Senegal part 9

The highlight of Senegal was our trip to l'Ile de Gorée.

A bit of background history first.

We got up bright and early to catch our bus to the ferry.

By now, I was in the midst of full-blown food poisoning. I could barely stand up straight. My colon was contracting violently and I was getting hot flashes and chills.

But I was still going to go.

To pass the time, we were all supposed to sing a song from home. I remember leading a rousing round of "Dragostea din Tei" before passing out against the window. Romania, represent!

When we got to the terminal, I laid crumpled in a ball on the maroon vinyl benches. Suddenly, I realised that I had to go to the bathroom. Bad.

How did I know this was going to be foreshadowing of the rest of the trip?

I ran to the bathroom and tugged on the door. Locked. I pulled and pulled. Wouldn't budge. A custodian sauntered around the corner and watched my show of desperation. I politely asked if he had the key. He slowly nodded his head and even more slowly, unlocked the door. I was so grateful that tears were streaming down my face.

Inside, there were two dirty toilets, a cloud of flies, a soaking wet floor and no toilet paper. I didn't care. I was wearing sandals and had a personal supply of toilet paper.

I staggered out, empty but relieved. I took a quick look in the gift shop and bought a bag to use to carry my book, towel and toilet paper.

Luckily, the boat had just arrived, so we all hopped on and we were off!

I seemed to be the only person who brought sunscreen, and for about 20 minutes, I was Miss Popularity. I hate boats more than almost anything, but luckily I wasn't sick. The trip was short, we were surrounded by glittering water, and we got spectacular views of both Gorée and the Dakar skyline.