A Day Off in Westafrica

April 27, 2026•2 min read

I had promised to post one Untie The Lines episode every day until we’re up to date again.

Tomorrow we’ll make a pretty big jump — to our biggest ocean passage so far. It was filmed in December, when we sailed from Tenerife in the Canary Islands to Palmeira on Sal in Cabo Verde.

But that’s for tomorrow.

Yesterday: No Video, Because We Took a Day Off

I didn’t post yesterday’s episode because we took a break.

Right now we’re anchored near Toubakouta, and close by there’s a small private game reserve. They offer short safaris, basically a little loop where you can see a few animals up close.

I was looking forward to it. Not because I’ve never seen these animals before — I have — but because it still felt pretty surreal to be here with our own boat. Sail into a river delta, drop the anchor, and then go look at wildlife the next day.

It made me think about how different this must have been a couple of hundred years ago. When coming by sailboat wasn’t a lifestyle choice, it was just… the only way. And when a lot more of these animals probably lived out here without fences.

The Lion Walk Offer

They also offered a short walk with two of their lions.

And that immediately gave me mixed feelings.

It triggered a bunch of thoughts about captive breeding, animals kept for tourism, and the human urge to get close to something wild — mostly because it makes a good story or a good photo.

It’s a bit like the plastic thing: once you start noticing it, you can’t unsee it. And then you’re left with the question: what do you do with it? What does “doing the right thing” even mean in a world where the bigger system is already running?

I don’t have a clean take on it yet. I need a bit more time to sort my thoughts before I write something half-baked.

So for today, I’ll just leave you with a few images from yesterday.