Good Day – October 18, 2025
Well, today it’s time to make our way to Dakar. We got all the laundry back in time and were able to leave late morning out of this paradise, making our way to Dakar by mostly using the freeway, which is also a toll road. I think we paid about 1,400 CFA this time around — sometimes you take different routes for part of it.
Finding Our Place to Stay
The biggest challenge came in finding the place to stay. Johan generally finds the places since he can do that while I’m driving, and he had found a two-bedroom apartment with two bathrooms, which seemed like a pretty good deal and was on the north side of Dakar. But finding it turned out to be a bit of a challenge. The main roads weren’t too crowded, so we got pretty close, but finding it with the tools we had just wasn’t working.
At some point, I parked the car and even asked the people across the street if they knew about this place — they did not. After contacting the owner, it turned out we were parked right in front! He asked a lady to stop by and make sure we knew where to go. That’s the downside of having a private place instead of a big or small hotel — it’s not really marked, and even the address wasn’t clear enough for people living across the street.
Settling In
It also happened to be on the fourth floor, which works out just fine except there’s no elevator. So it’s a long haul up, and you start to think about how to bring things up in one or two trips. It worked out, though — a nice unit overall.
I generally consider the city drinking water safe, but Johan not so much. He keeps buying bottled water and sticks with that. The neighborhood is fun — buildings about five or six stories tall, with narrow streets where a fire truck wouldn’t make much headway if needed. But there’s always a lot of activity in the evenings, and plenty of places to eat around.
First Night in Dakar
We ended up in a nice little restaurant run by two ladies who said they were open seven days a week. We tried to stick with local food, and they had really good dishes to choose from. It was an enjoyable start to Dakar.
Looking Ahead
The plan is to stay around until Monday to take care of a few things and see what happens after that. It’s Saturday today, and Dakar already feels full of life and possibilities.
Everyday Life in Dakar
Oh, and by the way — if you ever need a haircut, there’s always one to find, no matter the time of day, especially in a place like Dakar!
See you around.
