Senegal is in West Africa.

We flew from Denver to New York (4 hours) then from New York to Dakar (8 hours). Dakar is an overcrowded peninsula. It's the westernmost point in Africa and the closest port to the Americas so slaves were held on the nearby island of Goree also known as the "Island of Slavery".

Goree Island

Slaves were held in tiny dark cells. If they were too sick or didn't live they were tossed out a door into the ocean. The slave house gave us a sense of the horrors that went on there. Slave Island was our introduction to West Africa and the only time we saw African Americans on our trip.