Day Three: Les Chants du Sénégal

Our third full day in Senegal truly encapsulated the essence of African culture and the beauty it offers us. Loaded up on energy with the delicious breakfast the Le Kenkeni personnel prepared for us, we began the day by visiting the fishermen harbor in Mbour. As we walked on the sand covered with a surprising amount of accumulated trash, we couldn't help but notice the noise coming from inside the fish market where all of the negotiations and bargaining were being made. However, the best moment was when we walked to the shore, as we saw a huge quantity of colorful and vibrant pirogues on the sea. We then passed through the markets to get to the largest Catholic church in the region where mass was just beginning.

As Senegal is mostly a Muslim country, this visit was very interesting as it was quite unexpected for most of us. Personally, the ceremony was quite familiar to me; all of the ones that attended the mass were dressed in their best clothes -- and in Senegal, the men and women tend to be fully dressed in colorful and traditional boubous. As the priest walked in and proceeded with the service, the choir started singing a very beautiful song, which to me sounded quite similar to salsa.

As it was a very hot day, we cooled off at the beach and the pool and we were all set to a surprise when we walked back to Le Kenkeni. When we saw three different rugs and multiple spoons on the floor, we knew this lunch would be different. The personnel prepared a typical Senegalese dish called "thieboudienne", which personally was my favorite on this trip. It was a dish (that I think is very similar to the Spanish paella) that consisted of delicious rice and seafood, and was served in a huge silver plate which we all shared. The African music also set the mood and made us enjoy our meal even more.

However, I think the best activity so far was the visit to the Bandia Reserve in Warang. The safari was absolutely fascinating and breathtaking. We saw and were able to take amazing pictures of zebras, antelopes, giraffes, rhinos, monkeys and much more. This day was truly the best in my opinion, and we had endless things to talk about over dinner!

Ruby