Description
We drive from The Gambia to Ziguinchor, the largest town in southern Senegal. First, we head to the Guinea-Bissau Consulate. Within a quarter of an hour, we have our visa. It will be the easiest visa to obtain on our trip through West Africa.
The next day, we explore Ziguinchor. Our first stop is the shipyard where wooden fishing boats are built.
Four men struggle to lift a beam into place on the fishing boat they are building. Large nails are hammered in halfway to hold it in position. Without a drawing, a cutting line is marked in chalk on the next beam. The man with the circular saw cuts it.
After the *shipyard*, we drive to the harbour. It’s full of brightly coloured boats, but the busiest part of the day is over. Fishermen are rolling up their enormous nets. Flocks of herons are hoping for a bite to eat.
The market in Ziguinchor, our next stop, is buzzing with activity: an overload for the senses, both in terms of the clothes and the goods on offer.
Finally, in Ziguinchor, we head to the Alliance Française. We’ve come to see the Casa Impluvium.
A Casa Impluvium is unique to Casamance, the part of Senegal south of The Gambia. It is a round house with a sort of courtyard garden. The shape of the roof ensures that rainwater falls into the courtyard garden. Water is collected for domestic use, whilst excess water is drained away through a pipe.
Little remains of the Casa Impluvium following the fire that raged in 2023 during political unrest. A member of staff gives a poignant guided tour of what is left.
In the afternoon, we bump our way to Séléki and Eneampor, two villages in the area, in the hope of seeing a Casa Impluvium after all.
We visited Senegal on our overland trip by car (a Toyota LandCruiser 4WD campervan) from West-Africa; see our channel https://www.youtube.com/user/JanvanBekkum for hundreds of clips. More clips of Senegal can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMYlw_C7EP8KqyTKPnPCZ38MjsZxf_bkB. Enjoy more UNESCO Heritage Sites by playing the clips in this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMYlw_C7EP8IBS8qx_Y9CPHH8DbALfEd4.
Music and/or sound effects:
- 'Hep Cat Jive' from Purple Planet (http://www.purple-planet.com/);
- 'Ambient Piano Music' distributed by Pixabay (https://pixabay.com/);
- 'Artifact' by Kevin MacLeod. Link: www.incompetech.com. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/;
- 'Run Amok' by Kevin MacLeod. Link: www.incompetech.com. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/;
- 'Uncorn classic guitar and shepherd flute' downloaded from Pixabay (https://pixabay.com/);
- 'Symphony of the Streets. Hip-Hop Background Music for video 60 second' created by Maksim Dudchyk and uploadexd from Pixbay (https://pixabay.com/nl/music/orkestraal-symphony-of-the-streets-hip-hop-background-music-for-video-60-second-476679/).;
- 'Calm inspiring technology logo short version' created by Alex Zavesa, distributed by Pixabay (https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/film-special-effects-calm-inspiring-technology-logo-short-version-518993/)."