Cherished Memories of Africa — Page 273
255 Some interesting episodes of Divine Help The Tides at Poto and Divine Help About 200 kilometers from Dakar on the way to Mauritania is a town called Louga. A road on the left from there leads to Poto – a small and relatively unknown town situated on the right coastline of Atlantic Ocean. On the other side of the ocean is the major world power, America. There is a small Fulani village situated on the coastline about 25 miles from Poto. Some new converts were achieved by Ahmad Gaye Sahib. An Ahmadi friend, Ahmad Bah Sahib, lived there. He was well-versed in Arabic language and was an influencial figure in his area. He had come to me in Dakar to participate in a tarbiyyat class. The tides have a set pattern on the coast. The water starts receding during the early part of the day and it moves back by quite some distance. It leaves behind wet sand that hardens enough for vehicle to move without getting stuck therin. The locals start using it for traffic purposes. You would see tourist vehicles running around along with carts of the local villagers and old cars of various sizes in state of disrepair screaming, screeching and emitting smoke. Late in the afternoon the water starts advancing slowly to the sea coast. During the night the waves continue to increase in severity and speed. Especially during the moonlit nights the sea waves leap up in their frenzy as if trying to touch the moon unsuccessfully. Thereby sea water takes over vast area of the coastal land.