Joal is a town in the Petite Côte, located 110 km south of Dakar. After more than 3 hours away in an old taxi 7 seater crumbling, Roch and I join our friends we should go Ariane and Julie (another trainee Quebec) in thiouraye, beautiful hostel in Joal. It was thought only to sleep the first night, but finally we stayed 3 nights, we loved too. 
Flowers, hammocks, and especially, especially the view. From the terrace we could see herons, pelicans, egrets, kingfishers, cormorants. Tides rise and fall. The quietness of the morning fog. During the day when hot weather, a slight breeze, hammocks to lie in semi shade. A friendly host, reasonably priced, in short we all loved it. Saturday we walked to the shore leading to the Isle of Fadiout. It was decided to encourage local official guides, 2500 cfa per person for the ride. The guide was really qualified and provided a ton of explanation. We explained that the money raised was used to pay not only guides but also to reforest around the island (the wood being cut by the villagers) and restore the barns (to preserve the heritage and therefore ensure the continuity of tourism). After passing the crop (or livestock?) Of oysters were landed at the place or were the granaries on stilts for millet. They are no longer used today, but once they were used to keep grain away from the flames. We finally joined Fadiout Island, completely covered with beige and white seashells ...
... And many white crosses. Indeed, the Isle of Fadiout is so pretty, you almost forget it's a cemetery. One of the few cemeteries or Muslims and Christians are buried side by side. We learn that Muslims are buried in a shroud, facing Mecca. For Christians, the white cross is oriented along the line of the family of the mother (there are 9 major lineages). Harmony between religions
admirable, Senegal is a secular country where Christians and Muslims respect each other and even see each other. There are certainly some areas inhabited by more than one or the other but they usually coexist in the same neighborhoods or villages. Christian religious holidays (eg Christmas) such as Moslems (eg Tabaski) are holidays. When Tabaski, Muslims give a bit of mutton to Christians at Christmas and it's time for them to share their meat. Ariane told me about a show she avu in Kaolack, featuring religious music, both Christian and Muslim. In the holidays, and life in general, Christians and Muslims coexist easily.
photos here:
http://picasaweb.google.fr/IzzabelleM/Senegal_JoalSineSaloum
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