Getting Around

There are many many ways to get around the city, (not to mention getting out of the city.)  There are taxis of course, which are cheap by American standards but like anything else would be too expensive to take everyday, ($2 to most places.) For 20-30 cents, however, you can take one of four different types of buses. 

First there's the car rapide - the uber-colorful thing you see below that barely runs:
Then there's the Ndiaga Ndiaye (pronounced "jaggin jay"), pictured below. Both seem essentially the same, aside from the colors. (Actually, now that I think about it, I think I heard that the cars rapides got their name (fast cars) because they don't have breaks.) Anyway, there's an aprenti on back, and as the bus approaches, you listen to what he yells, and if it's where you want to go, you hop on (through the back) and hopefully find a seat. 

When you're ready to get off, you tap on the ceiling, or really anywhere on the tin-like sides of the car, or say "Maima fii".  The aprenti lets the driver know to stop or go by hitting/slapping the back door. (I haven't yet been able to discern if the series of hits/taps/slaps is different for stop and for go.)
There are also the TACA white buses, slightly larger than the car rapides and ndiaga ndiayes, and also large western-style blue buses, called Dim Dekks, which I guess you take if going into the city center. (When we got here, the big blue Dim Dekks were on strike, so we learned how to utilize the previously-very-intimidating car rapides, so now we just continue to use them.)

From our place it's a five minute walk to where we cross the VDN, the large road/highway that runs from downtown Dakar, past our neighborhood (and many others) north towards the office and finally to the airport. It's usually necessary to walk the few extra minutes to the crosswalk (below) in order to get across (although a critical mass of pedestrians is needed before cars will actually stop).

Inside the car rapide (the ndiaga ndiaye looks the same):

When I get to work I say "maima fii", pay my 20-25 cents, and get off. But the journey's not over. Then I must cross the VDN - this time no crosswalk in site. After successfully crossing one direction of traffic, then pausing on the median before crossing the other direction, you reach the guardrail which is just tall enough to make it awkward getting across. 

For more transportation pics, (which aren't great because they were mostly taken with my zoom lens from the office roof,) including a few how-to photos on attempting to cross over the guardrail while keeping your pride intact, CLICK HERE.