Keur Moussa/Kayar/Tortoise Village/Pink Lake, 1 Day

Day 1

Enjoy a morning drive to Keur Moussa to assist a mass of the Benedictine Monks in the monastery of “Abbaye du Coeur Immacule de Marie”. Built in the early 1900s, here mass is celebrated in French mixed with Wolof; and using traditional African musical instruments such as soft Drums. Koras, Xilophones (Balafons). After the mass, visit the community before driving to the fishing port of Kayar. Here, fishing is the main activity and the arrival of the fishermen is always a spectacular view to watch. See how the day’s catch is distributed to different wholesalers and sellers. From Kayar drive to Pink Lake with a stop at the “Tortoises Village”, a botanical garden in the village of Noflaye where volunteers make concerted efforts to save different species of tortoises. Take a stroll around and discover the many varieties of those reptiles and understand how the center takes care of them. Arrive Pink Lake is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by narrow sand dunes; the pink color of this Lake is caused by the presence of a microorganism called Artemia Salina Bactria and the high salt content (a rate of 380g / Liter). This means the lake is 11 times saltier than the Atlantic Ocean and the second place in the rate of salinity after the Dead Sea. In fact, the salt content changes with the seasons and the amount of daylight, with the lake actually fluctuating from a light mauve to deep pink. Interact with the salt harvesters with a possibility to swim and float in the lake that is not more than 1.5m deep.