Bonjour Dakar!

I am spending my last week in Africa with a friend in Dakar, Senegal.  Dakar is the capital of Senegal and is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast of Africa and has the distinction of being the westernmost city on the African mainland.  Because of its location, Dakar has developed into one of the most important ports in Africa for trans-Atlantic and European trade.  The population is estimated at about 2.45 million people.  Dakar was a French colony so the people speak French as well as local languages, which is making traveling around the city interesting as I try to pull the little French I can remember out of my brain.

The modern feel of the city has surprised both Julia and I.  Dakar is actually a very wealthy city with over 1/3 of the population making more than the average American per year.  This can be seen in cars they drive, the fancy restaurants around the city, and the products that are being sold in the mall and grocery stores.    

Yesterday we arrived at 2am so we slept for part of the day and then went and bought groceries and had a mini tour of the city by a missionary that lives here.  I think I am defiantly experiencing some reverse culture shock, the entire day was very overwhelming.  The city is amazing and although there are still some parts that are clearly Africa, it feels like a western city.  There are actually lanes on the streets and people follow rules driving.  I was absolutely amazed at the things that could be found here in Dakar.  We went to an American import grocery store were both Julia and I were shocked about what you could find.  There was a whole isle of American candy and snack food, not to mention syrup, pancake mixes, Manwich, Olive Garden pasta sauce, American brand juice, etc!  It seemed like the entire day all I kept saying was “Julia!  Look at this; I can’t believe they have this here!”  We ate lunch in a mall food court which looked like any food court in America; I was amazed I was still in Africa.  So much more development, advancement, and wealth than you see in Ghana (even in the capital of Ghana). 

Today we visited the Le Monument de la Renaissance Africaine.  It is a large monument which stands 49 meters high (3 meters taller than the Statue of Liberty) and sits on top of a 100 meter hill so it is easily visible no matter where you are in the city.  It was finished in 2010 at the expense of 27 million US dollars.  There is much criticism of the monument especially surrounding the cost in a country and region of the world that is so economically depressed.  In addition, many objected to the fact that although it is suppose to show African pride and represent the new Africa after independence that it was designed by a Romanian architect and built in North Korea, a communist country with no freedom.  The local imams (Muslim leaders) objected to the statue since it depicted a half naked male and female figure.  Overall the statue is pretty impressive, although not that pretty.  We climbed 189 steps to reach the top of the hill and from there had a nice view of the city.  We then when up a tiny elevator and looked out over the city from the head of the man. 

Julia and I then visited the most western point of Africa and had crepes in a little restaurant where we surprisingly enjoyed free WiFi and a semi-ocean view.   I think that we will plan to visit this site again for dinner some night and watch the sun set over the Atlantic!

On the western most tip of Africa with the Atlantic ocean in the background!