Au revoir, Sénégal, au revoir...

It is with sadness that I note my time in Senegal has come to end and this will by last post on the beautiful country. In honor of the wonderful experience I've had living in Senegal, this post is a collection of my favorite photos from my time wandering Dakar and beyond.

Please stay tuned because this does not mark the end of my African adventure or the blog as I am relocating to a new country in southern Africa and will pick up my photographic wanderings right quick!

For my favorite photographs from Zimbabwe: go here!!

For my favorite animal photographs: go here!!

In no particular order, my favorite photographs of Senegal:

The sunset over Lac Rose (Pink Lake) -- An Amazing Sunset

A young Senegalese boy wandering the beach at Lompoul-sur-la-Mer - Lompoul: Unexpected Company

Dusk in beautiful Saint-Louis - Part VIII: Dusk Embraces Saint-Louis

Sunset along Dakar's Corniche after a rain storm - Take My Breath Away

The light house in Gandiol - Part IV: Gandiol's Light House

The sun streaming through the clouds after the first rains of the season in Palmarin - Light Through the Storm

A Senegalese boy with Mali style baskets in Fadiouth - Fadiouth, Senegal

A dune in Lompoul - Lompoul: The Campsite & Dunes

Hello, donkey! Hello, pelicans! Hello, white flamingo?!

 Hello, donkey, the rains must feel like a wonderful break from the heat

Palmarin, Senegal

 The leader of a herd

A flamingo coming to say hi

[I (re)learned that eating shrimp makes flamingos pink]

 Hello, pelicans!

 les oiseaux

And here is what a white flamingo looks like.  

Strange how it makes you want to feed it shrimp, lots of shrimp,

to make it a dazzling pink

Light through the Storm

after the first storm of the rainy season, the sun reminded us she was there

Palmarin, Senegal

 the calm before the storm in Palmarin

Palmarin's lagoon

 the mighty Baobab tree

calm after the storm

the light on our Baobab treehouse

A Lagoon House Option!

 If you decided a Baobab tree house isn't for you, you can stay in a house on the lagoon

Les Lodges des Collines de Niassam - Palmarin, Senegal

 the lagoon houses

you can kayak right from your lagoon dock

 

graineries in Palmarin

A Dirt Road, a Cattle Herder, and a Fire Tree

the most beautiful dirt road I've ever seen  (I've learned to appreciate a good road, 

especially in West Africa where the dirt roads are better than the paved roads)

between Joal and Palmarin, Senegal

a lonely cattle herder near Palmarin

 who decided to say hi

 leaving the last village before Palmarin

the most adorable little yellow birds would quickly land on this thorned tree

this tree is known locally as the fire tree for its wild burst of red

A Lagoon in Palmarin

A lagoon house at Les Lodges des Collines de Niassam

Palmarin, Senegal

 graineries on the lagoon in Palmarin with the remnants of the rainy season's first storm

a tiny island with two houses on the lagoon in Palmarin

 Palmarin

The most adorable, little yellow birds lived in these awesome nests

Palmarin

A Baobab Treehouse Escape!

 Got to stay in this fantastic treehouse built into a Baobab tree!

Palmarin, Senegal

the deck of the treehouse

Such a fun creative idea

 don't trip..

 the view from inside the mosquito nets in the treehouse

 the lounge area at Les Lodges des Collines de Niassam

You can stay in a Baobab treehouse, a hut in the lagoon, or a clay house

More on Les Lodges des Collines de Niassam

Hello, Rainy Season--it's been so long!

While stopping to shoot this awesome skyline between Joal and Sambadia, Senegal

we barely made it to cover from this sudden sandstorm

that felt straight out of The Grapes of Wrath:

which was followed by the most glorious storm of cool rain

that left one soaked but somehow smiling:

 

In Senegal, someone is considered blessed if the first rains of the season fall upon them!

It had been nine months since 

I had felt the wonderfulness of rain in Senegal