Wolfgang Hofmeier spent almost a month in Senegal, in West Africa, in 2012, and he will have a chance to relive that trip and share it with local residents when he pilots the first Bouchie Lake Lawnchair Travel flight of 2020 on Monday, Feb. 17.
Hofmeier went to Senegal from Jan. 21 to Feb. 17, 2012, and chose to visit that country because his niece’s husband is from Senegal.
In an email interview, Hofmeier says some of the highlights from this trip, which he will be sharing during his Lawnchair Travel presentation, are cheerful children, lots of goats and sheep, city life in and around the capital, Dakar, and village life in Moudéry on the river Senegal, across from Mauritania.
This was Hofmeier’s first trip to West Africa.
“Transportation is mostly by bush taxis, vehicles with seating for seven passengers,” he said. “One has to find a vehicle that goes to the desired destination, pay for a seat, then wait until all the seats are paid for. This could take minutes or several hours.”
One thing that sticks with Hofmeier is how dry the country is.
“The country lies in the Sahel region of Africa and is very dry,” he said. “Vancouver has an annual rainfall of 1,283 millimetres. Dakar is also at the coast and gets 600 millimetres. Inland, it rains far less, and the temperature can go as high as 54 C. Without goats and sheep, it would be impossible for people to survive in the interior of Senegal.”
Hofmeier says he would love to go back, but he found that getting to Senegal via Brussels makes for a long voyage.
“I would like to see more of the Senegal and Gambia rivers,” he said.
Hofmeier has a positive impression of the Senegalese after his visit.
“The Senegalese are very resourceful people that dress well in public,” he says, noting much of their family incomes is from family members who go to the European Union to work and send money back home.
Hofmeier’s presentation is the first flight in this year’s Bouchie Lake Lawnchair Travel series.
“Bouchair Air” takes off Monday, Feb. 17 from the tarmac at the Bouchie Lake Hall.
Takeoff is at 7 p.m. The boarding gates and security open at 6:30 p.m., and tickets are $8 for First Class and $6 for Economy. This year, passengers can also receive “Frequent Flyer” points.
The second Lawnchair Travel presentation will be Monday, Feb. 24, when pilot Brenda Gardiner takes travellers to Peru and Bolivia.
The series is hosted by the Friends of Bouchie-Milburn Society, with proceeds going to support the Fourth Annual Billie Bouchie Day Celebrations, which are set for the weekend of May 30.
For more information about the Lawnchair Travel series, contact Heloise, the Travel Agent, at 250-249-5329, heloiseandted@gmail.com or bouchielakefriends@gmail.com.
READ MORE: Sixth Bouchie Lake Lawnchair Travel series takes off Feb. 17
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