Another night with little sleep. I watched the sun rise before finally falling asleep. When I did wake up I couldn't motivate myself to go out. I just didn't want to deal with the onslaught. I'd like to go a day without seeing any polio victims, lepers, or children sleeping on the street. I'd like to go a day without someone trying to drag me into their shop. I'd like to go a day without sweating. I'm wearing down, I need to get some sleep, and I need to get some moral support. I'd love to talk to another traveler, or just a native English speaker would be nice.
Early afternoon I finally made it out of my room. It was actually relatively pleasant, the sun shinning and the sky a deep blue. It was hot, but there was a nice steady breeze to help cool. Even better was the quiet. There were hardly any cars around and kids were playing football in the down town streets. There were few hassles with most of the stores closed. If you want to walk around Dakar in relative peace and don't care about shopping, Sunday is the day.
I walked out to the Grand Mosque. It's similar style to the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, but not nearly so big. The minaret is pretty, with its zanji (?) tiles and deep green color. Surprisingly the Mosque looks pretty run down, almost as if it's not used anymore. No idea what's up with that. Also walked around the Medina, the area around the mosque. It's not like a medina in Morocco. It's neither old nor walled, but it does have a very different feeling than down town. Mostly it's more real, poorer, but more effective. I mean it looks like people are surviving and living, not hustling or begging. In contrast to yesterday morning or afternoon I was pretty much completely ignored, and at times felt as though I were invisible - actually kind of a nice feeling right now.
Other tan walking all I did today was sit in restaurants and cafes and read. Didn't accomplish much, but I need the relaxation. I think it's about time to find a beach again...
