Meet Me in Saint Louis

The guide book says that Saint Louis, in northern Senegal, is like Ile de Gorée, but even more renovated and charming. Yet our first impression of Saint Louis is "What a dump!"

 

 

And no wonder. Not only are the buildings and streets dilapidated...

...but the scourge of the developing world -- plastic -- is out in full force. Truly, nothing will make you regret the invention of plastic more than visiting a poor, polluted nation.

But we soon settle into Saint Louis and see the beauty through the garbage. I find that any time I change abruptly from developed to developing country, it takes a while to feel at ease. In this case, the process was postponed by Ile de Gorée being so charming. But now we're back in the "real" world of Senegal, and I find it's like breaking in a pair of shoes -- a couple days of squirming and then suddenly it feels comfortable. There is beauty in the chaos (but not, I must say, in the plastic piles).

I think the guide books haven't really changed in 100 years, back when Saint Louis, a colonial city, was indeed a sort of clean, tropical paradise. I suspect that even 20 years ago, when my uncle lived in the country, it would have been a far sight cleaner than it is now. A couple decades is a long time for plastics to accumulate.

 

But some things haven't changed: the tropical weather; horse-drawn carts to transport cargo and people;

 

 

women in long skirts made of bright fabrics, walking with baskets on their heads;

 

  

 

sidewalk markets;

 

   

 

handmade (and hand-painted) wooden fishing boats;

 

But some things have changed, and not always for the better. Where there used to be a stretch of pristine sand leading down to the river, there is now an unending stretch of garbage.

When we talk about Saint Louis, we are actually talking about two small islands that lie on the other side of a big bridge from the main part of the city. So we are amused to realize that we have traveled from Ile St. Louis (in Paris) to the ile de St. Louis (in Senegal).

The two small islands are where you find the colonial zone and, therefore, the tourist zone. We come across the Siki hotel, where we are unable to get a room, but we eat dinner there every single night. We recommend the pineapple chicken curry. And getting a room at this hotel, if you can.

These two little islands are in turn separated by a small bridge, yet they seem worlds apart.

The first island is the more tranquil and relatively quaint of the two. It's where the better known hotels are located, lots of restaurants, and craft shops. I strongly suspect the local authorities make sure the streetside sellers and beggars stay on the second island so as not to frighten tourists away from Saint Louis.

 

Also on the second island is the fish market, the local food market, and the dirt-roads filled with goats that we wander down, but not 100% comfortably; we definitely attract a lot of attention. The girls feel a little intimidated by the environment, but everybody is friendly (as long as they don't catch me taking photos).