Oui Oui, Saint-Louis
Visit this gem in Senegal, before it’s too late
A fisherman and his son untangle their fishing nets.
From 1885 to 1902, Saint-Louis was the colonial capital of French West Africa. You can still see that if you're going for a walk through the old colonial city center - I think that Saint-Louis is one of the most photogenic places of Senegal. But danger lures: the ocean-side of Saint-Louis town is slowly crumbling down.
One of the beautiful Saint-Louis streets and the old colonial houses alongside them
Nowadays, about one hundred years since Saint-Louis was the colonial capital of West Africa, the city is run by fishermen. Every afternoon, you can spot hundreds of fishermen leave the Senegalese shores in their colorful boats to (legally) fish in the territorial waters of Mauritania, the neighboring country that starts just a few kilometers north of Saint-Louis.
Fishermen and goats are taking a break
And so Saint-Louis is filled with colorful fisherman's boats. The inhabitants of the old, colonial, super pretty town are facing a huge problem: Saint-Louis is slowly being swallowed by the sea. Not only is the sea level rising, beach erosion is slowly devouring the beach side. Especially on the Langue de Barbarie, the long peninsula that has to deal with the indomitable sea.
A boy walks past a massive, colorful fishing boat
In the oftentimes pretty houses along the shoreline, foundations are eroding and walls are collapsing - sometimes even whole floors crumble down because of the ocean. It looks as if the sea is slowly nibbling on the houses. Eroding shorelines are a global problem, caused by or made worse by rising sea levels - which are caused by global warming.
Fishermen wash their horse in between the boats of Saint-Louis
Engineering studies are now being done, to see how to stop the water from breaking down one of the most beautiful coastal cities of West Africa. If you don’t want to wait until the results, I suggest that you go and visit this extraordinary fisherman’s village, before it’s too late.
A Saint-Louis inhabitant looks at the ocean that is nibbling on his house.
Story by Joost Bastmeijer, a Hero Traveler contributor and freelance travel writer and photojournalist currently traveling through Africa. Check out my photos on Instagram at instagram.com/joostbastmeijer, or visit my website to see some more of my work: joostbastmeijer.com!
A man sits in the lush garden of his home
Story by Joost Bastmeijer, a freelance travel writer and photojournalist from The Netherlands, currently traveling through Africa. Check out my photos on Instagram at instagram.com/joostbastmeijer or on my website: joostbastmeijer.com!