Founded in 1659, Saint Louis is the former French colonial capital of the area now encompassing Mauritania and Senegal. It is at the mounth of the Senegal River, on a narrow north-south island. Across a bridge to the west is a strip of beach used by fishermen, and across a bridge to the east is all of Senegal.
At this point in time, we had a guide we had met in Goree, and he helped arrange a Peugot 504 bush taxi to take us to Saint Louis. They hold seven people plus the driver, and run on popular routes whenever enough people show up to fill them. You can buy empty seats to speed things up and increase comfort, though. We purchased all seven seats for the 250-mile trip from Dakar to Saint Louis for $50.
The first day in Saint Louis we visited a cyber cafe and the beach, and took a horse-drawn carriage up and down island. The beach near the town is active with fishermen and boat builders. The next day, we visited the Djoudj reserve, and then returned to Dakar.
We liked the driver, and we had arranged for him to pick us up in two days and drive us back to Dakar via Touba. We left our guide behind with enough money to find his way home in comfort. Our wages had facilitated a bit of a drinking problem, and he was sleeping off a hangover when we made a quiet exit.
St. Louis