Category: Senegal 2024-25
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Lost Homes
By Alex Bierman During our time in southeastern Senegal, we went to the largest park in West Africa. It is a very wild place, where seeing an animal feels like a surprise because you don’t know what you will see. It is an unexpected place. The roads are bumpy. The ground is soft and dusty. …
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Real Joy
By Blake Berry Most people would argue that life should be about constantly striving to find the feeling of constant happiness and joy. But what does joy actually look like? During my time visiting Bandia’s house, staying in Niognani, and, most of all, playing soccer under a tree in the center of the village with…
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Hospitality in an Inhospitable Place
By Chase Carneal For about the first 15 years of my life, which is the majority because I am turning 16 at the end of this month, I would have never wanted to go to Africa. I am at home pretty much anywhere on saltwater, but the dry desert seemed inhospitable and generally unpleasant. That…
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Eldest Siblings Everywhere
By Stella Mayhew When we all arrived at the village right before the sun set I pictured that the children of the village would first be distant and the adults would be timid but it was the complete opposite. 35 kids were waiting for us at the entrance of the village. Kecouta, his wives, and…
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Return to the Place of No Return
By Mr. Nick Smith I think about Gerard Chenet. You never heard of Gerard Chenet, if you are not a connoisseur of Haitian art. At least, I doubt if you have heard of him, but you should have heard of him. Here is a link to his obituary, if you have a translator, or you…
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Feeling Similar
By Ozzy Brown Playing with the children in the village of Niognani was an important step in my understanding of Senegal. In the late morning with the harsh but beautiful Senegal sun beating down on our group we set out to play with the children of the village. We were the main event in the…
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Africa
By Anthony Dentener We embarked on our journey to the west of Africa. A partially familiar side of the world for some (mostly me) – while the polar opposite for others. Once we arrived in Dakar, we were greeted by the vibrant African summer sun. We were in search for adventures accompanied by experiences the…
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Girl of the World
By Simone Moss The group was sitting in our meeting spot on our second to last day at Hakuna Lodge and getting ready for one of our many daily discussions. Mr. Alter’s 4 year old niece, Sulo, was running around the circle and giving everyone a new name for fun. After giving Will the title…
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The interconnected road
By Lillian Williams While traveling in Senegal on the long rides with my peers around me, I couldn’t help but notice the lack of intersections throughout our journey. This might sound like a boring journey, with no turns, but the surroundings of these extraordinary roads communicate something that before coming here, I could not fathom:…
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I loved the dust
By Maya Secaira I loved the dust. As we rode in a two van convoy through Niokolo Koba National Park, I breathed it in. It covered my face. It got on EVERYTHING. During the safari everyone on top of the second van got all the dust kicked back from the first van all over them.…
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Responsibilities are Key
By CJ DuNomes It was day 3 of our Senegal trip and I was the leader of the day with Ryan. Most of the day was spent traveling from the Hakuna Lodge on the Mangrove delta, driving 8 ish hours to get to the traditional village of Niognane. As soon as we arrived we were…
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On the Coast!
Today we drove all the way from Kecouta’s village to Toubab Dialao. It was an exhausting journey and we are all off to bed now. BUT look out for blog posts tomorrow! Lots of stories and thoughts and ideas to share!
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Excited leaders introduce the day
Our leaders of the day are ready! Adventurers!
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Heading into Niokolo Koba!
We have been loving our time in Niognani and in Senegal in general. There are more wonderful blog posts to come! And I promise more pictures as well… Today, though, we head into the national park for an overnight safari. We won’t have much service but I promise an update once we return tomorrow morning.
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Loving traits and open arms
By Ryan Larsen I was one of the leaders of the day on March 3, and despite the itinerary claiming it was the longest travel day of the whole trip, it felt just as eventful as any other day. We started the day early, at around 5:30 to finish packing and load our bags into…