Saturday, the Sabbath has arrived and it appears many of us are ready to give our brains a rest, welcoming the chance to embark on a bit of sightseeing. Luckily, we made sure that we were early this morning. We were greeted by Sharef and his daughter Nabu, old friends of AJWS. Ruth and AJWS had sponsored them to come to New York for three months so that his daughter could get Cochlear implants. He was so grateful to all of us and presented us all with many beautiful handmade gifts at lunch. As he navigated us along the grande corniche, we visited Dakar University, the presidential palace, replete with an armed guard and a synchronized sprinkler system - both sharp contrasts to the better part of Dakar which seems in a questionable state of construction and deconstruction. We then took a stroll along the petite Corniche that reminded many in the group of the California coast. Goree island was the next site on our agenda. The ferry terminal filled with hordes of white tourists could have been anywhere in the world. Many of the Senegalese, doing their morning commute to Goree island, approached us to make conversation to do business and make us promise them that we would visit their shop and only buy from them. They were all competing for our business and it made us very uncomfortable. After a 20 minute ride we disembarked and a short walk led us to the main event on the island -the site of the old slave market. The slave trade ran from 1538 to 1848 and the structure we visited , built in 1775, was one of the last slave houses. The interior of the building was a haunting site. During the slave trade rooms were assigned for men, women, children and young women.15 to 20 humans were held in each respective cell, shackles and chains around their neck and arms, their backs against the wall. Hygiene was so bad that a plague epidemic eventually broke out. The isolation cells were particularly horrifying. In school in the US, we never learn about this side of the equation. The visit to the rest of the island was much lighter in tone. Despite the barrage of hawkers trying to sell us their wares, this island of 1500 inhabitants is a welcome respite from the bustle of Dakar. We passed the many colorful Portuguese houses once home to the slave masters that are now private homes. We learned about the mighty Baobab tree and its many varied uses. We also got to watch an artist who uses baobab sap and colorful sand from around the country to create works of art. I think we were all quite impressed with his work. We bought a small sand painting of a map of Africa that the artist inscribed for us as a souvenir of our visit. At lunch we all reflected on what we had seen. Karin kicked off the discussion with her travel to Treblinka to uncover her family's persecuted past. Then we all chimed in with our thoughts and feelings. How humans can inflict such suffering on other humans is beyond comprehension to us. We are glad this chapter of history is over but we know there is still so much human inflicted suffering that continues across the globe. Fortunately we now live in a world with a higher consciousness and we're slowly moving towards a collective mission that fights against hardship and oppression. After lunch we took the ferry back to Dakar and proceeded to the village d'arts, home to the numerous artist ateliers. Work ranged from paintings and collages to massive sculptures many made from recycled objects. One of our travel companions, Gene, bought a beautiful collage by moussa mbay, a nearly blind artisan whose work is apparently quite well known throughout Dakar. We bought a small colorful painting by the same artist that is very beautiful. We arrived back at the hotel with almost 3 hours to ourselves. We went to the neighboring mall and were very surprised by how American it was. We went to the supermarket (one of our favorite must see destinations on any of our trips) and got some candy for teachers and the students at school. We rounded out the evening with a delicious dinner at Calabasse, a fabulous Gospel Choir that was there serenading the bride and groom and wedding guests, a farewell to Jay (a fellow Bay Area traveler heading home this evening) and enjoyed our dinner with Awa Diop, our AJWS local connection who helped secure a meeting with the Prime Minister for tomorrow. It was a fabulously full day and we can't believe that we only have one more day in this incredible place! Much thanks to Cheryl, the writer of our group blog for today. We used much of her update for our personal blog entry for today, as we fell asleep before we could post. She helped us remember and record the important details of the day! Thank you Cheryl!