This trip is starting to get fuzzy in my mind, so I’ll have to try and remember all the good deets. So, L’Ile de Goré (Island of Goré) is an island (duh) just off the coast of Senegal near Dakar where many of the Europeans first landed before actually getting to Senegal. Since the 1500’s, it has been a favorite tourist/living spot for many of the Europeans who colonized Senegal, including the Dutch, the Portuguese, the British, and last but not least, the French. It also housed La Maison des Esclaves, a holding prison for African slaves before they were shipped to the Americas. And, it is to this happy island that we went.
So, on Saturday, we all, that is me, Sarah, Neal, and David, one of our comrades who’s studying at the Baobab Center and who is in the Navy, took a taxi to Le Port de Dakar to hop on a ship to Goré. And anyone who knows me and ships, knows that we do not go well together. We are like bacon and cupcakes… it makes you puke. Surprisingly, the ship from Dakar to Goré was a much more pleasant boat ride than I have ever before experienced. It was starting out to be a good day.
So, after a short boat ride, we arrived at the island. And it was beautiful! The island is covered with green, separated by beautifully-colored houses, in subtle tones of yellow, red, and orange (see pictures below). A wonderful beach that laps warm water onto your toes. A perfect Mediterranean paradise. Until the vendors and locals see you… There are vendors that accost you almost everywhere in Senegal, but the ones on Goré seem to be of a very different breed. Not only are they insistent and pesky, but they also get very upset when you don't purchase their wares--- a very unpleasant experience. But after a few minutes, we managed to fight them off and head to our destinations- La Maison des Esclaves and La Musée des Femmes.
First, La Maison des Esclaves. Seeing this place, where they kept thousands and thousands of Africans before shipping them in terrible conditions to the Americas where they would serve the rest of their lives as slaves, was a very saddening experience. In La Maison, there are separate rooms for women and men, which are then further divided based on height, weight, strength, etc. The smallest rooms, those for the fit men, held 20-30 men, standing, and were impossibly small. It was difficult to imagine how so many people could fit in there, even if they were chained and standing. We were also brought to the door where many Africans took their last steps on their soil and boarded the ships bound for America. They called it the point of no return (picture below).
After, La Maison des Esclaves, we visited La Musée des femmes, which included a collection of objects that traditional women used in their daily lives, along with other traditional clothing and such things. It was a very interesting exhibit, and it allowed me to finally have an image of things that I had read about in African novels, such as calabashes (containers for carrying) and traditional headdresses. Anyway, it turned out to be a very good day, albeit a little overwhelming because of all the pesky vendors. And now, some pics!
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| Erik acting like an old African woman and fanning himself with his oppukaye, which he lost later that day :( |
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| The lovely beach of Goré |
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| The Door of No Return |
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