I decided to do my Senegal cycling tour in Casamance as I had heard so many positive things about the region from my Senegalese friends. The media has portrayed the region as still unstable politically and cautions travelers to take great care in the northern part of Casamance due to activity with the “Separatist Movement”. I could think of no better place to do some Peace Pedaling and was inspired to ride right in the middle of the region where this “tension” was supposedly going on.
I started my expedition in Ziguinchor and made my way up to Tubor where I turned onto the dirt roads towards Affiniam. The media and government agencies caution traveling in Northern Casamance but I knew in my heart it would be amazing and totally safe. Within a few minutes I made my first friend Ibrahima who stopped to say hi when I was resting in the shade. He took me to meet his family in the small village of Niamone where they cooked me an amazing meal of rice and couscous, set me up a mat to rest in the shade, and introduced me to the entire family and many friends.
Later that day Ibrahima and I rode together to meet his friends and spend the night in another small village called Diengue. Again, they cooked me a wonderful meal and showed me around the village, making me feel totally welcome. That night we slept in the house of the chief named Bourama and I slept right next to his son named Ansoumana, or Ansou for short. The next morning Ansou joined me for a full day of cycling through the village of Tandouk and onwards to Baila. All along the way we met lovely people who took us in for tea, meals and great conversation. I invited Ansou to spend the night in Baila with me and we had a lovely time together building a strong friendship.
Ansou left back to his village the next day and I rode by myself towards Kafountine. I was only about 20km outside of Baila in a small village called Ebinako where I was greeted by a young boy named Ndey Coly who invited me to relax in his village. He introduced me to his father Ousmane who was the chief of the village, as well as his mother Yama. Yama prepared a bed in the shade for me to relax and take a nap as I was feeling quite sick with this growing pneumonia. After the nap I taught some yoga to a few of the boys and then went out to play some soccer with the guys around sunset. Yama created a great meal for us and I was invited to spend the night in their house after an amazing meal.
The next day the chief Ousmane decided to accept my invitation to ride with me to Kafountine. Ousmane has never been to the beach in 40 years so he was very excited to come for the ride. We did an amazing 35km ride where we had time to talk and build a great friendship. I invited him to spend the night with me and he loved relaxing in the hammock, swimming and running on the beach with my Ipod. We are still in touch today and I’m very close with him and his family.
Overall, I have to say that Casamance was one of the best places I’ve ever discovered. I met some of the nicest and most hospitable people I’ve ever met in my six years of cycling. Every person I asked said the region was at peace and if you travel there you will feel it. There is nothing to worry about—I highly recommend a journey out there!
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