Lagoon Tour

  Bonjour!

Today I am doing a recap of our lagoon tour in Somone. 

Scarf - gift

Dress - Maelle Boutik

Bag - thrifted

Shoes - Pertersen market

Sunglasses - Sandaga market

On our third day in Somone, I decided to go to the lagoon. The taxi driver we took to go to Saly the previous day, told us that it was not far from the house we rented. So we decided to walk there in the early afternoon after a nice morning spent inside the pool. The lagoon is actually not that far; the walk took around 15 mns. Finally we arrived and I was surprised to see the sea nearby. We were met by a guide who proposed to give us a tour of the lagoon. We told him that we wanted to eat first at Chez Rasta restaurant. He proposed to drop us there. 

The restaurant Chez Rasta

I have heard about the restaurant "Chez Rasta" on social media. There were so many good reviews that I had to go there. After less than 5 minutes ride by boat, we arrived at the restaurant. The restaurant has vibrant colors in red, yellow, green and black, the rasta flag. There were many paintings of Bob Marley around as well. The floor was lined with white sea shells.The tables and chair were in plastic. There was some Reggae music blasted around with a little Mbalax ( Senegalese music) here and there. The restaurant was not packed and we found a nice little table in front of the lagoon. The waiter proposed to us the catch of the day. One of my son and I choose the grilled captain and my other son took the grilled monkfish. Our starter came in a form of a basic salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and broiled shrimp. It was light and tasty. Then the main course arrived. The food was actually average. I had eaten better in Dakar. I thought my fish lacked a bit of seasoning. I added some lemon and hot sauce and it was alright. After the main course, we had some fruit salad and some tea. The total meal for us three cost us around 22.000 CFA (around $40) with soft drinks and water. 

The salad

My grilled fish with rice and sauce

After our late lunch, we finally took a boat ride with our guide. He took us around the lagoon all the while giving us some facts about the area. The lagoon is filled with mangroves. There are also many birds around, some which migrated from the north, and some other that stay around. According to the guide, at some point there were even some crocodiles there. He also showed us some baskets that were submerged used to grow oysters. The lagoon is actually very huge: it goes from Somone all the way to Guerreo, which is another village (and tourist hot spot). At one point we stop to visit a small sacred babobab. The guide said that it was tradition to make a wish by picking a shell with our left hand and placing it on the baobab. I did not try it. 

The sacred baobab

But that stop made me realize that the lagoon is actually very shallow. When I stand, the water comes up to my calves. When you take the boat ride, the lagoon looks so big you think it might be deep as well. After an hour ride, we returned to the beach. Overall I paid 20.000 FCFA for the boat ride for 3 people. A portion of the money goes back to the city because the lagoon is a protected site. 

The boat ride was so peaceful. I wanted to stay longer and enjoy it some more. It thought I had to go all the way down to Sine Saloum (another hot touristic spot in Senegal) to enjoy such a lagoon. I am so glad I got to discover Somone. 

I will be posting some vidoes of our tour on my Instagram so please go check it out here.