Parc National du Delta du Saloum, Senegal
Our first stop on the African continent was quite the expeditionary outing, but well worth the effort. After traveling across 70 degrees of latitude from Ushuaia, Argentina, which was the southern and westernmost point on our trip, we picked up our river pilot and traveled to the easternmost point on our voyage. Ile des Oiseaux-Bird Island in the Parc National du Delta du Saloum, which lies on the border with Gambia.
It is a series of waterways and channels all influenced by the Gambia River outflow from the south. Once our fleet of Zodiacs was loaded we sped off for a lengthy trip to the bird island for amazingly close views of many seabirds, but most numerous was the Caspian terns, which nest on the island. Also present were royal terns, great white pelicans, great cormorandts, egrets and other coastal birds waiting for the tide to drop in order to find schooling fish in the shallows. Our Zodiac ride back along the island revealed other species before we sped off into the wind and waves for our ride back to the ship.
The afternoon was spent steaming north towards Dakar, Senegal. A few more presentations were done along with thoughts of what we have experienced these past 30 days as we have made an epic expedition from the western border of the South Atlantic to its eastern boundary where it was first named the African Sea by the Mediterranean’s that feared it so. It has been quite a journey not soon to be forgotten.
