January Pictures 2020 (Part 2)

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Here are some pictures from the second half of my dad and Kristi's visit to Senegal! These pictures are from Kedougou (after our village visit), Toubacouta, Saly, and Thies.


My guests eating their first bean sandwich after returning to Kedougou (they were not allowed to eat these before visiting the village in case they got sick)

Patrons eating their ice cream bars while walking the streets of downtown Kedougou

Me with my host sister's family in Kedougou

Kristi with my host sister's baby boy (I went to his baptism in September)

My dad with the baby 

My host sister walking us out to the road to find a cab

Kristi with her flag at the Kedougou transit house

Having a drink at the hotel during our last night in Kedougou

The view from our beautiful hotel in Toubacouta

The mangroves in Toubacouta

Watching a monkey at our hotel in Toubacouta

Mangroves at dusk

Birds settling into their nests at sunset

Oysters growing on mangrove roots

Eating a freshly roasted oyster during our boat ride in Toubacouta

The ground of the island we are standing on is made up of shells from hundreds (or thousands) of years' worth of shellfish eaten by an old set of people that used to live here. Hard to believe, but we saw a cross-section of the soil near the coast that revealed that the shells do indeed reach a depth of 4-5 meters

Climbing on mangrove roots

Boat ride

Mangroves at sunset

Baobob trees at sunset

Another view from our hotel

Our hotel in Toubacouta

Packing lightly

A restaurant in Saly named after my uncle

My dad and I visited a weird "exotic bird sanctuary" in Saly that had many other foreign animals in addition to birds. There must have been 20 different species of cockatoos in this place (all with differently colored crests). This small antelope-type animal was roaming free and was named Bambi. The most out-of-place animal we saw here was a llama. Overall a strange place to visit

A bird on the railing at the cafe in the bird sanctuary

The cafe in the bird sanctuary

Flagging down a cab in the heat

Our visit to the Popenguine natural reserve was well worth the trip

Our tour guide in the Popenguine reserve who spoke Mandinka, a language similar to Diakhanke

My dad with our guide

A view out over the natural reserve

The natural reserve

Our guide told us that porcupines make their homes around this area of the reserve. It could have been a translation error on my part, but he seemed pretty enthusiastic when I finally understood that he was saying "porcupine" in French 

The Pacific coastline

Birdwatching at the Somone natural reserve (another day trip from Saly). I promise this photo is not staged

The Somone natural reserve

Cinder block construction in Thies

Lunch with some of my friends in Thies

At the Peace Corps training center in Thies

Thies Training Center

My friend Mary (who lives near Thies) and I standing at our respective sites on the Senegal map painted on the basketball court at the TTC

Fellow volunteers

My language teacher and I at the TTC

A coffee stand in Thies. These stands are all over the country's major cities and along major highways

My dad's last meal in Senegal: an awesome chicken kebab wrap at the EDK gas station

All the stuff my dad brought back to the states from Senegal. No wonder he had so many bags

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