Dakar - Day 1

So, today I went on a little walking tour of Central Dakar. Today was the first day in Dakar. Well, I was here yesterday, but I slept most of the day, and decided to have a lazy day.

The sun was setting as we got closer to Dakar, so I snapped this pictures with the baobabs in the background.

The two hills are called the Mamelles. THe one of the right has a lighthouse, the one on the left, a giant and somewhat controversial statue that is supposed to represent African rennaissance, but it's been said to have Communist undertones, and is slightly sexist. These are not my words, this is just what I've read.

The second art gallery I went to. It was tucked back in a neighborhood. A guy started following me and pestering me, but then one of the guys that works here helped me fend him off. That was nice.

Of course I'm going to take a picture of the giant turtle wall hanging.

In the sand, the phrase: "Dakar Paris, 4 generations between the two." Or something like that. I think the entire exhibit was dedicated to the life spent between Dakar and Paris of a family.

This was in the third gallery I went to. I was absolutely blown away by this place, it was very impressive. It's completely dedicated to African art, and has pieces from all around the region.

The outside of the gallery. Even that was impressive!

Palais Presidentiel - I walked by and took a couple of photos.

So, I walked to a church, but it was closed. Then I decided to continue my walking tour and look for this museum. I wandered around in this neighborhood until I gave up. I think the map in lonely planet was wrong. After that, I decided that I would try to go to Ile de Goree, but when I hopped in the taxi and got there, I realized I needed to stop at an ATM, but had fogotten. I only had enough for the taxi home, so I just decided to go home. I'll try to go there later this weekend.

So, that was my walking tour. Tomorrow, I'm going to try and figure out how to get to the Village de Tortues!