I returned to Senegal 26th of February with our first student for the training center. On my previous trips to the Airport I was with friends who had been in Senegal many times. This year I was making the decisions. Things went smoothly from the airport to Oussouye.
We traveled by car because the new boat is not running yet. I found out after we arrived in Oussouye that there had been rebel attacks on the Gambian - Bignona road on Tuesday. We heard that we might have trouble getting a car because of a large gathering in Touba for the Muslims. We were able to get a good car for the normal price and had no problems on the road.
When we arrived at the port to cross the Gambian river everyone from our car descended and took the barge across the river. The driver said, look for the car on the other side. We traveled across the river and wandered a bit on the other side. After about a half an hour I started to look for the car and the other people we had been traveling with. To my dismay I could not find our fellow travelers or the car. We walked up and down the strip twice. Finally in a panic I walked just a bit farther down the shopping strip and found a man we had been traveling with, noticeable different from the others because he wore a face mask. I called him "the masked man." We sat down with him and waited two hours for hour car to cross the Gambian River.
We arrived in Ziguinchor exactly eight hours after we left Dakar. If the Gambian River had a bridge the trip would be six hours, not eight. If the road was fixed, the journey from Dakar to Ziguinchor might actually only take 4 hours.
The house in Oussouye was so clean upon our arrival. Our friend Victorine had taken over as guardian because the boys had traveled for a week or so. The only things in disarray are the grounds, full of weeds and overgrowth, and the kitchen and bathroom sinks. I was thankful and truly amazed.
Time has passed now and we are slowly settling into village life.
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