Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The Journey home to Africa - Day 10 - the journey ends

Sat 2/25
Day 10

The Journey Ends
Even though this is our last day in Africa we still have time to squeeze in one last adventure before we head for the airport tonite for our 1:55am flight back to DC.

We packed our bags and met for our last breakfast together in the hotel restaurant.

Later our friends came by to pick us up for our trip to the pink Lake.
Lake Retba or Lac Rose lies north of the Cape Verde peninsula of Senegal northeast of Dakar. 

It gets its name from its pink waters, caused by cyanobacteria in the water. The color is particularly visible during the dry season. The lake is also known for its high salt content, which, like that of the Dead Sea. The lake also has a small salt collecting industry and is often the finishing point of the Dakar Rally (a long distance off road race which since the inception in 1978 was run from Paris to Dakar – due to security concerns now is run in South America)

Many salt collectors work 6–7 hours a day in the lake, which has a salt content close to 40%. In order to protect their skin, they rub their skin with "Beurre de Karité" (shea butter), which is an emollient used to avoid tissue damage
 we took a ride through the desert
 visited a village
found an oasis
ended up along side the Atlantic ocean
and saw our first wild animals?
and then it was time to say good bye

Next stop Dulles Int Airport

It's been a terrific 10 days!
Hope you enjoyed the journey as well
stop back tomorrow for my wrap up

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