Hi everyone, hope this finds you all well and keeping warm if in the UK, Europe or North America! I'm fine, swetting my bum off in hot and humid Senegal! I'm now in Ziguinchor, the southernmost biggish, city. Hoping to get my visa tomorrow for Guinea-Bissau! It's time to visit some islands and get away from the chaos for a bit! 
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I crossed the Mauritania-Senegal River border about a week ago, with lots of help! Travelling from Nouakchott, Mauritania's coastal capital, onto Rosso, finding someone to help me to the Mauritania immigration post to get the exit stamp, then help me into a small, wooden, motorised canoe for the 5 minute trip across the River, took ages. Once on the other bank, it was a case of entering a large building, negotiating several barriers, having my photo taken at some official counter, my thumb prints taken, and finding a taxi to take me the short distance to the shared taxi stand for a 2-3 hour journey to St. Louis. I had help from a lovely English-speaking Mauritanian, who one of my friends aranged for me. The entire journey took roughly 12 hours. I stayed with a lovely Senegalese Couchsurfing family for 3 nights in a nice room with a comfy bed. Unfortunately, no WiFi, but I coped. My host, Elhadji and his lovely wife, Fatu looked after me best they could and I was fed each morning with a baggette filled with tasty food . Also a large hot cup of sweet coffee! . I eventually found Wifi in a place called Flamingos, a cool bar with a large tv to watch football. On my third day, Elhadji gave me a wonderful guided tour around the Isle of St. Louis and also part of Sor, the mainland. We walked over the famous Pont Faidherbe Bridge, which was rebuilt in 2011, and probably rebuilt again since. We even stepped inside the Cathedral, opened in 1828. A service was in session with women and children singing and playing instraments- delightful. The following day, I took a very early, crouded bus to Dakar, Senegals large and sprawling capital – full of traffic and people. I stayed with, yet, another nice family, who have 5 little children, what fun! Again, no WiFi access and, this time, almost no English! I was in a kind of suburb, far from the centre and far from any internet . I shared the bed with my host, Djibril, went to the toilet in a hole in the ground and took bucket showers – it was fun .
I met friends I made in Mauritania for dinner one night in a Lebanese restaurant. Fortunately, one of them had my phone number, so we were able to communicate. I went on an interesting city tour on my second afternoon with a really nice guy named Ousmanne. His website: www.senegalpremeumtour.com If anyone visits Dakar, check him out. We visited this enormous monument to Africans and I climbed 198 steps for good views and to feel and walk around the huge lump of concrete the 3 large copper statues stand atop. I could feel some of the letters and numbers on the commemoration plaque. Then we visited a couple of impressive mosques, including the Mosque of Divinity. I met the son of the man who had built the mosque, it was finished in 1997, I think. We also took photos outside the large cathedral and visited two markets, including Kermel. There was trafic everywhere and the journey was slow. I paid too much, but it was a good experience and Ousmmane's English was excellent. Ok, getting hungry, time to run. I'm staying at a nice place called Camping Casamance, it costs about UK £23 a night with breakfast. Warmest wishes to everyone. Cheers, Tony .
