St. Louis

The day after Christmas, the 26th, I got to go into St. Louis. Since our campsite is pretty far out of town, we took a taxi to get there but it was worth it.

Senegal was colonized by the French and parts of St. Louis has a distinct French Riviera feel to it. Much of the city is on an island and you have to cross a bridge to get there.




Houses along the water.



The bridge connecting the island to the mainland (mainland on the left and the island is on the right.)




Me on the bridge.


After looking around the city, meeting up with the flashpackers (our name for those who stayed in town) and going through the market, we went out for drinks then started walking and searching for a place to eat dinner.

We came to a little restaurant and stopped. The place itself wasn't so impressive. It didn't look like much nor was the menu spectacular. But what we heard was some amazing live music.

Inside were 5-7 men. One was singing and he had a unique, solid, raspy voice. Another was playing the marimba and others were playing drums, some sort of stringed instruments, and other instruments I don't have a name for.

They were incredible! I took video but I'll have to upload it at a later time- the wifi connections here are pretty slow. But here are a few pictures:




The blurry guy is the singer (who is blurry because he was dancing). To his right is the marimba player. Others are playing drums and various instruments.



Toni and Judith dancing with Michael enjoying the music.




This was the first time we heard authentic African live music. And the day was very appropriate- my dad's birthday was on the 26th and he always wants to listen to live music on his birthday. Happy Birthday Dad!

I bought one of their CDs and learnt their name is Africa Tempo. The drummer and singer both autographed it for me- and the singer gave me his number. It felt a little tame after the five odd marriage proposals I got walking in the markets in Mauritania ;).



- Sent from Africa using my iPad