So after the Great Bike Adventure! we decided to take it a bit easy and headed (on a two day sept place journey - because that is obviously the start to taking it easy) to the beach at Cap Skirring. Apparently the cows needed just as much R&R as we did. We sun bathed (with care considering most of us were taking doxycycline for malaria which makes your skin highly sensitive to sun), we went for long walks on the beach, and we stuffed our mouths and bellies with amazing Senegalese seafood.
After a few days, Leah and I left the crew to head back to Dakar, via ferry of course. The monster cruise liner was to be our 16 hour hostel as we rode from Zigounchour to the city. Despite the fact that the distance is only a couple hundred Kilometers, it still takes nearly a full day at sea to get there. While the ship was so much nicer than I would've imagined (posh restaurant, comfy seats and all), the ride was anything but fancy. Apparently it is not so advisable to take a small ferry for an extended period of time during rainy season. The water was so choppy it was like being on a roller coaster for hours on end. Nearly all of the passengers succumbed to sea sickness, and all of the cabins became infirmaries.
But finally our boat docked in Dakar and we stepped back on solid land looking as though we'd spent months at sea. It took a full day for the ground to stop feeling like it was moving!
My time in Dakar was quick, filled with family souvenir shopping and N'Ice Cream :) It was much too soon when Leah dropped me off at the airport and we said goodbye, but overall my experience in Senegal was one of the most eye-opening and life changing experiences. Certainly one of the best and most memorable too. I can't imagine what an impact it must have on Leah after living there for 2 years, because a month was certainly profound for me.