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Quote from: THE RAPTURE on January 26, 2011, 07:33:25 AMSince when do vacation photos belong in ToT? Mod please.When they expose people to a more worldly view and allow for discussion about worldly topics, and are more important to todays world than Nazi's in space.
Since when do vacation photos belong in ToT? Mod please.
My second day in Senegal...My first day in Senegal I was mostly too excited to sleep. So I was running on no sleep. We hung out with the girl from Chicago and her Senegalese "business partner" Ali most of the day. Just being around them and being out we met a lot of people and had them all over to our hotel and also went out that night. The club we went to was kind of an American style club, and I wasn't really feeling it (because when you travel you want new experiences and it felt to much like back home), but my friend was. Then later on that night, I started to like it there, and he started to say he was feeling sick and wanted to leave. Without going into detail an argument did break out between my friend Idrissa and I, his cousin Dawda, and over a girl at the club. The argument got so serious and spilled into some other issues, like family issues between Dawda and Idrissa and also arguments over money between some of us. The arguments continued all through the next day.My second evening in Senegal we went out with Ebony (the fashion designer from Chicago) out to the main mall/market in Dakkar, where she was meeting with some tailors and picking out some styles for the school uniforms back in Chicago she was contracted to provide. But before meeting up with her Idrissa and I had spent the day over at Goree island. Here are some pics and info about the world famous slave island...Goree Island was one of the first settlements built by the Europeans in West Africa. The Porteguese were the first to make use of the island in the 14th century. Later the Dutch captured it, and gave it its name. But over the last few hundred years it has mainly been a possession of the colonial power of Senegal, the French.Slavery is dramatized in great detail on the island. Although it has been disputed that the tales are greatly exaggerated by the 1,000 or so locals who live on the island and benefit off its tourism. Studies have shown that it was a major settlement and trading post, however human slaves were only a minor commodity on the island compared to the other goods being transported, such as beeswax, hides and grain.However it has been so well-preserved over the years, in comparison to other European settlements in Africa, that it is still considered one of the best locations to visit for people seeking to better understand the history of the slave trade. The slave house located on the island is very well-preserved as you can see in the following picture...First I have to post an old pic from my 2008 pics, because it is the best pic I have showing the overall layout of the slave houses.This is me on the bottom floor of the slave house. The top floor of the main slave house is said to be where the slave masters lived, while the bottom level is said to be where the blacks were divided up by groups. Then in the back is the place they call "point of no return" where they say the slaves were tragically shipped off to America, and "goodbye Africa".Today the island is home to about 1,000 locals, and although people do get emotional seeing some of the historical images on the island, it is also home to beautiful beaches, resteraunts, concerts, and other avenues of entertainment/enjoyment. Here's a pic of the beach-side restaurant.I have about 30 pics of Goree Island alone, but I don't want to spend too much time on it here, as it wasn't a new experience but something I had done and written about on my two previous trips to Africa.
I gotta ask you man. And be honest. Do you ever get people actin funny towards you when youre out there? Because youre...you know...white. And Im not bein a smartass either or anything. Its an honest question. Maybe not even just being white, but a white American. Youre visiting spots that have a long history of really bad shit happening to these peoples ancestors, carried out by yours. Obviously you have nothing to do with it. But sometimes there is still resentment you know?
Very educational.
how much did it cost for your total trip? I've always wanted to go to Africa but never really knew places to go that were safe, after reading your blog I think I might want to visit senegal.
You spend American dollars there?
Quote from: QuietTruth on February 08, 2011, 08:11:22 AMYou spend American dollars there?3,000 US Dollars = 1,500,000 CFA (Damn, I was a Millionaire in Senegal!)