Dakar has a hard reputation for crime. People say muggings are
common,
even in daylight. We don't see anything ominous, but we sense it. Maybe
it's
just that we're strangers in a land that's strange to us. This is a
modern city, paved
roads, concrete highways, run-down French-style villas. We enjoy walking
around but
our ethnicity makes it impossible to be inconspicous and pass as locals,
so we're constantly
accosted by hustlers intent to sell us junk. Despite unwanted company we
explore Dakar's
crowded, shop-lined streets. We watch the local people, they watch us.
We smile, they
smile. We wave, they wave. Anyone for a game of 'Simon says?'
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