The Gambia

So we are in the Gambia with one week to go…

After a day down in the Casamance trying to find the Parc National de Bass Casamance we moved north, checking out some bird sanctuaries on the way. I'd spent some time on the phone with the Gambian consulate and through multiple iterations of the same conversation worked out that clearance equals proof of accommodation. No problem! Cbaz broke out his best German, organized us a few nights at a overlander place near Banjul and made the email document look very very official.

So we got to another road block with logs, just out of Senegal…there they were, a bunch of guys with logs..blocking the border. They weren’t very good at the road block… I did laugh though when C-baz pointed out that we are in a land cruiser and two logs aren’t going to stop us, the man immediately summoned his posse to deposit more logs in the way. So we jumped out, joined them under the tree and entered friendly discussions. We argued and played the game, eventually they confused each other.”Do you want money?”, “No , this isn’t about money” the one guy says, “Yes” says his boss”, oops.

And then we were at the Gambia and off to Banjul. Unfortunately the parks and “wild” places we have been to are little more than zoos. Places where they sell tourists peanuts to feed the monkeys. We went partying in the Senegambia, the resort section of the Gambia, just to see it…It's not my scene. Marco and Don, its exactly what you think it's like! So we left with a guy we’d met to find some Gambian people, not the package tourists and found ourselves in a local spot in the outskirts of town. ( I couldn’t get back there if I tried, dust roads and alleyways is all I remember). A really cool vibe, a rough, rough place! Not what my mum would consider a classy establishment, but we spent some hours listening to the local band, Djembe drums bashing away… a really good time. Sebaz broke out his dance moves, the local guys tore it up with theirs.

Today is cleaning day. Cleaning day is every second Saturday of the month. No cars are allowed on the roads and everyone has to clean the country. Police etc, will stop you driving and make you wait until 13h00 when cleaning day is finished. So we’re waited at our camp and will then made our way west to the national parks…I’m done with Banjul, but I’m keen to see the countryside.