This past Sunday Hannah, Brighton, and I ventured to l'
Île de la Madeleine, a small archipelago off the coast of Dakar and one of the most beautiful places I have ever had the pleasure to visit.
iExplore describes it as a, "protected marine park of approximately 480 hectares (1200 acres). The rocky nature of the archipelago, thought to be of volcanic origins, has favored the establishment of numerous colonies of sea birds." We arrived on the island just after noon, took a short tour with a guide (it's very small, so not much to see) then spent 3 hours lounging around a lagoon and climbing over the stunning rock formations. Words and pictures cannot really do justice to how gorgeous this place in all its roughness and purity, but I'm giving it a try.
View from an incomplete rock structure. That's a picturesque baobab tree in the middle ground, and the coast of Dakar in the far background. The guide informed us that a genie protects the island and does not permit men to inhabit it, so this structure by a missionary was never finished because the genie kicked him off the island. Right on, genie.
Red-billed Tropicbirds,
Phaethon aethereus: These birds breed here and are a large reason this island is protected and attracts bird-watchers. The guide took us directly to where this mother was hatching her eggs.
The lagoon which we spent several hours admiring and 30 minutes to finally get all the way under, due to it being much colder than we expected.
The clearest water I have ever seen in my entire life.
Climbing over rocks. Stunningly beautiful in its starkness and rough edges, and also a bit painful for the bare feet.
The awe-inspiring work of nature.
