A warm welcome from Senegal
West coast Senegal offers Shahid Naqvi a great introduction to Africa.
Africa. Cradle of humanity. Home to one seventh of the world’s population and a fifth of its total land area.
Up until now the nearest I’ve got to the great continent has been BBC wildlife documentaries, Bob Geldof and that song by Toto.
All that changed recently, however, following a trip to Senegal.
Of course, one country with a population of 11 million can not be representative of a land mass made up of 61 nations and 922 million people.
But the former French colony is stable, keen to promote itself to Western tourists and therefore a good place to start.
Its west coast location will already be familiar to some Brits who have visited the ex-British colony of The Gambia. Senegal is a bigger country with a different history and its French connection means, if nothing else, you can get a decent cup of coffee.
The journey out from Birmingham requires a short hop to Brussels before boarding a six-hour flight to the capital city of Dakar. But the good news is unlike other popular long haul winter sun destinations, Senegal is on the same time zone as Britain between the tourist season of November to April, meaning no jet lag to contend with.
Stepping off the plane at Dakar airport the first thing to hit home is the heat – 32°C is something of a contrast to the single figure temperature in Britain.
Luckily, though, it was the end of the rainy season, which runs between July and October, meaning it’s a dry heat which you adjust to surprisingly quickly.
The second thing that strikes the senses in the hordes of people walking on the motorway on the drive south to the holiday resorts of Saly about 50 miles out. It felt as if Dakar’s entire population of two million was spreading out from the city the entire length of the journey.
Among the many sights you wouldn’t ever expect to see on the M6 was a goat strapped to the roof of a car.
Arriving at Saly’s “most luxurious hotel”, the Lamantin Beach provides just the kind of escape from the maddening crowds you’d want after more than 12 hours’ travel.
This was the first example of Senegal’s Government-controlled bid to capitalise on the lucrative Western tourism market.
Though the country’s climate, attractive beaches and decent standard hotels have been
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