2016 was a really great year for me and this year appears to be no exception! I’m off on another adventure, this time I’m going to Senegal!

The Republic of Senegal (originally called Sunugal in Wolof dialect ) is situated at the most Western tip of Africa. A former French colony with a population of about 14 million Senegalese as at 2013, 94% of  whom are Muslims. I will be exploring its capital Dakar,  which is known for its nightlife!

International travel from Abuja is a huge challenge now due to the ongoing repairs. Consequently,I had to route my flight through Lagos. However, I’m hopeful that before my return, the Kaduna Airport would be fully functional.

Now, it was my first International flight through Lagos and I was quite impressed by Murtala Muhammed International Airport. It’s way bigger than the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport Abuja. The toilet was surprisingly really clean and the immigration process very smooth. Perhaps this was because I came in quite early, at about 6am.

Air Côte d’Ivoire has a 30kg limit and I can never seem to pack light. You should have seen me panicking as they began weighing my box, and then my obvious joy when it weighed in at 26kg!

It was also my first time on Air Côte d’Ivoire and the trip was fair. Nothing remarkable to be honest. Even ordinary TV was unavailable. In fact, it felt like a local flight. I say “fair” be cause we took off and landed at our destination safely. The Port Bouet Airport, Abidjan is neat. Everyone there seemed to speak just French, the language of love! I finally got the opportunity to use the language I have been learning for years, and I was too shy to speak it out loud, I was just mumbling and whispering!
Oh, for shame!
I’ve got to be more confident in the coming weeks. I successfully asked for directions to the toilet in French and I understood her response pretty clearly. This means I’m not as bad at this as I think I am. Problem is, French speakers talk really fast, all I hear is a long buzz as I struggle to pick out the keywords.

Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport, Dakar is small but not abysmal. The immigration  queue was long but not as slow as some google reviews said. It was my first time visiting a country without a visa so I was slightly nervous. However, it was hassle-free. I presented my passport and the Immigration officer only asked why I was in the country, to which I answered by presenting him with my documentation. He read it, stamped my passport and sent me on my way.

Summarily, I made it to Dakar in one piece and I will keep you informed in subsequent posts. Oh, MTN works in Dakar, but the Roaming charges are ridiculous! N40 per SMS! Orange is common here and a sim costs CFA1000, so I got one and paid $2.  I did not see a decent Bureau D’change in the airport but a CFA is said to be approximately half of a Naira.  Please let me know if you have been to Dakar and places I should see in the next 2 weeks!

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