In Dakar, the car rapide used to be a predominate mode of public transportation. These brightly-painted minibuses are now being replaced by more modern buses. But you can still hail them around town or join a car rapide sightseeing tour. I chose the latter.
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| Just hanging off the back of the car rapide! |
The first stop on our tour was to see traditional weaving. I watched in admiration as a father-son team worked in perfect silent and in perfect rhythm to create a table runner at a roadside loom. And I came home with a colorful new table runner of my own.
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| Weaving duo |
Further along on the tour, we stopped at a religious school where the students proudly recited the alphabet in Arabic and counted in Wolof (Senegal's dominant local language). Sadly, the curriculum did not include French or English, so our communication was limited to smiles and handshakes.
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| Look at that grin! |
Fatigued by our literacy lesson, we re-fortified ourselves with a tea break before reaching our last stop, the Grand Mosque. We timed our visit perfectly because we had just enough time to view the stunning chandeliers and look up at the minarets from the inner courtyard before the call to prayer sounded and we needed to vacate.
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| Grand Mosque |
Seeing Dakar from the open windows of a car rapide was an entertaining, if not comfortable, experience. I'll continue to rely on my own car for my regular transportation needs. But I've now caught some of the fondness the city has for these colorful vehicles.
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| Did you see that? |