood in it for two hours – and it was still not our turn. There
were simply too many visitors wanting to cross that day. So we made the
call travellers hate making: we abandoned the queue, went back to
exploring the city we were already in, and later drove out to Lac Rose
instead.

So we cannot tell you about Gorée; we can only tell you the queue for it
is real. What we can say is that Dakar gave us a good day anyway – a city
worth a loop of its own, best taken with a plan B in your pocket for the
moment the boat maths stops working.