Swimming Adventures!

So this weekend was quite packed, surprisingly.

Saturday, originally I was planning the day with Awa Fall, one of my program directors while I was in Senegal with the University of Minnesota. She had a son the fall after I left – so he’s now 2! I am so excited to meet him since she’s a super close friend from my previous time here. She always called me her younger sister since I share a last name with her (my host family in Dakar is Famille Fall). Not only does she want me to meet the apple of her eye, but more importantly, she wants to teach me how to make Senegalese food. She doesn’t know how any younger sister of hers has not mastered the art of ceeb bu jën (fish and rice) or yassa ginaar (chicken with onions). In my defense, I did make a point of learning the dishes that I absolutely was obsessed with – mainly the fruit juices, yum!

Then, I was recruited by Matt, a Tostan-er and housemate, to help him babysit one of our colleague’s kids on Saturday. If there’s anything I can do, it’s keep kids busy on a Saturday! She treated us all to a wonderful day at Terrou-bi, a fancy hotel along the coast that has a fabulous swimming pool and a private sheltered beach – perfect for two boisterous, but very different young boys.

Terrou-bi's private beach.

Free "clown" show - but this one didn't have all that creepy make-up!

"Simba", the lion puppet, had some mad dance skillz!

Testing out my underwater camera - clearly I'm not as photogenic underwater as out of water...

It was a super fun day, with two super fun kids – not to mention that I had Matt as a partner in crime! It also proved the perfect occasion to test out my camera’s waterproof claims. After years of my parents drilling it in to me that anything that blinks, beeps, churns, or hums doesn’t belong anywhere near water (Hair dryer? Not near the bathtub! Toaster? Not in the sink! Watch? Not in the shower!), it was certainly odd being able to take a camera into the swimming pool.

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Then, on Sunday, was a very different idea of fun in the water. Kelsey, Matt (the same one from babysitting), and Els all signed up to do the 25^th annual Dakar-Gorée swim. 4.5 kilometers from Dakar to Gorée Island, but it could be worse since there’s a 7.8 km long course too! The short course (4.5 km) went from Voile d'Or (point A) to the island (point B).

Gorée Island is UNESCO World Heritage Site for its role in the slave trade. I couldn’t find anything about the history of the race, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it started as a way to commerate those who tried to escape the island (a loading area for slaves to ships headed for Europe, North America and South America) by swimming…

First view of the island.

The boat ride over.

They’ve been training for a little over a month, and all three were a little jittery beforehand. Ashley (another Tostan-er) and I headed on over to Gorée the easy way by boat to cheer them on!

Some of what also travels these waters.

The crowds gathering to welcome back the swimmers.

Tostan-ers and friends after the swim!

Terrou-bi, with its clean towels, engaging clowns, poolside menu and chlorinated water is much more my style compared to sloughing for 3 hours through garbage and jelly fish; but next year, if I happen to be in Senegal and have had 6 months to train, I’d definitely sign up for the challenge!