Aa Dakar - Dakar

I arrived in Dakar at 1900 yesterday, and after parking on the main apron to go through formalities (in no time), I taxied to the French Military apron for parking, just in time to join in for the last part of the briefing for some 37 pilots and companions participating in a tour around Senegal.

The crowd greeted me, and I could inform them that I had had to pay dearly in Bamako to make it here. Zak from the club, had arranged for my flight permit and made a hotel reservation, and taken me to the hotel, and I was picked up again this morning.

After putting a few stickers on the plane from various sponsors of the tour, getting fuel, and after storing most of my equipment, we were ready for the first leg of the tour. I was happy to take 3 passengers (all pilots themselves) on board.

I had to pay 300 Euro's to participate in the tour, but this included: all the fuel used on the tour, hotel and 3 meals a day, ground transport, sight seeing and all landing fees etc.! This was possible thanks to sponsors as Total Oil and Air France among others.

The first leg of the tour took us to the very south of Senegal, to Cap Skiring, and we flew over Gambia on the way along a beautiful coastline.

On arrival we were take to a beach side resort for lunch, a 3 course meal with wine ad libitum. After lunch we were taken to another hotel for the night and here, included in the trip, was 3 free drinks. I was quite overwhelmed. Not only by that, but I realised, I was among a great bunch of friendly and interesting people, the only problem being, that I do not speak French. So I also had a hard time learning "strange" names.

On the second day we left at daybreak, to fly to Sementi, in a national park in the east of the country. We had a particular order of departure, with the fastest planes leaving first, so I was number 4 after a French air force helicopter, an Epsilon training aircraft, and a Cessna 177RG.

We flew low over the terrain all the way. In Sementi lunch was awaiting in a restaurant with a deck overlooking the river with crocodiles swimming around.

In the afternoon a boat ride was arranged on the river, and we saw Hippopotamus, monkeys a many birds.

In the evening a nice dinner was served. One of the guys, an elderly character, provided the entertainment, and the locals performed traditional dances.

On the day 3 the trip went to St. Louis, an important waypoint in the early days of Flying, when it was a stop on the route from France to South America. We stayed at the Postal Hotel, a very charming place, with pictures and murals from the golden days of flying. Lunch and dinner was served in a restaurant located of the river front, and again the food was excellent. I was, after all, in company with a lot of French, so it was no surprise.

Apart from me, airplanes had come from France, Switzerland, Togo and the Ivory Cost, and what was very special, was the participation of the French air force. On the last day of the tour, some 35 VIPÕs, headed by a French general, came to St. Louis in a C160, to have lunch with us. A lot of brass was present.

In the afternoon, the final leg took us back to Dakar, and after taking fuel again, so that we could leave Dakar with same amount of fuel, as we had, when we arrived. After that ,there was a reception with cocktails etc. served by uniformed French military staff, and the whole thing was filmed and photographed by Milos from Paris.

I was surprised to receive a prize, a poster from the tour used as decoration of a serving tray, given to all the aircraft coming from out of Senegal. As I was the first one called up, due to my lack of understanding French, I thought it was due to some merit of mine! Not so.

But then I was called upon again, and presented with a piece of ceramic, given to me (and the passengers I brought along) as the 3^rd prize for answering various questions during the trip.

I was a little embarrassed, because part of the reason for me getting that prize, was the fact, that on the leg to St. Louis, on the suggestion of a Spanish guy, Raimundo, we landed in Tambacounda, to "change co-pilot". I think that he, while he was in the tower, got the answers of few rather difficult questions about the area! But then again, he is a Spanish diplomat, so what else can one expect J