Gambia

Don’t worry......be happy !

We had heard that the border crossing at Karang from Senegal into Gambia and the ferry across the River Gambia from Barra into Banjul could take a few hours. So with that in mind we were at the border post in good time, although the crossing was already busy with people.

On the Senegal side we found the gendarme, customs and immigration and were through within 45 minutes. We then exchanged our CFA’s into Gambian Dalasis and drove a further 100 metres where we found the Gambian border. It was nice to be able to communicate in English again and we found the officials friendly and helpful. Within 45 minutes we were also through the Gambian side and headed down the road to look for the Ferry ticket office, which is about 18km from the border, immediately after a customs check. There were a few stops on the way as per normal but we were not asked for anything. Having heard from others that the Gambians are bad for pestering travellers we were pleasantly surprised to find none of this. The guys at the Ferry ticket office were either Man Utd or Chelsea fans and we spent some time talking and joking about the prospects for the world cup and the upcoming Championship final. They printed the tickets and told me that they could not be paid for in Gambian Dalasis, which I found a bit strange. The tickets were printed in CFA’s, and I joked that the Gambians had told me on the border to change everything into Dalasis, so I didn’t have any left. They then agreed that I could pay in Dalasis, which I did and left the office. As we were leaving one of them ran out and told us that his brother, a Man Utd fan, would meet us at Barra village and help us get quickly onto the ferry.

We found consistently that it is always better to set a friendly tone as soon as possible, whether with ticket officials, police, customs or military. So far it has worked for us.

The drive to Barra was hassle free and when we got into the village we were approached by the brother and ushered through some gates and into the ferry queue. There were a few others trying to get into the act with helping us, but we managed to deter them and as soon as the next ferry off-loaded we were told to start the engine and jump the lorry queue to the front, along with a few other cars.

We pulled out of Barra and headed across the river. The journey took around 1 hour and on the way over I got chatting to an employee from the Parks and Wildlife Department. He offered to show us to the main road towards Serekunde, which was near Sukuta village and our intended destination, Sukuta Camping. I was please for his guidance as Banjul’s road system is a complete mess. The main road is superb and, once on it, we reached Serekunde in good time. When we approached we found roadworks meant we had to take a number of detours. We were also surprised that there were no signposts to Sukuta Camping. Surprised, because we had seen a few of them as far north as Morocco. After a few wrong turns we eventually found the campsite and pulled in at around 3.30pm. The campsite is run by a German couple – Joe and Claudia - who have been there for 10 years. The campsite was functional and had good internet connectivity. The camp lies between the very old Sukuta Village and the Banjoli beach area. It is also a few km from the tourist hotspot of Senegambia.

The following day, after giving proper Job a thorough clean, we decided to head to the Banjoli beach area and find a cold beer at La Pirogue bar, which was recommended by Sukuta Camp. The tourist season is at its low at this time of year so the beach was deserted, nice. La pirogue bar is owned by a Lebanese/Belgium couple and is very nicely laid out. It has lovely gardens and a great swimming pool. The staff are exceptionally friendly and we learned that this is where the expatriates in the area come to, avoiding the Senegambia tourist trap. We tried the local beer called JulBrew, and found it to be very good. Seems it has won a load of gold medals at various beer festivals. After a couple of these we headed back to camp, which takes about 40 minutes by foot.

That evening we went for a short walk along the dirt road and met a chap riding a bicycle that we had met the previous day on the beach. Anyone who has been to Gambia will know that the locals are extremely friendly. We asked him if he knew any real African bars, as we were keen to see these rather than the tourist bars. He took us into Sukuta village, and we observed village life at night. I was surprised to learn that Gambia is 80% Muslim, so there were not any bars in the village. We hopped into a taxi and after about a 10 minute drive we came to a dark compound which he assured us was an African bar. I asked why there were no lights on and suggested it was maybe closed. I was assured otherwise so in we went. The compound had a number of rooms, and indeed in one of these was a lady who had beer. She got seats out for us and we sat under the starry sky and enjoyed another JulBrew.

The following day, I caught up with family and friends via Skype and posted my Senegal journal on our blog. Back in Perranporth the second Ashanti Kids reunion was underway with 30 people attending from all over the UK. I was assured that the weather was good and the beers were flowing by the sound of it....I hope they all had a brilliant time. Let me know, when any of you read this update.

That evening we headed into Senegambia, having heard there was a great Lebanese restaurant there. The tourist area is small but packed with bars and restaurants....not really what we were looking for. After a while we gave up on the Lebanese restaurant and instead opted for a meal at La Paradiso. The food was really good and I doubt we will get a better pizza before we get to South Africa.

We planned to leave the following morning towards Tendaba, which is about half way along Gambia on the south side of the river. That day however happened to be Settal day. This is a day set aside during each month for road clean-up and no one is allowed on the roads anywhere in the country between 9am and 1pm. This delayed our departure but gave me more time to get on the internet and do some research on Mali and available ATM machines. At 1pm we left and the first 120 km of the road was new tarmac. We were stopped a few times by police but they only wanted to chat. The road deteriorated though, and our progress was rapidly slowed. It looked like it would take us the full 4 hours to get to Tendaba. The dirt road section was scenic and we travelled through many traditional villages. It was a very hot day and I joked with a military soldier at a checkpoint that he needed someone with a big banana leaf to keep him cool. He was sweating profusely in his combat gear. We laughed and on we went. We were on the main road so I was surprised to see a perfect tarmac road join it. I later found out that this was the way to the President’s village and residence. A few kilometres down the road there was another military checkpoint and again we were stopped. This time the soldier was not so friendly and asked a lot of questions and wanted to search the vehicle. No problem, although all the other vehicles seemed to be passing without a second glance. The rest of his troop were idly listening to the FA Cup final and didn’t seem interested. After showing him around and explaining what the equipment was for he asked if I had anything for dry skin. Luckily I had a bottle of moisturiser which was almost finished so I gave him that and told him to apply that to his skin. The discussion went on and on but eventually we were told we could leave. However, not before one more request for food for the rest of the troop. I told him I had given him the special cream (and he should not tell the others he had it) and a postcard of Perranporth. I emphasised that if I gave to everyone I would have nothing left for the long journey to South Africa. At last this seemed to do the trick and we were on our way, arriving at Tendaba Camp 15 minutes later. I must say though that this was not the norm for what we had experienced so far in Gambia.

Arriving at Tendaba Camp, we were met by staff who declared they knew Proper Job from previous English travellers. They told us that the couple had camped for the first night on the river front as there were no available rooms and then moved into a waterside cabin for a couple of nights. I am sure this was Will and Hannah....please confirm. The staff pass on their regards to you both anyway.

That evening I walked down to the village to find an eco guide called Burama that had been recommended to me. I was told to follow the track to the big cotton tree and turn right to where his home was. With no lights on the way I was assisted by a couple of woman filling up water containers and arranged for an eco tour through the bush the following day. Whilst in his compound another chap called Faye came by who had a boat and he could take us on a tour to the wetlands. He owns the only restaurant in Tendaba village called Bouywallow and does boat trips along the river as far as Georgetown to see the hippos and Chimpanzees. He is a really very funny guy and a great character and is dead keen on marketing his product. He serves excellent food and has a couple of cabins for hire at his waterfront restaurant. Both these people had been recommended to me by an English ex-rock-n-roller drummer that we had met at Sukuta.

The following morning we headed out on a 2 hour trek in the bush towards the airport. Well airport is a bit of an exaggeration as I don’t think any planes had been there for years. We found a Terminal 3. Somehow I don’t think 1 and 2 ever existed. From there we made our way to an area the locals called the garden. It was basically a mango plantation and had a lot of birds. Walking around we came across a baboon head on a stake. Further enquiries revealed it had been shot yesterday after attacking the guard who had failed to frighten off a troop of mango loving baboons.

Later that afternoon we went on a boat trip with the owner of Bouywallow Restaurant across the river and into the wetlands and mangroves. It was a relaxing way to spend a couple of hours.

The following morning it was time to exit Gambia and make our way to Mali. We decided to cross the border at Farrefeni as it is supposedly fairly hassle free. First we had to drive along 30km of rough road before meeting the tarmac Trans-Gambia Highway to Senegal, or so we were told.

Ummm....who said it was tarmac. It took us a lot longer than we expected as the road was red dirt all the way to, and past, the Senegal border for another 50km. I think Trans Gambia Highway is an over-statement, although it is a work in progress. Another thing to remember is that when taking any river crossing in Gambia the ferry ticket offices are never at the ferry itself. We were not warned of this, and had to back track a few kilometres to get them. Once at the border, the formalities on both sides were very quick. There was only one half hearted request from a Senegalese immigration official for 1000CFA. I told him it was not necessary and all payments had been made at the Customs Office. He shrugged and waved me through.

We entered Senegal and quickly remembered our French phrases for the gendarme check points. Once you get within 30km of Kaolack you reach the new road and from there it is a smooth 300km drive to Tambacounda, where we arrived at 6pm. The whole way the winds were very strong and very warm and there was much dust in the air. I suspected these winds were the fore-runners of the rainy season. We planned to stay overnight in Tambacounda before our final 200km push to the Mali border. We stocked up with more CFA’s and found a nice place to stay called Niji Hotel. The manager speaks excellent English and there is a swimming pool and WIFI.