Sine Saloum

For two nights during our weekend trip to the Senegal River delta, S. and I stayed on a small island in an ecolodge called Keur Bamboung, which is run collectively by the residents of 14 nearby villages. It was a beautiful place, composed of several grass-and-brick huts nestled in the midst of one tiny village (pictured in third photo from the top; the second photo from the top is of "our" hut), which is a 30-minute walk, 20-minute pirogue ride, and 40-minute horse-cart ride from Toubakouta (which is already fairly remote). We pulled in to the village around midnight, exhausted but elated to have arrived after utilizing all of Senegal's major modes of travel in one long voyage. It was completely dark outside, with only a few solar-powered lights within the lodge coming into view as we came in (there's no electricity on the delta islands). After scarfing down dinner, we collapsed into our mosquito-netted beds in our incredibly charming personal hut - which had a water-tank and its own solar-powered light in addition to furniture made entirely of dried grass - only to wake the next morning at sunrise to the raucous sound of zillions of different types of birds.

Keur Bamboung was, in fact, idyllic. In the morning we took a bare-foot hike through the mangrove swamps, guided by one of the villagers, Mamfana (pictured at bottom), who showed us the three different local species of mangrove and how oysters and muscles cling to their exposed roots. Before lunching on fresh local fish, we swam lazily and dozed on the tiny sandy beach right in front of our hut - and then in the afternoon, at high tide when the water had submerged all the areas where we had previously been able to wade, we took a canoe ride around the mangrove swamps, sighting a large pelican and several dug-out holes inhabited by hyenas. (Luckily no actual hyenas were spotted.) The proceeds from the lodge go towards training and paying former fishermen in the 14 associated villages to act as anti-poaching guards, thereby creating a large-ish sized region where fishing is prohibited. This has, according to the villagers, allowed fish stocks all around to rebound, since the mangroves are where many species go to spawn. There are beautiful hand-crafted signs all over the village and surrounding areas documenting resurgent marine species, including a very reclusive type of manatee that has only been spotted once or twice. Meanwhile the thick mixture of mangroves, baobabs, and palm trees rustle constantly with life, though only a few birds allowed themselves to be seen. Luckily this mix included several giant herons and a flock of slim green parrots as well as birds of bright orange and electric blue.

Can't wait to go back.