Goree Island, Part 3

This is the final entry about Goree. Writing these is taking about as long as my trip there!
Here are a few photos from the top of the island--a pleasant walk past merchant stalls. On my way back I passed this woman who was trying to sell me some beaded necklaces which I was not interested in. They were cheap enough but I didn't want any. This woman was one of the poorer merchants as she did not have a shop, just carried her wares in her hand. I asked her if I could take a photo of her with her daughter--and gave her an amount to what she was asking for her necklace, about $2.00.

Sand paintings are sold in Dakar, but here we visited a shop and had a demonstration. All the sands are natural colors from the area or neighboring countries. On the table in front of the artist, you can see rings of the different colors. First he covered the board with a glue made from the Baobab tree--and then puts on the different sands to create a picture. I bought one of the pictures--you can see it behind the artist. It is of a woman carrying a bundle on her head and a baby on her back.




















We passed an elementary school walking back to the harbor. Last year one of the 5th grade classes spent the weekend on Goree and the children slept in the courtyard of the school. Some of the parents were reluctant to have their children stay there--they wanted them to stay in a hotel, but it worked out in the end and they had a great time. The courtyard is sort of bare, because schools have not yet opened, desks are all pushed to one side. They open in a week or two--after Ramadan and the worst of the rainy season.

The last picture walking over to the dock to get the ferry back to Dakar. There is a beach just to the left of the dock--filled with kids swimming and playing in the water.