President's Day trip to the island of Goree

Since we had today off, we asked our social sponsors (Brian and Jenny) if they wanted to join us on a trip to Goree, since they hadn't been there (Brian is below). Eli came along too - since she might have been bored at home otherwise! Here we are on the ferry still in port - it was a beautiful day - blue sky, good breeze, low 70s - but then a lot of days are like that this time of year. The ferry to Goree leaves most hours on the hour from the port.

 JB rocking the sun hat - and still not sure what he thinks of it. Also, this is the mood that results when little boys don't want to take their naps. But isn't the double chin adorable?

Goree is a very small island - about half a mile long, and a short ferry ride from Dakar. When I was here in 7th grade, we used to come here sometimes on Sunday afternoon. Then it was fairly calm, sparsely populated, a little desolate - and the fort at the higher end of the island was an excellent place to play hide and seek. Now it's kind of a tourist trap - the walk to the fort at the top lined with paintings for sale and other stuff for tourists to buy and dozens of men wanting to be your guide. Goree has made a name for itself as the last stop for hundreds of thousands in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and the Maison des Esclaves (Slave House), where slaves were supposedly held, has become a major tourist attraction (both Bush and Clinton visited and had their pictures taken there), with guides eager to regale you with details for a buck. In fact, the building wasn't built until after the trans-Atlantic slave trade was close to over, and historians agree that the number may have been closer to 200-300 per year in peak years. However, it has become somewhat of a memorial (helpful sites: http://www.moxon.net/senegal/ile_de_goree.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Slaves_(Gor%C3%A9e) ). There are huge cannons on the remains of  fort at the highest point on the island. Though all the local guides will tell you it was where The Guns of Navarone was filmed, the movie was actually filmed in Rhodes. The only substantiated fact I could find was that the cannons had been used during WWII and sunk a British boat.
However, Goree does have a fascinating history, has changed hands multiple times, and has a certain run down beauty - and has French colonial architecture reminiscent of New Orleans. I love it for a day trip, even a half day trip - a nice ferry ride, a good lunch, wandering around the island, and if it's warm, a swim.

 JB and I near the top of the hill, looking down toward the harbor - it was super windy!

 Ed managed to climb up on one of the cannons. It could supposedly shoot 14 km (~ 8 miles)!

 We had lunch in a restaurant toward the top of the hill, with an amazing view. But I always take pictures of my food. Here's lookin' at you, fishy! (They do grilled fish really well here.)

 From the ferry, across the harbor - I always think this row of houses is incredibly picturesque. There is a nice restaurant in the yellow one at the left. We got a text from the RSO (Regional Security Office) that there was a demonstration planned downtown at 3pm, so cut our excursion short and took the 2pm ferry back - and made it safely back home before 3. :)

A good end to a fun day - a bath and getting wrapped in my lion towel. I am JB, hear me roar!