Journey Impressions: Dakar

Dakar: Population approx. 2.65 million (2013)
Senegal: Population approx. 14.06 million
Population growth (2010-2015): 2.9%
People per km²: 74
Gross national income per person in 2014: 1,050 USD


28.11.2015 Dakar:
Our handling agent Thiam manoeuvred us quickly through all the airport checks and ensured that we were taken in a 20-seater bus to our Hotel Terror Bi. Dakar is a city we’re familiar with and nothing much had changed. There were a lot of young people out and about, plenty of hustle and bustle, noise and smiling faces in general. However, our bus was a catastrophe. The brakes had not seen any brake pads for a long time and they squeaked and jolted, making us scared that the bus might not stop at all. What’s more, the tyres at the back hadn’t been pumped up very well. The handling agent had given the bus driver some money. So he drove to a petrol station first to fill up with about 7 litres so that he would be able to make it to our hotel. Anyone who has to be so careful with their money is of course delighted to get a good tip. And the tip is probably a lot more than he gets from his customer for driving us pilots. He took us through Dakar's popular neighbourhood for night owls. There are plenty of clubs and restaurants here which aren’t really full of people until 11 p.m. to midnight. The traffic in Dakar is terrible from morning till evening. It’s surprising how few accidents happen here and how seldom drivers honk their horns.

Once we had arrived in Hotel Terror Bi, we were desperate for something to eat and drink. And the next day we wanted to gain a few impressions of the city – above all by flying over it with Marie. We'd already got the permit for the flight from our handling agent, so we weren't expecting any major problems. The next morning at 9.30 a.m. we were picked up by the handling agent’s driver and took in a sightseeing tour through busy Dakar again. Typical sights, so often the case on the African continent, are the small 30- to 40-seater buses. The vehicles hardly ever have any doors and if they do these are wide open and the buses are full to bursting. This time we arrived at the airfield without much luggage because we only wanted to fly over the city. And we didn’t need to fill up the plane to do so. Without further ado the tower gave us permission to take off from the second small runway, but told us not to fly further than 15 miles from the airfield. We then flew along the coast and did several tests on the plane. At the same time Martin of course took a lot of pictures of the city. In particular we noticed that a lot of buildings didn’t yet have roofs. As a result, it looks as if there is a lot of construction work going on in Dakar. Later on our handling agent confirmed this. Of Senegal's total population of 23 million, four million live in Dakar. In other words, about 20% of all Senegalese people live and work in this city, if they find a job at all.

Pleased with our flight over the city, we were received at the airstrip again and again enjoyed a trip with a driver round the city to our hotel. This driver had also promised to return at around 7 p.m. to show us Dakar’s night life. Unfortunately this didn’t work out because he wasn’t able to come. But he sent us his cousin instead who came half an hour too late however. We then decided to stay in the hotel after all because the next morning we had the 7.00 a.m. flight to Brazil in front of us. You simply can’t do everything.