On virtually every street corner you can find an assortment of cheaply made goods aimed at tourists - fridge magnets, shell keychains, bracelets and items that the vendors "made themselves" that are exactly like the ones at the next corner or market stall. I don't begrudge these folks trying to make a living, but I wanted to bring home something from artists and makers that I connected with, or from shops where the stories behind the products are compelling.
My daughter introduced me to Minibap where rugs, toys and more are made by local women and sold at a fair price to support the makers. The woven cloth bag and basket that I purchased had tags with the names of the women who created them, alongside a note about the fabric used. She also took me to Green Wave, a woman-owned and woman-designed jewellery shop in the Almadies (conveniently located beside a Minibap) where I browsed a variety of hand-crafted silver jewellery.
Last week, we visited the home-based shop of
Faza African Fashion. Faza is a brilliant woman who designs and sews the clothing in her shop, even dying some of the fabrics herself. I spent a lot of time, and honestly, too much money here - not because the clothing was expensive because they cost about the same as factory-made goods in a typical Canadian store, but because I found too many things that I loved. I am going home with some truly unique pieces.
Along with those tangible reminders of my trip, I continue to indulge in experiences that give a real flavour of Senegal. Most recently, I booked an afternoon with
Relish Africa. The website promised an on-water experience with fishermen to explore their traditional methods followed by a meal prepared at a local restaurant. The experience wasn't exactly as expected, but was a lovely way to spend a sunny day by the water.
I had thought we'd be going out in a more traditional pirogue - the hand-painted wooden boats we'd seen in Saint Louis - and seeing how the job is done. Instead we climbed onto a typical powerboat where the fisherman and his son used rod and reel to catch tuna. They also take people out to catch marlin in season and regaled us with tales of 800 pounders.
They had no luck with their lines, but we enjoyed two hours being tossed on the 2.5 metre swells, travelling from Ngor, around Point Almadies and back again, watching pirogues head out on their overnight trips to deeper seas.
Heading back to the beach, we watched the few brave souls surfing and marvelled over the changing colour of the water as it returned from the nearly black of the deeps to bright turquoise closer to shore.
Back on the sand, our guide had prepared a meal for us to share - Senegalese style from a single plate. They were meant to prepare the fish we caught alongside piles of vegetables and rice, but we had to make due with the product of someone else's hard work. Rather than entering the restaurant as was mentioned on the company's website, we settled down at a rustic table and bench on the sand and watched children play football along the water's edge - a much better end to the day.
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