Calatoria spre Senegal / The trip to Senegal

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XYZ

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J'y suis!

Am ajuns in sfarsit. Un drum lung Bucuresti - Dakar - Ziguinchor, cu putine peripetii:

Mi-am luat la redevere de la minunata mea iubita (:*) marti dimineata la ora 7, in aeroportul Otopeni si am plecat spre aventura africana.

La 9:15 am decolat cu o aeronava Tarom Boeing 737-300 cu destinatia Paris - Charles de Gaulle. Zborul a durat 3:20 si a fost destul de plictisitor. Noroc ca mi-am luat un cablu OTG si am putut sa vad ceva filme de pe stick pe telefon (M*A*S*H* never gets old :D).
La bord am luat micul dejun: o omleta calda, niste paine cu unt si gem romanesc si un iaurt cu afine. Traditional :D

In Paris CDG am facut escala de 5 ore, in care am frecat menta prin lounge-uri si m-am jucat Worms pe niste PS4-uri care erau acolo. La 16:20 am plecat cu un Boeing 777-300ER catre Dakar, un zbor care a durat 5:45. A fost primul meu zbor cu un avion de asemenea dimensiuni (3 randuri de scaune si cred ca de doua ori mai lung decat primul avion) asa ca am fost placut surprins de paturica si perna oferite fiecarui pasager, ecranul din tetiera din fata cu filme, seriale, tv, radio, stiri, harta live, camera live si tot felul de alte minunatii. Am avut timp de doua filme (am vazit in sfarsit Pulp Fiction) si cateva episoade din The Big Bang Theory, asa ca nu prea am simtit cand a zburat timpul. Si masa a fost imbelsugata: un mic aperitiv - un pachet de biscuiti si o sticluta de vin alb excelent - si un meniu destul de consistent  - vedeti poza atasata. Bautura era la discretie pe tot parcursul zborului, dar nu am abuzat.

Cand am ajuns in Dakar m-am simtit ca inapoi acasa. Drumul de la avion la Sosiri se face cu autobuzul, si tot aeroportul e de fapt o sala mai mare unde se petrece totul (seamana cu Otopeni-ul inainte sa fie renovat un pic). De fapt, era destul de modern, pentru ca si vrabiile aveau portita lor speciala, deasupra usii:)

Pentru Senegal, cetatenii UE nu au nevoie de viza la intrare. Teoretic nu poti intra in tara daca nu ai carnetul de vaccinari cu vaccinul impotriva febrei galbene facut, dar nu mi l-a cerut nimeni. In schimb, se iau amprentele digitale si se face o poza.
S-a simtit ca nu sunt de-al locului (ma rog, ignorand culoarea pielii) cand m-au intrebat de adresa unde o sa stau si le-am zis ca la hotel, dar nu stiu exact care, pentru ca o sa vina cineva sa ma ia sa ma duca. M-au tras imediat pe dreapta si m-au pus sa astept. Dupa putin timp unul dintre functionari (politisti, militari, whatever) a scris pe un colt de hartie '20EUR' si mi-a aratat subtil . Ma cam asteptam la asta, asa ca l-am sunat pe cel care mi-a aranjat totul si i-am dat omului telefonul. Dupa 1 minut de parlamentare mi-a dat telefonul inapoi si pasaportul suparat si un pic in lehamite, dar am scapat. Daca sunteti pe aici si vreti sa evitati situatia, sa aveti o hartie printata cu rezervarea de la hotel, neaparat pe numele vostru, sa invatati adresa pe de rost si sa o ziceti de parca ati locui acolo de 10 ani :)

Mi-am luat bagajele si am plecat la hotel cu un sofer trimis de companie. Primul lucru care m-a lovit cand am iesit din aeroport a fost un miros de mare si de scoici. Probabil batea briza in acea directie. Al doilea lucru au fost baietii care ofereau taxiuri, cartele SIM si schimb valutar. M-am simtit fix ca in piata la Obor :D
Drumul spre hotel a fost scurt si facut pe intuneric, asa ca nu am vazut prea multe din Dakar. Multe cladiri nefinisate, destule in ruina, soldati cu mitraliere pe la intersectii, parea destul de agitat si nu chiar cel mai fericit loc sa te plimbi noaptea. Dar cred ca sunt si zone mai bune.

Hotelul (Fana hotel) era frumos, cu motive africane(duh!) si mirosea a var, praf si mare. Mi-a adus aminte de Grecia :D. Arata mai bine pe hol decat in camere, dar pentru o noapte a fost mai mult decat ok..

A doua zi dimineata am plecat la 6:30 spre aeroport, sa iau avionul spre Ziguinchor, destinatia finala. Sunt 2 zboruri zilnice, unul dimineata la 8:30 si unul dupa amiaza, pe la 3. Sunt operate de TransAir, un operator local si din cate am vazut au tarife fixe, cam ca la autogara. Destul de scump totusi: 100 EUR dus, 180 dus-intors pentru un zbor de 45 min. La Plecari era la fel de deprimant ca la Sosiri, cu un singur ecran pe care erau afisate zborurile. Check-in-ul se facea deja, desi nu era afisat nimic in dreptul zborului meu. Lucratorii foarte amabili, nu a zis nimeni nimic de kilogramele in plus de la bagaj.

Avionul a fost un  micut Embarer ERJ-145, foarte confortabil. Am avut mai mult spatiu decat in Boeing-ul cel mare. Zborul a durat 45 de minute si am aterizat la Ziguinchor, orasul principal din provincia Casamance. Pe dinafara, aeroportul arata dragut: cu palmieri, numele scris mare deasupra, linistit. Pe interior, e cam cat gara din Dolhasca (daca nu stiti unde e, puteti sa trageti o concluzie privind dimensiunea). Pur si simplu o camera de 5x5 goala in care am asteptat pana ne-au adus bagajele. Afara erau 3 tipi care bagau capul pe geam (nu aveau voie inauntru) si zdranganeau chiei de masina, sperand sa prinda clienti la taxi.

Noroc ca m-a asteptat Ahmad (contactul meu) si am mers la hotel, urmand ca pana la sfarsitul saptamanii sa ma mut intr-o casa inchiriata. Va las cu niste poze de aici.

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J'y suis!

I am here at last. A long Bucharest - Dakar - Ziguinchor trip, with only a few incidents:

I said my goodbyes to my wonderful girlfriend (:*) on Tuesday morning at 7 am, in the Otopeni airport and went in my African adventure.

At 9:15 I took off with a Tarom Boeing 737-300 aircraft towards paris - Charles de Gaulle. The flight time was 3:20 and it was quite boring. Luckily I had an OTG cable and I could watch a few movies from my USB stick on my mobile(M*A*S*H* never gets old :D).
On board they served breakfast: a hot omelette, some bread, butter and jam, and a blueberry yogurt. Very traditional :D

In Paris CDG had a 5-hour layover, during which i killed time in the lounges and by playing some Worms on the airport's PS4 stands. at 16:20 I departed with a Boeing 777-300ER towards Dakar, a flight that lasted for 5:45 hours. It was my first flight with an aircraft of this caliber ( it had 3 rows of seats, and I think double the length of the first aircraft) so I was pleasantly surprised by the blanket and pillow offered to each passenger, the entertainment screen in the front headrest with movies, series, tv, radio, news, live map, live cam and all sorts of stuff. I had time to see two movies (I finally got the chance to see Pulp Fiction) and a couple of episodes of The Big Bang Theory, so I did not feel the time fly by (pun intended).The meal was plentiful:  small appetizer - a pack of biscuits and a little bottle of really good white wine - and a good menu - see the attached picture. Drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic - were available on request during the entire flight, but I did not abuse that privilege ;)

When I arrived in Dakar I felt like back home. Going from the plane to the Arrivals was done by bus, and the entire airport is just a big hall where everything happens (It looks like Otopeni before they renovated it). Actually, it is pretty modern because even the birds have their private little gate above the door :D

To enter Senegal, EU citizens do not require a visa. Theoretically, you cannot enter without the vaccination book with the yellow fever vaccine done, but nobody asked for it. They did, however, take my fingerprints and a photo.
I felt I was not a local (well, skin color aside) when they asked me what was my local address was, and I said a hotel, but I do not know which one, somebody is scheduled to come and pick me up and take me there. They immediately pulled me aside and made me wait. After a little while one of the workers(police, military, civilian, i do not know or care) wrote on a piece of paper '20EUR' and subtly showed it to me. I was kin of expecting this, so I called my contact and gave the phone to the worked. After a few moments of debate, he grudgingly handed me the phone and my passport and I was on my way. If you are ever here and want to avoid this situation, have your hotel reservation (in your name) printed, memorize the address and say it like you've been living there for 10 years :)

I picked up my luggage and went to the hotel with a driver sent by the company. The first thing that hit me when exiting the airport was the smell of the sea and seashells. Probably the wind was blowing from the ocean. The second was the multitude of guys offering cab rides, SIM cards and currency exchange. I felt exactly like I was in the Obor market :)
The trip to the hotel was short and dark, so I did not see much of Dakar. Lots of unfinished buildings, some in ruins, soldiers holding assault weapons at the crossroads, it looked quite agitated and not the kind of place where you would just have a walk during late hours. But probably there are better neighborhoods in the city.

The hotel (Fana hotel) was nice, with an African theme (duh!) and smelled like fresh paint, dust and seaside. It reminded me of Greece. It looked better in the hallways than inside the room, but it was more than ok for a night.

The next morning I left for the airport at 6:30, to take the plane to Ziguinchor, the final destination. There are 2 daily flights, one in the morning at 8:30 and one in the afternoon, around 3 PM. They are operated by TransAir, a local airline and from what I saw they have fixed prices, like a bus station. Pretty expensive, though: 100E for one-way and 180E for a round trip lasting 45 min. In the Departures area it was a bit depressing, with a single screen showing the flight schedule. The check-in for my flight was already open, even if this was not shown on the screen. The workers were nice and helpful and nobody mentioned anything about the extra Kg in my luggage.

The plane was a small and very comfortable Embarer ERJ-145. I had more space than in the big Boeing. The flight took 45 min and we landed at Ziguinchor, the regional capital of Casamance. On the outside the airport looked quaint: palm treesn, name in big letters above the entrance. On the inside, it's about the size of the Dolhasca train station(if you do not know where it is, that should give you an idea of the size ). Just a 5x5 empty room where we waited for your luggage. outside were 3 guys poking their heads through the windows (they were not allowed inside) dangling car keys, hoping to get some taxi customers.

I was lucky that Ahmad (my contact) was waiting for me and we went to the hotel. I am temporarily staying here until my rental house is ready. More about that late on. until then I'll leave you with a few pictures from this place.

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