Lake Retba, Dakar Region, Senegal

4Bina V 5:00 PM May 14, 2016

Floating like a leaf on a "not-so-pink" waters....and loving it !!
If you do decide to visit the Pink Lake, you must take a dip into the waters ! That's what makes it all worth it...at least for me !! Left Dakar at around 9 am and reached there around 10 am. Could have done a better job of negotiating the taxi ride there and back (USD 54/ Fcfa 30,000)... oh well.. Drove through the villages and observing the business of daily life - the goats, the marketplace, the people, the horse carriages, the many new construction sites, the colourful hibiscus -- on the way to the pink lake.... Reached there and saw a grey lake with a very light pink reflection... I had read the TripAdvisor reviews beforehand so I knew more or less what to expect in terms of colour ( though I was hoping it would turn pinker later in the day... and it did do so...a little bit... or was that all my imagination?). We (1 foreigner and 3 Senegalese friends) negotiated with a guide for a 30 minute canoe ride to the middle of the lake (CFA 7,000 for a group of 4 adults - not a bad deal !) The silence and calmness of our surroundings was deafening...priceless, really. Not a sound...No birds, no creatures in the water, just Salt and Silence.... Drunk it all in... Watched/filmed/photographed a salt collector digging for salt and taking basketfuls from the bottom of the lake and offloading it into his boat. Felt the water with my hands...it was kinda thick and syrupy-like.Then took a deep breath and gently slid into the "not-so-pink" tepid waters and found myself walking on slithery- slimey -gooey- earthy mix of mud and salt crystals (ugh !! yuck !!)... stayed calm... and then, hey presto !! Wow !!! Haaaaahaaaa !!! I found myself gently bobbing on the waters.... and then on my back floating like a leaf on water... ever so light and weightless !! Honestly, a breeze could have carried me away.... Never experienced such weightlessness before !! Tried swimming forward, head forward and just couldn't !!! My body popped straight back into "on-your-back" position !! Amazing experience !! It was well worth it, just for that "once-in- a-lifetime buoyancy " feeling....well worth it.... reminded me of those astronaut flying tests....loved it !!! Back to shore and rinsed off with clear waters from a natural spring- what a contrast: clear cool spring waters in a stream on the one side and the saltiest waters on Earth on the other side, barely a few meters away.... how could that be? Took a tour of the salt dunes and bought some trinkets (nothing I really needed... just helping the the local economy. No bargaining....prices were reasonable). Then lunch at " Au 212" ... yummy fish Yassa (fresh fish, barbecued/roasted with herbs, onion stew and rice and red crushed chillies on the side). Delicious fresh food, but do watch out for the fish bones ! Shared these bones with the cats and kittens who ate it with relish - unbelievable !!! And then.... back to Dakar !! Now I have this wonderfully awesome experience to share with family and friends !! Thank you Pink Lake !! Now I know what it feels like to walk on water.

3ThessaRoads 5:00 PM Jan 15, 2020

Great, but be aware of the women between the shops and the salt
Nice lake, we were really lucky to see the pink colour in January, but the women, who try to sell juwelry between the shop area and the salt harvesting are really enoying. When you buy from one you have to buy from all of them and they want 40.000 CFA for ugly plastic necklaces. They will not accept a NO for an answer. Just keep walking and don't even look!