My African Adventure

[KBScobravert]

Technically isnt that rubbing elbows with world leaders? Epic name drop opportunities in your future.

Probably not but for here in Africa and my small circle it was a short lived good story to laugh about. Now if my face is in the back of any of their photos that pop up on the internets then the story gets much better.

Man if you want some serious karma points on reddit get a shot of the beer with them in the background. beerwithaview is great.

Damn firewall won't let me get to reddit.

[blandnuts]

What a lovely ship house story!

[BP]

Yeah, that's pretty badass. This just gives me more of an excuse to take pictures of all the beer I drink in all the random places I go. No bueno lol

Well if you do that make sure you are also on untappd.

[Strychnine]

See the skydiver one? He pretty much won the internet today.

Yeah, that's pretty badass. This just gives me more of an excuse to take pictures of all the beer I drink in all the random places I go. No bueno lol
I don't think my Boulevard Rye on Rye on this patio in downtown Tulsa right now would impress anyone, but oh man... I have some archives

Sorry, Keith! Back to the African shit!

[BP]

Subscribed. How the hell did I not know about that one?

See the skydiver one? He pretty much won the internet today.

[Strychnine]

beerwithaview

Subscribed. How the hell did I not know about that one?

[Strychnine]

I haven't checked in here in a bit. Fuckin' A!

I'm not exactly jealous given all the other shit, but that gun is cool as hell.

[BP]

Man if you want some serious karma points on reddit get a shot of the beer with them in the background. beerwithaview is great.

[Jimbo]

Technically isnt that rubbing elbows with world leaders? Epic name drop opportunities in your future.

[KBScobravert]

So there I was minding my own business when in walks the President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou to meet with the Leader of the National Front Party of Libya, Mohammed Magariaf. I snapped this as they were leaving. They were sitting at the couch and his secret service guys never acted interested in me moving. So there I sat, in the back of all the pictures they took with my bottle of Heineken. lol

[KBScobravert]

Ever seen "The Guns of Navarone?" Of course you have. This island was one of the three scenes for the gun that they used. I found an artist living in it. Not surprising because folks live wherever they want in the ruins and almost all of them are artists. The island is very Rastafarian. Hell they even celebrate Bob Marley's birthday on the island like a national holiday.

The GUN from up top.






Just below the gun is the loading room, now a house of sorts







The shell racks. Unfortunately the sea air kills everything metal here.

[KBScobravert]

Then I hit Goree Island or otherwise referred to as Slaver's Island. For 300 years the House of Slaves on the island was a functioning port on the western most point of Africa for selling slaves. I got a guide that was born and raised on the island. His insight of the history was amazing. The island reminds me a lot of Jamaca and the Caribbean...well, it is because of the millions of Africans that were sold to those islands.

***island pics***




The slave master lived at the top of these stairs.


Then underneath the stairs, he kept the trouble makers.


Slaves were kept 15 to a room for 3 months only let out once a day to use the bathroom, eat and bath in the ocean, in chains the whole time.


The 3 months simulated the journey across the oceans. If they couldn't survive the 3 months in these small rooms, they weren't fit to sell anyways because they feared them to die on the boats. Sadly put, bad for business.

Slaves were required to weigh 120lbs at a minimum. Those that didn't were force fed and kept in even smaller rooms until they met the weight.


If these two houses look like ships, well that is the point. Again, they used the houses shape to simulate how many would fit on the ship and forced some slaves to live in them for 3 months also. We didn't go inside but I think "house" is a bit of a misnomer for how they were housed and treated.




Door of No Return...this was the last portal that slaves would pass through before stepping on to the slaver's ship.


Then back in the 1990's, the locals built this door way to symbolize Africa's effort to welcome back the blacks of the world who were sold away.


These kids were swimming in the bay to greet the ferry. People were tossing coins into the water and these two would dive down to get them. Little champs.
***gonna have to load the video later***

[KBScobravert]

Next stop was the lighthouse. This is a functioning lighthouse. The guide/light operator was phenomenal. It is one of two international lighthouses on Africa. The other is at the southern tip. Stolen from the internets

1864. Active; focal plane 120 m (394 ft); white flash every 5 s. 16 m (52 ft) cylindrical masonry tower with lantern and gallery, attached to the front of a 2-story keeper's house. 2nd order Fresnel lens in use. This is one of the world's great lighthouses, guiding ships around the western tip of Africa. Its light has a range listed at 57 km (almost 36 mi).

This one little light is all that lights the sky for the ships.




Runs like a finely tuned Swiss clock


The point on the far left is the westernmost land mass on the continent.

[KBScobravert]

Where's beach pic?



David

Not much beach work this trip so far. Been here since Monday and been pretty busy with getting visas, doing assessments, fighting traffic and seeing the city. Hell, I haven't even taken a nap since I got here.

Today was a blast. I hit a few of the tourist points. I'll type it up here first and then put in pics from my phone in an edit.

African Renaissance Monument. Just a stones throw from my balcony. From wiki

The African Renaissance Monument (French: Le Monument de la Renaissance Africaine) is a 49 meter tall bronze statue located on top of one of the twin hills known as Collines des Mamelles, outside Dakar, Senegal. Built overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in the Ouakam suburb, the statue was designed by the Senegalese architect Pierre Goudiaby after an idea presented by president Abdoulaye Wade and built by Mansudae Overseas Projects, a company from North Korea. Site preparation on top of the 100-meter high hill began in 2006, and construction of the bronze statue began 3 April 2008. Originally scheduled for completion in December 2009, delays stretched into early 2010, and the formal dedication occurred on 4 April 2010, Senegal's "National Day", commemorating the 50th anniversary of the country's independence from France. It is the tallest statue in Africa.

Very impressive piece. The child's hand is pointing directly to the Statue of Liberty.









I kept expecting one of these to move.

[cobrajet69]

Where's beach pic?



David