Boat trip to Casamance

For spring break, I took the ferry over night from Dakar to Ziguinchor in Casamance. I went with my maid, Martine who is from Casamance. We had berths in an 8 person cabin. We ate dinner and breakfast in the restaurant on the ferry. The boat, named Osama, sailed from Dakar, south along the Atlantic and then went up river to Ziguinchor. Look at a map, Casamance is the area below the Gambia--an English speaking country that is long and thin on either side of the Gambia River. There has been some fighting in Casamance–– as there is a separatist movement among some who want independence from Senegal. Some people asked when I returned if it was dangerous but I did not see or hear any fighting. There are several military check points as we traveled between Ziguinchor and Martine's home town of Bignona. The trip between the two towns took about 1 1/2 hour by taxi.