Thanksgiving/Tabaski Road Trip-Sine Saloum

Grading, check
Grade comments, check
Conferences, check
Planning for trip, check

What does one do when they have a four-day weekend? They drive to a delta known as Sine Saloum. Thursday morning, the Desvaux, the Bryant, and the Olson-Hendel clans drove to the south of Senegal to spend two days at an off the grid eco-tourist lodge. Getting out of town, even at 7 AM, was hell. Folks were traveling to their homes to celebrate Tabaski. Rams, goats, and herders were roadside. It is a tradition to sacrifice a ram and people do find creative ways to get their new animals where they need to go. Rams were on rooftops and in trunks of cars. I even saw four or five; each placed in a grain bag, and tied to the top of a bus. We eventually made it to the port and traveled the last thirty minutes by pirogue. The lodge was great. I had a very relaxing time. I fished from the dock, caught sunfish, and Gabbie went bird watching. It was quiet and the moon was bright. Traveling home was perfect; no one was on the road thanks to Tabaski. Rufisque looked like a ghost town, weird really, but cool too. We all had a very nice time.