In last month’s newsletter, I described our exciting visit to Mali and Guinea. We also spent a few days in Senegal, as we flew to West Africa to Dakar on a nonstop, roundtrip flight from NYC. We have been to Senegal several times and always enjoy the rich culture.

The Dakar Railway Station was built by the French government in 1884. It has many notable architectural features including verandas, arches and colorful ceramic decorations. Only three years ago, its colors were restored, greatly enhancing its appearance. It's not a museum but serves many destinations and is used extensively by commuters.

We stayed in the Sobo Bade hotel in the village of Toubab Dialaw, a structure that could have been designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi.

We walked on a beautiful beach next to the hotel and mingled with locals enjoying the cool water and pleasant temperature.

While strolling with my camera, I photographed these young boys with radiant expressions in the waning sunlight.

UPCOMING TRIPS

For Thanksgiving, we will be visiting family in Colorado. In December, we are spending a week in St Kitts and Nevis, the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton. An added benefit of going to the Caribbean is to escape the cold weather of NYC.

RECENT POSTS

In my Bamako – Capital and Gateway to Mali post, I discuss that it’s still possible to travel to Bamako as it continues to be an island of stability in Mali. The city is definitely worth visiting, if for no other reason than to learn about the diverse cultures of Mali; as residents, businesses and artists from all parts of the country live there. There are many markets, monuments, museums, handicraft shops, musical venues and colorful festivals to explore. There’s an energy in the city that is exciting to tap into and a population who is welcoming to visitors.

Bamako’s sprawling Central Market (Grande Marché) has everything you can imagine, including fruits, vegetables, meats, prepared food, clothes, household goods and handicrafts. I negotiated for a braided belt for fifteen minutes with the gentlemen below and finally bought it and then had it fitted for my waist.

SUBWAY PHOTOGRAPHY:

My beautifully printed black and white “Station to Station: Exploring the New York City Subway” coffee table book is still available. You can see all photos @nycsubwaybook on Instagram and New York Subway Book on Facebook. Click here or email me for a signed copy, not available anywhere else!

SOCIALS:

My website www.ExploringEd.com with detailed posts on our trips.

FB: @Ed.Hotchkiss.3 and @Exploring Ed Travel | IG: @Exploring.Ed.Travel​

RECENT BOOKS​:

“The Every” (2021, 608 pages) by Dave Eggers is both a humorous satire and a dystopian tale on par with “1984”.

The fictional company, The Every, is the equivalent of Google, Amazon, Apple and Meta rolled into one and touches and collects information on most people in the world, except a few “trogs” who live like it’s 1969. The company shapes the world by offering convenience at the expense of privacy and justifying every app it creates by saving the planet or supplementing public safety. One woman has a goal of bringing it down by becoming an employee-spy, learning its inner workings and then executing an unformulated plan to make it implode.

DONATE

Providing education to children, especially to those in communities with high poverty and limited resources, should be a major goal of the world’s citizenry. I have just donated to three worthwhile organizations listed below, which are doing their part in helping educate children abroad in deprived environments. Please consider also donating to them.

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​Abaarso School was founded in 2009 to develop the future leaders of Somali society. Their students became the first from the country in more than thirty years to matriculate to U.S. universities including those in the Ivy League. The school and students have been featured on CBS’s 60 Minutes, The New York Times, BBC, Washington Post, Forbes, and the Wall Street Journal. Khadija and I have visited the campus near Hargeisa, Somaliland and know former students and teachers.

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​CAMFED supports the education of girls in over seven thousand government schools in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The schools’ communities are among the most deprived in the region – far removed from hospitals, without public infrastructure and often living on the poorest land. The children live in extreme poverty and are subject to a high rate of illnesses. As a result, they have extremely low literacy rates.

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​Education Cannot Wait is a United Nations fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises. The organization supports programs for refugees and crisis-affected girls and boys. The fund's assistance significantly helps thousands of children.

Happy Traveling 🌏… Exploring Ed