Gorée Island & House of Slaves | Queen Mary 2 Shore Excursion from Dakar
Join us as we visit Gorée Island during Queen Mary 2’s maiden call to Dakar, Senegal. Our day begins with a memorable arrival into Dakar, including a water salute marking Queen Mary 2’s maiden visit and an energetic welcome on the dock with drummers, music and colourful local activity. From beside the ship, we board a ferry chartered for our Cunard shore excursion and make the journey across the water to Île de Gorée. As Dakar and Queen Mary 2 disappear behind us, Gorée comes into view — a small island filled with colourful historic buildings, cobblestone streets, local crafts and everyday island life. But behind that beauty is a much more confronting history. At the heart of our visit is the Maison des Esclaves — the House of Slaves — where we walk through the building and see the symbolic Door of No Return. It is a sombre and deeply thought-provoking experience, standing in stark contrast to the colourful streets outside. As we continue exploring Gorée, we meet local vendors and musicians, watch a sand-art demonstration, see George have a go at playing one of the local seed-ball instruments, encounter some of the island’s many cats and stop for a drink by the beach. We also visit one of Gorée’s museums, experience a few unexpected moments with our guide and continue learning about the island’s history before making our way back through its beautiful streets. Gorée proved to be a fascinating and sometimes confronting destination — beautiful, historic, colourful and tragic, all within a very small island. CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 00:28 A very lively welcome in Senegal 01:50 Boarding the Ferry to Gorée Island 02:28 Exploring the streets of Gorée 03:00 House of Slaves 04:44 Local music and George has a go 05:07 Sand-art demonstration 05:39 A drink by the beach 06:12 Visiting the museum 06:52 An unexpected musical moment 07:25 Our experience with persistent vendors 08:10 Understanding the history of the slave trade 09:26 Our thoughts on Gorée Island If you enjoy cruising, shore excursions, heritage, hotels and discovering fascinating destinations around the world, please give the video a like and subscribe to Travers Around the World. Join us as we travel around the world — one adventure at a time. Music licensed through Epidemic Sound. #GoreeIsland #Dakar #Senegal #QueenMary2 #Cunard