Guarding the small harbor, cannons face outward at the fort at Gorée Island - Île de Gorée.  A short ferry ride from the West Africa continental mainland, it seems almost an alien world to itself of volcanic geology and crashing Atlantic swells. The intrepid and curious explorer finds history, folklore, legend, plus a real-life adventure worthy of the mystery game Riven along the quirky jumble of old and new, along winding footpaths.

Gorée Island - Île de Gorée as mysterious as the game Riven for the imaginative visitor with grand fortifications and stern walls that guide the wanderer to mysteriously beckoning doors.  What was this for? Who built it? What secrets does it all hold to discover?  What trail leads to another - clues, messages? Once here, how does one leave?  The lonely jetty is lapped by waves, but the ferry isn't tied there.  Will it come back? Is there another way to depart this fascinating, yet perplexing place?

Strange exotic plants loom overhead - is this really natural or a computer artist's imagination? 

Which doors to test on Gorée Island - Île de Gorée ? Some are open, others closed, never to budge.  What seemed to be a passage was blocked. What seemed to be nothing was the way.

Everywhere on Gorée Island - Île de Gorée ends at the sea.  The trail was false, turn back again.  The way to leave is not by there.

Towers and stairs to rendezvous ahead? There must be people here, but they wait and watch.  Is this the right way or a false trail?

Numbers, signs of clues and enigmatic warnings that every move is being watched.  Can one leave with what one has discovered?  Should one pass? Venture forward or turn away?

The massive iron artillery of Gorée Island - Île de Gorée pivoted in away from the sea.  What purpose is meant by this?  Strange noises from underground, that there are rooms and passageways in darkness underfoot, entered only by the foolish, shunned by the wise.

Strange machines to animate and control - trial and error then at last with grinding gears and bolts clanging they reveal their secrets, doors open, numbers revealed, remember them.

Then, push the tree boughs aside at Gorée Island - Île de Gorée and gasp to discover a silent towering monument of a great commemoration of old, silent and weathering in the relentless sea breezes. Lonely it seems, that great day of people and ceremony fading into the mists of time, standing now in a grand plaza gazing at the continent across the blue water.

Unexpectedly, around the corner, a curious residence clings to the cliff, a whimsical garden with two computers on pedestals in the front yard.  All the signs of someone living inside are there, but no one can be seen.  Is this at last the end of the search?  The control to the portal to leave the island?  Remember the clues and enter the code. Hurry back to the portal and see.

The portal to escape has opened! Hurry before it closes and locks forever!

Turn quickly to glimpse Gorée Island behind before the portal closes, a haunting redoubt of surreal beauty and hidden mysteries under a tropical blue sky!

Gorée Island - Île de Gorée is an island of mystery for the curious wanderer, with foot paths winding up and down around the island that lead to strange structures made in time gone past - a portal to where? Who built this, and why? Are they still here or did they step through to another dimension and time, never to return?

Tidal pools form in curious outcroppings of black lava pillars washed by a sea so blue, the waves' foam so white that one hesitates, is it real or is it virtual?

Silent and decrepit concrete pillboxes under the tropical sun shelter a lone cat, startling to encounter a living creature in this still and ominous mysterious fortification.

Pieces of heavy iron contraptions found strewn on the ground, housings, rails... how did they get there?  What purpose did they once serve?

Alleys lead to dwellings, entrances obscured by leafy canopies and tended flowers, with all the appearance of being inhabited, but seeming deserted, with no one to be seen, yet one knows they are there, somewhere.

Old forts, hidden underground bunkers, exotic tropical flora, doorways to nowhere, pipes connecting abandoned mechanical contraptions and deserted paths draw the intrepid and curious explorer through a real-life mystery island surrounded by an azure sea!

Viewed through the natural filter of West African winter harmattan dust, iconic Gorée Island fort and harbor take on a steam-punk effect. 

The southern tip of Gorée Island has tall lava pillars that form not only a natural stockade rising out of the sea, but also form a coveted elevation and foundation for military fortifications over the centuries.

"Our long wanderings have made a man out of him, too. They have not only strengthened his frame and hardened his constitution, but they have given stability to his character. He is thoughtful and prudent, and his advice will always be valuable, while of his courage I have no doubt.”  G.A. Henty

New episodes of the 1000-word short story fiction adventures of Inspector Pascale Mysteries 1000 have been posted. 

Pour être en forme - What Not to Do (French School Style)!