November 4, 2024

City of Dakar, Senegal

We negotiated for guide and driver to take us a couple of sights in the city, after we returned from Goree Island on the 3pm ferry. We figured it was worth seeing more in one Day, then having to negotiate again the next day. The thing we most wanted to see was the controversial African Renaissance Monument (above photo Cindy Karen & I, with our Guide). This is the tallest monument in all of Africa!! It's huge, the photos don't do it justice. The statue is 171 feet tall, and it is 200 steps up to the base of the statue. The former   President, Abdoulaye Wade launched the project with Senegal Architect, Pierre Goudiaby. The president owns 35% of the copyright (Controversy C#1). Meaning he collects 35% of the profits from the tourism revenues. There is an elevator inside the man's torso that runs up to an observation lookout in the man's head.   Site preparation started in 2006 on top of a dormant volcano. It shows a family drawn up towards the sky, an Africa emerging from the bowels of the earth, leaving obscurantism to go toward the light. (C#2). It was completed in 2010 at a cost of $27 Million (C#3). The statue, built of pure copper, was built by a North Koreen company. (C#4). The statue was dedicated on April 4, 2010 the 50 year anniversary of Senegal's independence from France.

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    Grande Mosquee de Dakar

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    Design came to prophet in a dream - built by workers labor free

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    President's house

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By Pat Patrick May 2, 2026
KOMODO ISLAND NATIONAL PARK in Indonesia was an unexpected rare twist on this voyage. We had no idea that we would be able to anchor right in the heart of this National Park for 3 days. The National Park is comprised of 3 major islands & 26 smaller ones and is home to the legendary Komodo Dragons! We were suppose to anchor at the coastal town of Labuan Bajo and shuttle into the Park. But hours before docking, the Port Agents directed us to anchor right in the heart of the Park. Captain Val made it possible for our tour vendors, to pull right up to the Odyssey , so we had super easy access to our tours saving us lots of logistics and time.
By Pat Patrick April 23, 2026
We met up with the Ship in Timor Leste or East Timor, one of the youngest countries in the World . This sovereign state just gained their independence on May 20, 2002 from prior Portuguese rule (1515 until 1975) and Indonesian occupation (1975 until 1999). The Ship was anchored off the coastal town of Dili, the capital city with a population of roughly 1.4 million.
By Pat Patrick April 23, 2026
I know people laugh when I say we took a vacation from the Ship , they view this whole amazing voyage as a vacation! But the reality is the Ship is my home now, and almost everybody loves a vacation away from home, to unwind and recharge! So my life on the Odyssey, is not that different. I really appreciated my two weeks away at Eco Cove Resort , on Yeben Island in Raja Ampat, Indonesia !