Janet's diary. Travelling with Ollie in Africa
Christmas in Gambia
We reached the border just after 3pm, the Senegalese formalities were completed quickly without problems and then drove to the Gambian border; it seemed strange to be speaking English again. The officials were all very friendly and again the paperwork went reasonably well, we were told to wait for a Customs inspection, there were people everywhere, money changers touting for business, traders, children wanting to befriend us, asking for our address so they could write to us, it was mayhem. We battled our way back from the customs office to the truck and while waiting for the customs guy we changed twenty French francs with a tout. Then another bloke offered what we thought was a good deal, so changed a 100 dollar traveller cheque with him. It wasn't till later on in the day that we realised that he had done us.
The customs guys pitched up and made Matt and Jill, who were parked in front of us, take everything from their truck. This was very nerve racking for them for now all their possessions were piled next to their truck and with all the children and people milling around it was difficult to keep an eye on everything. We got off a bit lighter, although the guy crawled around inside Ollie sticking his nose in everywhere and asking what this or that was for. At one point he asked Steve for a present, but Steve said "nothing doing" finally he cleared us to go, this had all taken two hours and now we set off to the ferry port at Barra.
Arriving at the harbour we were told that we would have to return to the village that we had just come through, a distance of about 7k's, and purchase our tickets there, this could only happen in Africa. By the time we had found the office, situated in a school and returned to the dock, we had missed the half past five ferry and had to wait for an hour for the next one.
While waiting we chatted with some youngsters who were selling soft drinks and beers, others just wanted to talk. The girls congregated on my side of the truck and the boys with Steve, they asked all sorts of questions. They all wanted our address and gave us theirs; they are always so keen for people to write to them. I amused a couple of the girls by painting there nails with polish.
In due course an old, very battered, ferry came alongside the terminal; by now it was dark, which was probably a good thing because we couldn't see how many people were crammed aboard. The crossing took almost one hour, we were packed in like sardines, cars, lorries, people and next to us a wheelbarrow containing two pigs covered in a net, they squealed for the whole journey. By the time we got to Banjul and off the boat it was almost 9pm.
Leaving Barra docks we set off along the highway to find Camping Sakuta and now we were breaking one of our golden rules which was not to drive in the dark, We had seen signs for Camping Sekuta on the road way back in Morocco and every now and then we would see another small sign beside the road indicating the direction. Following these signs we turned off the highway into a village and drove through a narrow street, even at this time of night it was crowded with people, cars and animals, the noise and smoke from thousands of candles, fires and lanterns gave the place tremendous atmosphere. We slowly edged our way through the throng and reached another sign directing us down another track, this one full of huge potholes. We eventually discovered the camp site at 11pm.
Pulling up to a pair of large gates Steve hooted and they were opened for us to drive in, Steve parked Ollie in front of the Bar and we went in to enquire, the only light came from candles and we peered around in the gloom to discover who was in charge. We were introduced to the owner, Joel, a German guy, who ran the camp with his German girlfriend. After filling out the usual registration forms Joel told us to choose a pitch but before that we had a welcome beer. From what we could see in the dark, the site had a high wall all around and was very sandy, but with nice flower beds, all very neat. While Steve put up the tent I cooked the rest of the curry. A nother German guy came over and asked if we needed any help, I think he felt sorry for us two old fogey's arriving so late and it was well after midnight before we finally got to bed after a very exhausting day. Day 1. Mileage 218.
Wednesday 24th December, Christmas Eve.
Had a well deserved lay in till 9.00, it was a lovely sunny day and as we were eating our breakfast a young man came over to greet us. He introduced himself as Sebastian, from Guernsey, our sister Island, it’s a small world! He and his friends had travelled down with Jill and Matt, Nick and Sarah (also overlanders). on the convoy previous to ours and we chatted of our experiences, as you do.
Going into Banjul, to search for the Malian Consul, we had been told that we could obtain our Malian visa from him. It took about an hour to track him down, he was very apologetic but unfortunately was no longer able to issue visas. We should have got it in Dakar and not listened to other people’s advice, it will cost us three days to return and get one now. Leaving the Consul we took a run to Cape Point.
Gambia is quite a touristy place and was very busy for the Christmas period. We discovered quite an upmarket supermarket with lots of English goodies on sale, but like all imported goods very expensive. I brought a small chicken for Christmas day and a few other little luxuries, also a small flask of brandy and some chocolate for Steve's present. Our shopping finished, we drove to a beach which was about 2k's from the camp site and had a dip in the sea but did not swim as the waves were very big and there was a strong undertow. It was now the middle of the day and with the temperature in the high thirty's we returned to the camp site, put up the awning and sat in the shade to enjoy our lunch.
We seem to have acquired three fat chickens, they have been with us all afternoon, pecking away at an old loaf that I threw out for them. This evening we have been invited to the Christmas Eve Bar-B-Q that Joel and his girlfriend are arranging. Continentals celebrate Christmas Eve more than us English so at around 6pm I went and had a lovely shower in preparation. In the middle of the site there was a large tree, it had a reed fence around with a concrete base in the middle with an open air shower inside, absolutely heavenly. At 7pm we wandered across to where they had laid out wooden tables under the trees, lit by lanterns it looked very romantic. We were served with a fruit punch and excellent food, spicy pork escallops and sausages served with potato salad and lettuce and tomatoes. We sat next to a French guy and his English wife. (Can’t remember their names), travelling in a white Landy. They were all youngsters and we were definitely the oldies. It was a very entertaining evening everyone regaling each other with stories of their adventures. Around midnight Steve and I left the Youngsters to it and turned in, it had certainly been a different Christmas Eve. Day 2.
Thursday 25th December...Christmas day...
Slept in this morning, if I had been at home I would have been up at the crack of dawn to put a Turkey in the oven. Steve set out the breakfast table in the sun and then we proceeded to open our cards and presents. doing this made us both realise how much we were missing everyone at home and many a tear fell. Up until now we have been so wrapped up in the journey down through Mauritania and Senegal that we haven't had much time to think of home. Now opening all the cards and reading the messages, all thoughts of home came flooding back.
Our neighbours, Sebastian and his friends came over to wish us Seasons Greetings and said that they were moving on, they had managed to rent a compound in town and were taking possession today. At about 11.00 we went into Serekunda to try and find a Tele-boutique. We tried to ring mum and Dad but there was no reply. Next we rang Mo and Alan we exchanged greetings and had a quick chat, Mo told us that our son Nathan was going to them for Dinner. I gave her the camp site number for him to call in the afternoon. Next I made a quick call to my dear old friend Gladys, it was so good to hear everyone again. We went back to the camp site and took it easy for a while. It was very hot and didn't feel a bit like a Christmas should. Unfortunately I'm not feeling so good today, the back ache that has been troubling me for the past few days has returned again, I think it could be my Kidneys and I must try to drink more water.
Around two pm we started to prepare our Christmas dinner and then just after three there was a shout from the bar that there was a call for us. I dropped everything and ran over, Steve, got there first and spoke to Alan for a minute and then Nathan came on the line. It was great to hear his voice, although the line was not good and I was having trouble with the phone. It was a mobile phone and fixed to the wall, just a little too high for me to reach. My conversation brought a lot of amusement to four wild looking German Overlanders at the Bar. I must have made a strange sight, standing on tip toe, sobbing down the telephone. After my chat with Nathan I spoke to Linda and Mo and said a fond farewell to everyone again. We joined the "wild bunch" at the bar for a beer while awaiting a call from Nick. We started talking about Mali and they told us that they had travelled the route from Kayes to Bamako on a couple of occasions. They said that if we got our map they would show us the best route to take. Steve went to fetch the Map and we all sat down at a table and discussed the best route to Bamako. Can you imagine us two with all these hairy renegades. The route they recommended was one that we wouldn't have considered taking. It is quite helpful to find people who have travelled a route before.
At 4pm the telephone rang again and this time it was Tim and Nick. After another chat and a few more tears we left the bar and went back to Ollie where Steve did some letter writing on his laptop and I went for a lay down, by now I was feeling pretty awful, my back is much worse and I also feel a bit queasy. Later on, after a good nap, I started feeling a little better so at 6 o'clock the two of us set about cooking our Christmas dinner. We cooked the chicken in the pressure cooker, the first time that we have used it. It turned out to be very tasty and to accompany we cooked some sauté potatoes and prepared an Avocado salad. Desert was a small Marks and Sparks Christmas pudding that I had brought with me from Jersey and a tin of cream purchased from the supermarket the day before. We drank red wine from a wine box and after our meal we finished off with coffee, brandy and chocolates. By the time we had cleared away it was nearly midnight and turned in at the end of, for us anyway, a very different Christmas day. Day 3.
Friday 26th December... Boxing Day...
I did not have a very good night and woke up feeling awful. I should not have eaten or drunk yesterday. It was sunny but very windy today. Steve decided that this morning he would get the cooling fan on the truck sorted out, it has been giving trouble for weeks now. I got on with some washing in between racing to the loo and resting in between the stomach cramps.
At about half past eleven we went into Sekunda to visit the Land Rover agency. The bloke who ran it turned out to be English. Steve explained the problem of the cooling fan to him but it seems he didn't do much, just drilled four holes and then told Steve where to buy nuts and bolts as he didn't have any of the right size and charged 200 Delasi, about 15 quid, Steve was not best pleased at being ripped off again, specially by an Englishman. We next went to find the nuts and bolts to fix the fan with. Having done this we set off back to the camp site, stopping for bread on the way. Steve refitted the Fan while I prepared a spot of lunch for him. I didn't eat as I was still feeling off colour. In the afternoon Steve fitted the water wading breather kit on Ollie while I had a rest. Later after a shower I was feeling better so thought we would drive up to the Abako nature reserve. We arrived there at about ten minutes to six, and as we parked Ollie a young black lad instantly attached himself to us and took us up to the gate where we paid an entry fee of thirty Delasi's each. The guy at the desk said that as it was late in the afternoon, we should take a guide, which we considered a bit of a pain as we would have liked to walk on our own, still we took his advice and it was probably a fix between him and our young friend anyway. About ten minutes into the reserve we came to large hide overlooking a pool where stopped for a while watching, during the time there we saw Hammerkop, Spurwinged plover, Night Heron, Squacco Heron, Grey heron, Pied Kingfisher and Black Crowned Egret. We also visited another couple of hides and at one we did see some Monkeys. The park is only two kilometres square and consists of tropical ravine woodland which is becoming increasingly rare in West Africa. Other birds that we saw on our walk were, White crowned Robin Chat, Nightingale, Yellow Billed Oxpecker, Grey Plantain Eater, Red - cheeked Cordon-Bleu, Senegal fire-finch and Fanti Rough-winged Swallow. It was a shame that we had gone so late in the day as by seven the daylight was failing. After paying our young guide we said goodbye to him and set off back to the camp site. By now it was completely dark and there were many people along the roadside. Driving through Sekunda, the main street was thronged with all shapes and sizes of folk in all kinds of colourful costume. The smell of wood smoke from cooking fires filled the air, they were also experiencing a power cut and all the little shops and stalls had candles burning. We got back to Sekuta at around 8pm. I warmed up the rest of the curry for Steve and just had an omelette myself, then did some Postcard and letter writing before turning in. Day 4.
Saturday 27th December.
After good nights sleep I awoke feeling much better, thank God. Got up at half past eight, made breakfast and did a general tidy around the truck, and that little bit of laundry that seems to keep appearing. Steve was just finishing the letter to send home when Matt and Jill pitched up looking for Sebastian and his friends, who had left on Christmas day. They told us that they had been staying in an apartment near the beach. We sometimes wonder how their money will last out as they are on a two year trip and always staying in “luxury” accommodation. After telling them that they will not be able to get their Malian Visa's in Gambia they said that they to would go back to Dakar. We said that we intended to leave early on Sunday morning.After lunch we went for a drive setting off south of the camp on a very bumpy track. After about half an hour we reached Ghana Town a fishing village that we had read about in our guide book, it was called Ghana town because all the people there came from Ghana! We had a quick look around and saw fishermen bringing their nets up from the beach, we waved but, unusually, our greetings were not returned. We didn't stop for long as the "natives did not seem that friendly".
On the drive back to Serekunda we turned off and joined the road going to the tourist beaches and went as far as Cape point. On our way back through town we changed 12,000cfa into 204 Delasi, with a money changer. After that we decided to drive down to our local beach near the camp site and got there at 4 o'clock. When we arrived there we saw a white Land Rover parked on the beach, it had an English reg. The young couple who owned it were collecting seashells. It turned out that they were from Wellington in New Zealand and were working with an aid project in Gambia for six months. They had purchased their Landy in the UK and then driven it down here. They told us that they had rented a compound in town and "were doing it up" the shells were to put on the driveway. We had quite long chat about their experiences. After they left we went for a dip, the waves were not quite so big today but big enough for one to knock me off my feet. It was lovely on the beach at that time of day, not to hot. We walked for awhile along the beach collecting shells, the only other people there were the Germans from our camp site, who we had nicknamed the wild bunch. We spotted Senegal Wattled Plover, Black Magpies and Red Hornbill.
Back in camp around 6pm, we had a shower and then went over to the bar for dinner and treated ourselves to Hamburger and chips, it can't hurt once in a while. We settled our bill, five nights, numerous beers and soft drinks and two meals came to 815 Delasi. (about sixty quid) We went back to Ollie had coffee, did some packing and then turned in. Day 5.
Sunday 28th December.
I didn't have a very good night; there was a lot of noise, I assumed that because it was Saturday night in Africa and every one was out partying. I staggered from our rooftop Eyrie at a quarter past six and after a quick breakfast, packed the tent and got the truck ready to leave.
Leaving camping Sekunda at 7.40 we arrived at Banjul dock at 8.05 just in time to see the ferry pulling out of the harbour. We brought tickets for the next Ferry,
120 Delasi and we're first at the gate for the next boat which was already waiting at the quayside. There was the usual mob of people, money changers etc. milling around
and making life interesting. One persistent bloke kept sticking his head through the driver's window, he had a dreadful cold and I remember thinking, I hope Steve
doesn't catch it. About five minutes later they opened the gates and we were allowed to drive onto the dock. We were now second in line as a car full of important
looking people was put in front of us. We sat for about thirty minutes at the ramp and then we were told that the ferry had broken down and we must wait for the
return of the ferry that we had missed earlier. We would not be leaving much before eleven, A.W.A (Africa wins again), so we settled down to wait and I got out the
breakfast, banana, bread and jam and made a pot of tea. After our breakfast we sat up on the roof rack, this gave us a good view of the docks and along the beach.
At about ten thirty we spotted the ferry returning across the bay. We couldn't believe how loaded down it was with people and vehicles, it was a wonder that it
could float, an accident waiting to happen. It pulled alongside and the ramp was lowered, a surge of humanity poured forth, lorries, cars, animals, people, carrying
huge loads on their heads, produce to sell in the local market. Some even had live chickens strung around their necks; the flow never seemed to end. Finally the boat
emptied ready for the next surge of humanity to flow onto the vessel. We drove on and were directed to park at the front of the boat. There was nothing between us
and the sea, just a couple of rocks stuck under our wheels to stop us rolling forward into the briny, thank god the sea was calm. Once the vehicles were parked they
let the foot passengers on, they squeezed into every available space. There was a guy with a toddler standing next to Ollie, I told him to sit the child on the bonnet.
When loaded to the point where it was impossible to get more on, our old tub chugged across the river and we arrived in Barra at 11.45, quite a trip.
I was relieved when we finally drove onto the quay, as I'd had visions of us sinking half way across. We passed through the police and Customs post on the Gambian side
quite quickly and with a minimum of fuss and then headed for the Senegalese border gate once more