Africa's westernmost city...

is Dakar, Senegal, and it is illustrative of the expression "TIA" or "This is Africa." The euphemism is a way of lowering expectations when visiting the ethnically and culturally rich continent, where the old and modern are juxtaposed, and much of the infrastructure and many national political systems are broken. Here's just a slice of life in the capital city showing a typical street vendor (click images to enlarge):

The public transportation system looks adventurous:

But I'd prefer to avoid the raw sewage spilling into the city streets:

We headed out for a morning tour of infamous Gorée Island, now a World Heritage Site. From the 15th – 19th centuries Gorée was a slave-trading center, and we toured dungeon-like slave quarters where a monument provides testimony to the wretched history of this place:

Here's a look inside the dreary House of Slaves:

And a look at the interior of the fortified Le Castel, now a museum:

On the ferry ride back to Dakar, we witnessed local fishermen working the waters around Gorée Island:

 

Late in the day we board the Clipper Odyssey seen here docked next to a US Navy frigate:

Shortly thereafter we head west, into the Atlantic, with the Dakar skyline diminishing in the distance: