Dark History Requires Alcohol

Part 3 - Adventures along the West African Coast - Ivory Coast and Senegal

Door of No Return on Goree Island - Slaves moved through the door and boarded boats to the Americas never to return to African shores

Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire - The ship headed north. The warm humid nights became chilly as we felt the effects of the North Atlantic Ocean. The shore excursions were expensive and nothing piqued my interest. So, we took the shuttle bus to the mall for some people watching.

Five fascinating facts about the Ivory Coast

• Home to the West African carpet viper, the deadliest snake in Africa. The snakes' venom is a potent hemotoxin that causes severe internal bleeding and tissue damage.

• It was founded in the middle of the 18th century as a French colony.  Gained independence in 1958.

• There were more than 25 million elephants in the 1800's.  Today there are only 200-300 elephants left which are highly protected

• Ethnic group is the Mande people originating from Mali.  Today the country is evenly split between Christians and Muslims. Abidjan is home to world's largest church.

• Ivory Coast is officially the largest exporter of cocoa producing 45% of the world's chocolate

Sea Days - The best days are when I set my alarm for 10:00am. Head outside to do some laps around the ship before the 11:30am TED talks. These talks led by a professor of African studies and religions was an amazing speaker. Much of the facts I list are from his talks. Lunch, afternoons in the casino or drinking a glass of wine while reading a book. 5:00PM was the magic hour. Meeting up with my friends for dinner and debauchery. Nightly shows, pub crawls and ending the night watching Tony at the atrium piano bar.

Dakar, Senegal - Several of us had the same shore excursion. A visit to the Slave Museum on Goree Island. Goree Island is the site of one of the earliest European settlements in Western Africa and long served as an outpost for slave and other trading. Men, women and children were displaced and moved to the island. Until the abolition of the trade in the French colonies, the Island was a warehouse consisting of over a dozen slave houses, each holding 150-200 slaves, where families were separated, shackled to the wall until they were ship out to the US, Brazil and Haiti.

Built by the Dutch in the 1700s, Maison des Esclaves, or Slave House the last slave house on the island and an UNESCO World Heritage site. The enslaved were separated out, chained to the wall in a small, enclosed cell with a miniscule window to allow fresh air.

• Death toll was highest in the children's cell where they were packed in with one small meal a day.

• Prepubescent girls were housed together and constantly raped. If they became pregnant, they were freed, leading to a large population of mixed race.

• Malnourished males (under 130lbs) were sent to a temporary cell where they were fattened like pigs on a diet consisting of fish, oil and beans for 3 months. If unable to obtain the desired weight they were sold on the island for general service.

• Under the stairs were two rebellious slave quarters which had no windows and low ceilings. The men were unable to stand upright.

Historians have long debated the precise number of enslaved Africans who passed through Gorée Island. Estimates range from 25,000 to over 15 million individuals, reflecting the challenges of documenting a trade that sought to dehumanize and erase its victims. Gorée Island: A Historian‘s Perspective on a Place of Sorrow and Resilience -

Five fascinating facts about Senegal

• Senegal’s most popular sport is laamb (wrestling), not soccer. Started with the poor families as a ticket out of poverty.

• Portuguese, British, French and Dutch all fought for control of the nation due to its strategic location for trading slaves and goods.

• Killer hippopotamuses live in the rivers of Senegal.

• The Almadies peninsular in Dakar is the most popular surf spot, boasting powerful waves and big swells. It was used as a filming location in the 1965 surfer movie, The Endless Summer.

• 95 percent of Muslims belong to a Sufi Brotherhood, more than in any other Muslim population in the world. For Sufis, peace and tolerance are important values, spirituality and closeness to God are more important than dogmas and strict adherence to religious rules. Shamanistic rituals play a big part in Senegalese culture.

Next up in part 4 - The Canary Islands