Ile de la Madeleine

One of my favorite places to go for a break from the hustle and bustle of the city is out to Ile de la Madeleine (Madeleine Island). I’ve been out to this small island off the coast of Dakar three times now and its beauty never disappoints! The island is a natural reserve, with it and the waters around it for 50 meters out, protected against any human activity such as fishing, hunting, or harvesting. It is the smallest national park in the world, and while not yet a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it’s been nominated as one and is on the tentative list. In order to go out to the island, we have to go to the National Forest office that manages the island. Once there, we can pay for a guide (which is required) and the small boat (pirogue) that will take us out there.

It costs 5,000-10,000 cfa per person (about $10-$15) for the boat, depending on how many people are in the group.  The guide costs 10,000 as well, but for the entire group. It takes about 15-20 minutes in the small engine pirogue to get out to the island, depending on how choppy the water is. Some of the guides will take you really close to the shipwreck that’s just off the island, so you can get a really good look at the fishing boat that sank in the shallow waters a few years back. The first time I went out we didn’t get anywhere near it, so I figured they usually steered clear of it, but then second time we got super close to it. I think it also depends on how calm the water is. Apparently the ship ran aground during a huge storm a few years back. There were no casualties, but the Spanish company just left it there… apparently they don’t have the means to remove the ship.

They were able to siphon off all the gas so it didn’t get into the water, but the debris from the ship has influenced the wildlife around the island. An example of this is with the turtles. They have a beach near the shipwreck they call “turtle beach” because it consistently had turtles laying their eggs on it, but they haven’t been back since the shipwreck. Some organizations are working to figure out a way to remove the ship, but they haven’t gotten very far. Apparently it’s an expensive endeavor.

Once past the shipwreck, the pirogue goes into a small opening in the sheer rock walls where a dock is set up. Depending on the tide, sometimes it is a very easy entry, while other times it has to be well timed with the swells of the tide. After landing, the guide gives a walking tour of the island so we can see the birds, baobab trees and beautiful coastal scenery. The first thing we do on the tour is walk up to the high point overlooking the little cove we entered by.

There have been a couple of attempts at building on the island, but it is said that the most powerful of the “genies” (or spirits) of the traditional Lébou tribes (the fishermen) inhabit the island. It is considered a sacred place where the tribal elders would come to petition the spirits.

Apparently a rich Frenchman tried to build a house on the island in the 1800s, but any time he got close to finishing his stone house, they would come back the next day and find it had crumbled. This went on for a few weeks before they gave it up as a lost cause. Someone else tried to put a structure up near the ruins of the old one, but just after they finished it, they came out to find it had collapsed… they take it as a very clear sign that any permanent human presence is not appreciated by the original inhabitants of the island.

The tour continues to the side of the island where we can see the other 2 islands considered as part of The Madeleine Islands. Although the one big island is commonly known as Madeleine Island, it is actually the largest of three islands. The other two are so close together it seems that they are one. Because they are small and steep, they’re not really accessible to humans.

It is said that while the main island hosts the good spirits, they play host to the bad spirits that cause shipwrecks if approached too closely. The shipwreck is not too far from them as we continue the walk around the rim of the island. Depending on the guide, sometimes the tour includes climbing down towards Turtle beach, although we’ve never actually gotten all the way down because the attraction is actually what’s hidden in the side of the hill.

Madeleine Island is home to one of the rarest birds in the world: Le Phaeton à bec rouge (Phaeton Aethereus Mesonauta: A red-billed tropic bird called the boatswain bird). It is only found on this island, which is home to 30 pairs, and two other islands in the world. They’re really easy to spot when they’re flying around because they’re pure white, have long tails and bright orange/red beaks. But they nest in the cliffs/hillsides, so when we’re walking down the trail, the guide can point out the birds in their nests. We can get pretty close, but when we push our luck, they are very vocal about it!

After visiting the birds, we continue our walk around the rim, now facing Dakar off in the distance. Seeing Dakar from far away always makes me glad that I am spending some time out of the city. The pollution layer can be seen from Madeleine Island, and I think about the air I’m breathing on a daily basis. Not much I can do about it, but I do wonder sometimes if there will be long-term effects on my health!

There is a beautiful little cove at the farthest point from the entry cove which I could sit for hours, just watching the water flow in and out. Unfortunately, there is a time limit on the island (well, since you asked, it’s 4 hours ;) ), so we head to our next viewpoint which is called penguin point because there are some legends (from a long time ago apparently) that talk about penguins inhabiting that part of the island. I was surprised, but then did some research and although I did not find anything about penguins in those islands, there are warm-weather penguins in the Galapagos Islands, which happens to also be one of the other two islands in the world that have the Phaeton… so I guess if they share that rare bird, maybe they also shared the penguins in the distant past.

After Penguin Point, we visit the main Dwarf Baobab (Baobab Nain) which is unexpectedly one of the biggest baobabs on the island. Our guide said that the first record of this particular tree was from 1778 when it was mentioned by a French explorer in one of his logs. It was already fully grown. Many of the baobabs on the island are called dwarf and are very particular, growing more spread out and lower to the ground because of the wind found on the island. Not all of them are dwarfs, since it depends on where they’re located. There are a few baobabs that are considered sacred by the Lébous and this is one of them. Not all of them are allowed to be visited/seen by anyone other than the spiritual leaders or elders of the tribes (which is one reason a guide is required).

Another sacred baobab that we are allowed to see is on the other side of the island. It is one of the largest and many people go there to pray/petition for something or some information that they want, most often leaving sacrificial animals, money, food, bracelets, etc. Unfortunately there is a new phenomenon happening on the island that may threaten all the baobabs on that side of the island, including this one. For the first time since anyone has been keeping track, the bird population has increased significantly and they have taken to nesting not only in the cliffs, but in the baobab trees. So many of them nest in each tree that their dropping are suffocating them, which was easily seen by their complete lack of leaves (or any color for that matter). Those who study the island as a habitat are trying to figure out why this is happening. They cannot interfere, so if this change means the death of half of the baobabs on the island, it is what it is, but they are studying the dramatic change.

About an hour later finds us end of the guided walk around the island and back at the cove where we arrived. So why do they limit people to 4 hours? Because there is a natural pool on the island and I bet people would spend all day there if they let them! It is very nice for swimming and the beaches are interesting because they aren’t sand beaches but shell beaches. Instead of sand, it’s just a ton of shells/shell pieces that make up the beach (so much better than sand, btw, doesn’t get stuck on everything!).

The natural pool is created by a short wall on one end, and if the waves are high enough on the other side, they come over the wall and trickle down into the pool. The first time I went it was super hot outside, so the pool was refreshing and we swam for a really long time. The second time I went, it wasn’t quite as hot out, even though it was sunny, and the water was pretty cold. We swam for a little while, but then spent about an hour napping/enjoying the warm sunshine.

Although it’s not part of the guided visit, if visiting at low tide, it is possible to go around behind the retaining wall of the pool. It’s a pretty cool area because there are a ton of tide pools and the rock formations are really interesting. It’s the western part of the island, so nothing but ocean for as far as the eye can see and there aren’t very many birds on that side, maybe because of the wind? The first time I went was at high tide, so we didn’t go back there, but the others times we were able to spend a significant amount of time exploring back there.

Mandy and Michaela exploring the island!

We’ve seen crabs, different fish and a ton of sea urchins in the little pools on that side. The last time I was there, we went later in the afternoon and we sat on the warm rock (they absorb the heat) and watched the sun sink lower. I’m sure the sunset would have been spectacular, but we’re not allowed to stay that late on the island, so we boarded our pirogue to head back to the city… already wondering when I’ll be able to go back!