Djoudj: a kind of lost paradise

I start saying that exactly like all Senegal I had no expectation for this National Park, if you add that getting there was quite expensive (20.000CFA by taxi), time-spending and difficult to arrange excursion you can imagine that we arrived at the park entrance (fee was 5000CFA each and other 7000CFA for the car)not exactly with a good mood. But exactly like it often happens  I and Ale spent one of the most marvellous days of our African vacation. Local inhabitants are forbidden to fish here and the result is a totally natural and equilibrated life cycle: Birds eat fishes, fishes eat small microorganisms and plants fertlized by fish and birds excrements while a score of predators keep controlled the number of birds. In other words when the man is out of the games, Mother Nature know exactly what to do and how to do to keep our wonderful planet healthy!
 Djoudj is the world’s third largest ornithological Park after one in the US and one in India. As soon as we stepped off the jeep our official guide called our attention to show us a sleepy pyton just on the grass bordering the wetlands we were going to visit by boat. As soon as our boat left we could admire a score of huge pelicans diving in a synchronized way to fish, then we noticed a wildpig searching for a good meal of bird eggs, just a few minutes later we approached to huge Nile crocodiles taking a nap on the grass bank, then a sea Eagle flying over us in order to digest his preys, then again a flamingo, then again a big lizard also searching for an easy meal and finally, approaching to a strange island we realized that it was completely covered by Pelican families where the hungry youngsters were waiting for their parents return which was probably one of the most astonishing moment of our excursion with a dense, colourfull and noisy covey of birds  were flying over, under and around us. Not easy to mention all the 365 birds species of this unique sanctuary, not easy to esplain our sensation of beeing filled and flowded and crosses by natural energy in just one hour of excursion. For sure I may say that along with Taganga National Park in Colombia, this was the most spectalcular National Park I have ever seen in my entire life of curious traveller! Thanks Senegal, Thanks Djoudj and of course Thanks Ale! Pity I and my camera were not able to take the great photos that this park and its "actors" deserved.