Saturday, October 19th - Ile de Goree (Goree Island)

The 14 of us loaded into a couple of taxis (I'll write more on those later!) and headed to the Port Authority to catch the 10AM ferry to Ile de Gorée or Gorée Island.  The island lies off the coast of Senegal, opposite Dakar.  It was a short, 30 minute ride on the water and the morning was already hot and the sun was shining brightly.  As we approached the island, I was struck by all the colorful buildings that looked so warm and welcoming - there were lots of yellow, green and blue buildings - covered by fuchsia bougainvillea.  Breathtaking!  There was a fresh breeze blowing off the ocean and the air felt clean. 

 
But the history of this small island nothing but tragic.  From the 15th to the 19th century, it was the largest slave-trading center on the African coast.  Over 6 million died on this island.  We were greeted by our guide who was proud of the fact he had met several players from the NBA when they did a training camp in Dakar!  We started winding through the narrow paths passing building that were once used as Slave Houses.  Our group toured the inside of one of the houses which was stark and small.  The lower level was for the slaves and the upper level with large balconies only for the Masters to look down.  There is no way I could even imagine the atrocities that occurred on this island.  The whole island is a A UNESCO World Heritage Site (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/26).  All of the Slave Houses lined the water and each had a "door of no return" through which every slave passed onto a waiting ship.  It was from that same door in February, 1992 that Pope John Paul II asked forgiveness for Christians involved in the business of selling human beings.  It was a very moving morning.

Lunch time was spent together at an ocean side restaurant.  There were 2 pelicans at the restaurant clearly comfortable with the tourists!

Goree Island is now a bit of a retreat/resort and is home to a thriving artist community.  There are some incredible paintings depicting typical scenes of Africa...2 of which will be in my baggage coming home!!  (Of course I had to help improve the local economy!)  The female shop owners are quite assertive with their sales tactics and bargaining for good prices are expected. I also bought  2 simple dresses of cool, light cotton which are quite practical in the heat here.  I bartered with the shop keepers and settled on a price of $8 each including a small "gift" of a necklace and bracelet...quite a bargain!

Before spending a little time on the beach, I went to the small Catholic church on the island built in 1830 (by slave labor) and named after St. Charles Borremeo.  About 30 percent of Goree's residents are Catholic which is a much higher percentage than the rest of Senegal which is 95% Muslim.  I have to admit, that I had not yet been in a church since my arrival 9 days ago.  I got tears in my eyes...I felt at home.  

It was a really wonderful day of fresh air, sunshine, reflection, learning, shopping, laughter, and prayer.  What more could you ask for? 

Virtual Visit of Goree Island:  (http://webworld.unesco.org/goree/en/screens/21.shtml)

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